Getty Mike Tyson & Nate Diaz
Sports icon Mike Tyson praised former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor for his boxing showing against Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Nate Diaz decided to chime in with a response.
Diaz and “Notorious” fought twice in 2016 when McGregor was the featherweight champion. Both matches were staged at 170 pounds and Diaz came out on top during their first encounter at UFC 196, submitting the Irishman with a rear-naked choke. They rematched a few months later at UFC 202 and after a back-and-forth five-round war, McGregor was awarded the victory via majority decision.
The contests went down before McGregor became the UFC’s first-ever simultaneous two-division champion by winning the 155-pound crown. And the two-fight series also happened before McGregor made his professional boxing debut opposite the legend, Mayweather.
Although Mayweather walked into the ring with a 49-0 record and several championships on his mantel, McGregor pushed “Money” for 10 rounds before succumbing to a TKO finish. And Tyson praised McGregor for that effort.
“[McGregor] never really had a boxing match in his life right?” Tyson said in an episode of his “Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson” podcast. “He went 10 rounds with the greatest fighter in the last 100 years of boxing.
“He went 10 rounds, scored punches on the greatest fighter in the last 20 years — 100 years. See, people ain’t looking at it. People just wanna say ‘The Black guy beat the White guy.’ They just want to see it. But look at what he had to fight against. And look at what he did when he fought against it.”
Well, Diaz had something to say in response to Tyson’s comments. “I took him all the way out in about 8 minutes right before that,” Diaz wrote on social media. “What does that tell you? Finished, dead.” See Diaz’s tweet with the video clip featuring “Iron Mike” below:
Will Fans Ever See the Trilogy Between Diaz & McGregor
The McGregor/Diaz rivalry is one of the biggest in mixed martial arts history, and considering they’re 1-1 against each other, fans have been clamoring for years to see a trilogy match.
But with Diaz exiting the UFC a few months back, it’s unclear if the two will ever settle their rivalry inside a cage. They’ve maintained their beef online, however. And Diaz’s recent tweet is a reminder that the Irishman remains in his crosshairs.
Diaz last fought in September when he defeated fellow former “The Ultimate Fighter” winner Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. That was the final bout on Diaz’s UFC contract and he has yet to sign with a promotion since leaving the promotion. He’s expressed on multiple occasions that he wants to try his hands at boxing, as well as compete in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu matches.
McGregor Is Currently Filming ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ Will Fight Michael Chandler Later This Year
Notorious is planning to make his Octagon return against top-ranked UFC lightweight Michael Chandler. The two have been filming the promotion’s newest season of “The Ultimate Fighter” in Las Vegas. After the season airs on ESPN and ESPN+, McGregor and Chandler will meet in the cage.
A date and venue haven’t been announced for the fight, but it’ll likely take place in either the third or fourth quarter of 2023. “The Ultimate Fighter,” which will have 12 episodes, will begin airing on May 30 with a new episode dropping every Tuesday.