Nate Diaz is focused and looking to fast-forward to Saturday as UFC 244’s fight week kicked off with the open workouts
NEW YORK, NY— As Nate Diaz stepped forward for his media availability following his open workout ahead of UFC 244, he greeted the media in typical Nate Diaz fashion.
“What’s up, I’m sick of talking to everybody… just kidding.”
Diaz might have been joking but there’s no denying his desire to speed up all that comes with the stresses of fight week.
The 34-year-old will compete for the self-proclaimed and now UFC made BMF title for the “baddest motherf*cker’ in the game” in Saturday’s UFC 244 main event against Jorge Masvidal.
For the Stockton, CA native Saturday couldn’t come any quicker.
“Far from excited right now at all, all this makes me want to get to the point—get down and get out of here. It comes with the territory so it’s all good—I can deal with it. I wish it was Friday or Saturday,” said Diaz.
Although there has been a healthy amount of respect between the two main event combatants, Diaz feels that whether both fighters are cordial or contain animosity toward one another, it doesn’t make a difference because they’ll meet inside the octagon.
The welterweight went on to compare the buildup for his current bout to the match-up against Conor McGregor.
“Just the Conor fights there was tension cause he was about all that and I’m with it too. Whatever he was going to do we still had to fight and I believe I put in the better work against anybody. So all that talking or no talking, before fighting Conor I had 33 or 34 fights and most of them nobody said nothing.
“Either way is fine.”
Following the two bouts against McGregor in 2016, which saw Diaz win the first via second round submission (rear naked choke) and his rival winning the rematch in a close majority decision, the seventh-ranked welterweight took three years before he returned to the octagon.
At UFC 241 in Anaheim, Diaz returned to face Anthony Pettis, coming out with a unanimous decision victory. According to Diaz, just finding an opponent presents a great challenge and its never been about the UFC gold.
“I knew even before his last fight that if I was a fan of the sport I’d want to see me against Masvidal or my brother against him. Everyone is weak and whack but I mean there’s some great fighters out there with great personalities and all that.”
“I don’t care about the BMF belt, it was never about the belts, I wasn’t chasing these belts like other guys. The belt’s already mine because I created it. Anyone who fights me this is how it’s going to be, for the BMF title because I already let it be known. I ain’t fighting no suckers no more, I said that years ago just not to you guys.”
As for the next challenger, Diaz doesn’t have anyone in mind but knows which criteria needs to be reached.
“I’m just going to have to wait and see. They’ll have to bring some attention to themselves. I got to hear them, if you want to fight, then we better hear it—or see it—or do something impressive. That’s what I’m doing so I expect the same.”
Watch Nate Diaz’s full UFC 244 open workout press scrum above!
