Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz is still scheduled to fight Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244, but he sounds committed to skipping the event if his name isn't cleared following an apparent drug test failure. 

The Stockton Slugger sent a public tweet to UFC President Dana White demanding him to "clear my name or I ain’t doin s--t" (note: contains profanity): 

https://twitter.com/NateDiaz209/status/1187874028108709888

Diaz's tweet comes after announcing Thursday he was "not gonna make it" to the Nov. 2 event after being made aware of "elevated levels" in a drug test that he was told "might be from some tainted supplements."

Following Diaz's announcement, Masvidal tweeted support for his opponent by saying he knows "your name is clean" and doesn't need USADA "to tell me s--t!'

ESPN's Ariel Helwani reported, as of Friday, Diaz isn't suspended and the match with Masvidal isn't canceled, but little clarity on the situation has come from UFC and USADA.

In his statement saying he wouldn't be at UFC 244, Diaz noted the only things he takes are "Whole Food or natural food supplements."

If USADA rules Diaz eligible, his bout with Masvidal will headline the show from Madison Square Garden.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is coming to the defense of Nate Diaz in the wake of the Stockton Slugger withdrawing from his scheduled match with Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244. 

After Diaz tweeted he's "not gonna make it to NYC for fight next week because they said I tested with elevated levels that they say might be from some tainted supplements," Jones offered a message of support (Warning: tweet contains profanity):

And just like that, years of hard work discredited overnight, with one phone call. https://t.co/dyCAivteLU

— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) October 24, 2019

I know you feel like someone is setting you up, that’s exactly how I felt. At times its going to feel like a pretty hopeless situation but maybe it’s not, you can’t just give up and do nothing. This is a different type of fight man, you owe it to your fans to fight it.

— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) October 24, 2019

Jones was pulled from the UFC 200 main event against Daniel Cormier after the USADA informed the UFC of a potential doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition test.

Following a one-year suspension, Jones returned to competition in July 2017 for his long-awaited rematch with Cormier. Bones initially won the bout by knockout to regain the light heavyweight title, but the result was overturned to a no-contest when a B sample drug test confirmed Jones had the steroid Turinabol in his system. 

An independent arbitrator issued a 15-month suspension for Jones as a result of his failed test. He returned to the octagon in December, defeating Alexander Gustafsson to win the vacant 205-pound championship. 

Diaz called out Masvidal after beating Anthony Pettis at UFC 241, his first match since losing to Conor McGregor in 2016. 

The Nov. 2 matchup between Diaz and Masvidal at Madison Square Garden was going to be for the "Baddest Mother F--ker" title. 

Nate Diaz was expected to face Jorge Masvidal Nov. 2 at UFC 244, but he will not be able to fight after saying on Twitter that he was informed he failed a drug test. 

The MMA star denied the allegations in a rant on Twitter (warning: contains profanity):

Your all on steroids not me pic.twitter.com/ykrZmRIoPS

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) October 24, 2019

Diaz has never failed a drug test in the past but is a frequent user of CBD, including publicly. He previously passed all his tests surrounding UFC 241 in August, per ESPN's Ariel Helwani, which saw him beat Anthony Pettis by decision. 

The recent win was the 34-year-old's first match since splitting a pair of bouts against Conor McGregor in 2016.

He said in August the reason for the extended layoff was that "everybody sucks."

Diaz now had a chance to once again be part of a main event against Masvidal, who earned a five-second knockout over Ben Askren in his most recent match. The welterweight is 34-13 in his career and could've presented a challenge in the upcoming bout due to his aggressiveness.

Unfortunately, UFC will now need a replacement to help improve a card with few other big names.

Darren Till is scheduled to take on Kelvin Gastelum in the penultimate match at Madison Square Garden next Saturday.

Bleacher Report catches you up on the world of MMA.

                            

Paulo Costa Slams 'Shameful' Jeremy Stephens After Fight Stopped for Eye Poke

UFC middleweight fighter Paulo Costa has ripped into Jeremy Stephens after an eye poke brought an end to Stephens' bout with Yair Rodriguez on Saturday after just 15 seconds.

Costa slammed Stephens on Twitter:

Shameful. Stephen’s don’t deserve UFC pic.twitter.com/JHeeQRErEX

— Paulo Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA) September 22, 2019

The bout was the headline event at Fight Night 159 in Mexico City, but it was ruled a no-contest early in the first round when Stephens was left unable to see out of his left eye.

ESPN's Ariel Helwani set the scene:

Potential disastrous start to the Rodriguez v Stephens main. Rodriguez poked Stephens in the left eye seconds into the fight. Stephens is in a ton of pain and can’t open it. Doctors are now in the cage. Herb Dean is a doing a good job not rushing Stephens.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 22, 2019

Per Bloody Elbow's Lewis Mckeever, it was the doctor's decision to end the fight on medical grounds after examining Stephens. The 33-year-old, 28-16 in MMA prior to the bout, confirmed he had suffered a "deep scratch" and a "deep bruise" of his eye.

Angela Hill, who had beaten Ariane Carnelossi earlier in the night, came to Stephens' defence:

We all watched Jeremy put his blood sweat and tears into this camp, he trained at altitude for 6 weeks and left the arena getting punched in the back of the head by fans. Disgusting to blame a fighter for an unfortunate fight ending foul. He is the last person to fake an injury.

— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) September 22, 2019

Per MMA Junkie, Stephens called for an immediate rematch between the pair, but Rodriguez expressed desire to "move on" from the incident.

                         

Jorge Masvidal Says Fight with Nate Diaz Is 'Hardest' in UFC History

Jorge Masvidal will step into the Octagon in a highly anticipated clash with Nate Diaz at UFC 244 in November.

Per MMA Junkie's Simon Head and John Morgan, Masvidal said the matchup is "the hardest fight that exists in the whole history of the UFC."

The pair will be battling for a specially commissioned "BMF" belt, but as Masvidal noted, they've not resorted to trash-talking to promote the fight.

They recently appeared at a good-natured press conference, per ESPN's Marc Raimondi:

Question: Are you sharing a joint or a drink?

Masvidal: A joint, preferably.

Diaz: Both, if I win.#UFC244

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) September 19, 2019

Gamebred said the prospect of facing Diaz is giving him extra motivation:

"I promise them just violence, totally, second to second. I'm not going to stop until my heart stops or they have ended the fight.

"That's my mentality for all my fights. In this fight, it's a bit more because my opponent has the same mentality as me.

"He wants to destroy me completely, and that gives me the extra motivation that sometimes you need, that I haven't had in years, to motivate me to wake up earlier, to go to bed earlier, to eat a little better when I'm not in Mexico, with more discipline."

Masvidal was speaking backstage at Fight Night 159, where he received a warm reception from the crowd:

Masvidal does Mexico 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/nHXGpEQpIC

— UFC (@ufc) September 22, 2019

The 34-year-old (34-13 in MMA) is riding the crest of a wave after he followed up a win over Darren Till—in what was his first fight in over a year—with a five-second knockout of Ben Askren in July.

Diaz (20-11) beat Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision in August after three years out of the sport.

                       

Tony Ferguson Wants Khabib Nurmagomedov Fight: 'Make It Happen'

Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov have had a lot of near-misses over the years, but the American is hoping for a title shot at the Russian at the fifth time of asking.

The American called for the fight on Twitter (warning: contains profanity):

Pretty Sure We Can Make Some Room For Good Ol’Fathead @TeamKhabib # TeamTiramisuTakeover @ufc @danawhite Make It Happen #DefendorVacate #Accepted @BallengeeGroup Dec 14 -Champ Shit Only™️ 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/FowNJ3SsOC

— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) September 22, 2019

Showtime's Luke Thomas wants to see it happen:

Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Justin Gaethje vs. Conor McGregor.

These are the only two fights are lightweight that matter now and matter ever.

— Luke Thomas🏋️‍♀️ (@lthomasnews) September 15, 2019

The pair have been scheduled to face one another on four previous occasions, but injuries have scuppered the plans every time.

Per MMA Junkie's Matt Erickson, a rib injury to Nurmagomedov prevented them facing off in 2015, while the following year Ferguson had to pull out with fluid and blood in his lungs.

Nurmagomedov was hospitalised after his weight cut for their third scheduled fight in 2017, and last year, Ferguson tripped over a cable after an interview and tore a ligament in his knee.

The Eagle (28-0) now holds the lightweight championship, a belt Ferguson (25-3) briefly held on an interim basis before being stripped of it after his injury.

The former is unbeaten while the latter has not lost a fight since 2012, so he's the obvious contender for Nurmagomedov to defend his title against.

A clash between the pair is a long time in the making, and it would hold enormous appeal if on this occasion they can make it happen.

UFC 244 looked to be the perfect opportunity for a welterweight title fight between champion Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. Madison Square Garden would have been the stage for the rivalry. The UFC, instead, went with Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal for the main event.

It was the right call, though, because Covington is not a draw.

Colby Covington just walked in and this entire place erupted in boos. Nuclear heat. Never heard anything like that.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 18, 2019

Yeah, you’re right, it’s totally not working. https://t.co/qLHoRCt0GB

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 18, 2019

When the 31-year-old arrived at UFC 241 in Anaheim, California, the Honda Center crowd erupted into a loud chorus of boos and vulgar chants directed at the former UFC interim welterweight champion.

Ariel Helwani of ESPN, which has exclusive UFC domestic broadcast rights for television and pay-per-view, retweeted video of the scene with the sarcastic caption: "Yeah, you're right, it's totally not working."

But that's the thing, it's not working. While the Honda Center was deafening, the only way to tell if a fighter's schtick is truly working is from tangible figures. When you look at those for Covington, you find that fans really don't care about him.

Not everyone can be a Floyd Mayweather, or even, to a much less successful degree at the box office, Chael Sonnen.

A fighter who people pay to see get beaten up: That's the angle Covington is going for. His right-wing, borderline racist (h/t Deadspin's Patrick Redford) character seems like a perfect persona for the time. Instead, people just hate Covington the person and do not use their dollars to support the gimmick.

Caught a few minutes of "Hoffa," a film I enjoy despite its flaws, and Hoffa's line about one of the less effectual union leaders really captured my thoughts on Colby Covington's use of the heel gimmick: "He knows the words but he don't know the music."

— Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) August 12, 2019

The crowd reaction at UFC 241 deserves greater context. Why was it so loud if what Covington is doing is ineffective? It wasn't a card headlined by crossover stars like Conor McGregor or Ronda Rousey. It was a hardcore MMA fan's type of pay-per-view. Casual fans were not participating, and casual interest is where superstars are made.

And it was held in Southern California, where the political clash would make fans less likely to accept Covington. The two came together to give a perception he is more than what he truly is as a viable star.

Covington has been the co-main event twice and the main event once. In all three instances, the ratings and PPV buys were lackluster at best. Co-headlining with Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 119 drew a measly 558,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1, per MMAPayout.com's Jason Cruz.

UFC 225, headlined by Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero II, where Covington won interim UFC gold netted just 250,000 buys, per MMAPayout.com's Blue Book. Most concerning is the recent UFC on ESPN event with Covington on the A-side. It drew the lowest ratings of any UFC on ESPN event to date (h/t MMAMania.com's Thomas Meyers).

Event	Main Event	Ratings
UFC on ESPN 1	Ngannou vs. Velasquez	1.463m
UFC on ESPN 2	Barboza vs. Gaethje	828,000
UFC on ESPN 3	Ngannou vs. Dos Santos	1.091m
UFC on ESPN 4	Dos Anjos vs. Edwards	957,000
UFC on ESPN 5	Covington vs. Lawler	680,000

Covington recently appeared on Helwani's MMA Show and said the UFC gave him one offer for the title fight. He didn't take it, and the company moved on (h/t TSN's Aaron Bronsteter).

There is no need for the UFC to negotiate with Covington. Nothing he has done has given them a boost to the bottom line.

Of course, the UFC moved on to Diaz vs. Masvidal. Diaz is a proven star after his clashes with McGregor, and after his return at UFC 241, he moved right back to the top of the bill for the UFC.

Likewise, Masvidal's 2019 has made him one of the hottest fighters in the sport. Millions saw his five-second KO of Ben Askren, and his realness connects with the public. This is the definition of striking while the iron is hot.

It is a fight that sells. Covington does not offer them that same ability. He has no leverage with the UFC. He cannot point to anything on the bottom line of the financial sheet to show his impact.

Covington is nothing but hot air thus far, and nobody is buying in.

Until he can show his character is working for bigger gates, ratings and PPV buys, he cannot get the upper hand in negotiations and the UFC can easily move to the next fighter on the roster.

"I know my man's a gangster, but he ain't no West Coast gangster."

The call-out heard around the world 🔥

As if we're actually getting five-rounds of Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal 😩 pic.twitter.com/amBbCs4zLX

— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) September 9, 2019

Diaz-Masvidal was the easy call. When the UFC can look at the potential for financial gain between those two welterweight fights, the one they chose was super-necessary.

He doesn’t wear a white beard. He doesn’t sport a red suit.

And he’s probably a few pounds short of being labeled clinically fat and jolly.

But make no mistake, Dana White is nothing less than a mixed martial arts Santa Claus.

The sport’s Baddest Mother F—king Santa Claus, if you like.

The UFC czar delivered an early Christmas present to the Octagonal masses on Saturday, going public with a bombshell announcement that renegade welterweights Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will headline UFC 244—complete with a special BMF title belt—November 2 at Madison Square Garden.

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1170371479608758272

White said a logical marquee-topper between divisional king Kamaru Usman and No. 2 contender Colby Covington didn’t instantly click for midtown Manhattan, which led him to put Nos. 3 (Masvidal) and 6 (Diaz) together as a hardcore sloppy-seconds substitute for the World’s Most Famous Arena.

But in terms of pleasing customers, it’s a holiday no-brainer to unwrap this one first.

Graham Hunter, sports anchor at ABC’s WRTV affiliate in Indianapolis, said: "It's classic UFC, man." 

"Give people the fight they want when they want to see it. There's not a fan of the sport that's not truly excited for this one. The buildup will be great; neither guy will pull from the fight for a toe injury."

Traditional championship or not, the recently returned Diaz is the most recognizable of the 170-pound crop, thanks to a classic give-and-take with Conor McGregor a few years back and a never-ending stream of interviews, posts and videos in which he’s brandished an "authentic badass" persona.

He’d not fought in three years before last month but never strays too far from headlines.

In fact, he and brother Nick have co-authored some of MMA’s most outrageous moments, including in-cage rumbles with Jason Miller and KJ Noons, weigh-in scrums with McGregor and Donald Cerrone and a 2015 brawl on the Las Vegas strip with Khabib Nurmagomedov that re-revved last summer at UFC 239.

Where Diaz goes, controversy (and the eyes/clicks that follow it) goes with him.

Which, as Hunter suggested, makes the run-up to Nov. 2 alone as tantalizing as most fights turn out. Masvidal is no slouch either when it comes to before-, during- or after-cage fireworks.

His "three-piece with a soda" assault on Leon Edwards during a backstage chat at UFC’s Fight Night in London has generated more than 2.5 million views on the ESPN MMA YouTube page. Moments earlier, Masvidal’s one-shot KO of local boy Darren Till had left a partisan O2 Arena crowd in stunned silence.

"I live for that—that’s to take the breath out of everybody so you can hear a pin drop," he told ESPN’s Laura Sanko, just before Edwards triggered him with a stroll-by comment.

"It’s amazing. It’s a drug that most people haven’t ever tasted. Man’s tried to duplicate it, but they can’t find the recipe for it. I’m glad I got the recipe."

As villainous promos go, forget McGregor’s obnoxious censor-baiting—this one was on the old-school wrestling level of Ric Flair or the New World Order.

And the coolest thing for White and his pay-per-view bean counters?

They’ve barely started in on each other yet.

Masvidal was in the crowd when Diaz beat Anthony Pettis to end his lengthy hiatus at UFC 241, and he smiled broadly toward his future foe when the Californian called him out, respectfully, sort of.

"There ain’t no gangsters in this game anymore. There ain’t nobody who does it right but me and him," Diaz told Joe Rogan. "I know my man’s a gangster, but he ain’t no West Coast gangster."

Later that night, he suggested the "Baddest Mother F—ker" title that’ll frame the promotion.

So we know the f-bombs will be flying the closer we get to November.

And yeah, the fight figures to be pretty damned good, too.

Masvidal arrived in the UFC in 2013, and he’s stolen the show with frenetic regularity since—earning four Performance of the Night checks and taking part in a pair of Fight of the Night duels as well.

A flying knee stiffened Ben Askren after barely five seconds at UFC 239 and became the fastest KO in the promotion’s history, and the calm confidence Masvidal displayed just before the bell—leaning against the cage with hands behind his back—makes the video must-see evidence of his cool-assassin approach.

Meanwhile, Diaz’s fan-friendly track record of 15 bonuses is nearly second to none, and the aforementioned back-and-forth with McGregor in 2016 was as good as the sport has ever produced—with the rematch drawing a then-record 1.65 million pay-per-view buys at UFC 202.

In other words, it may not be sublime.

But it ought to be ridiculous. Or at least ridiculously entertaining.

"You will see two of the most skilled fighters in the game stand and bang," Hunter said. "Diaz's jiu-jitsu is fearsome, so if he gets behind, that's where it could go. Should be legendary."

NOTE: Unless otherwise credited, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will fight in the main event of UFC 244 on Nov. 2, UFC President Dana White confirmed to Brett Okamoto of ESPN on Saturday.

According to Okamoto, White also said the promotion will commission a special "BMF" title for the bout.

"BMF" is in reference to comments Diaz made following his victory over Anthony Pettis at UFC 241 on Aug. 17, per MMAjunkie's Dave Doyle: "This is the fight game. Quit acting like this is a professional sport. (Take) whatever they want to give me? No, I'm going to take what's mine. That's what I'm talking about, the baddest motherf--ker title. I need that belt made as soon as possible."

Masvidal tweeted Friday morning he was looking to challenge Diaz for the symbolic BMF championship:  (warning: tweet contains profanity):

Hey @NateDiaz209 fuck these losers. See you at MSG. #BMF title on the line #supernecessary

— Jorge Masvidal (@GamebredFighter) September 6, 2019

ESPN's Ariel Helwani reported UFC originally struggled to get Diaz vs. Masvidal across the line and shifted in a number of different directions before finally ironing out the necessary details:

Then they tried to do Usman vs Masvidal but after Masvidal agreed they couldn’t come to terms with Usman. In fact, things got so bad with Usman that they threatened to strip him and pulled all his guest fighter duties in Abu Dhabi.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 7, 2019

And then after an intense day of negotiations, they got the deal done yesterday afternoon.

Five round main event. No title (except the BMF title, of course). MSG.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 7, 2019

Masvidal is the perfect foil for Diaz. The 34-year-old is 34-13 with 15 knockouts over his MMA career.

He executed a stunning knockout of Ben Askren in his last fight, running at Askren immediately after the opening bell and connecting with a flying knee after five seconds:

OH MY GOD MASVIDAL STARCHES ASKREN IN 5 SECONDS!!!#UFC239 pic.twitter.com/8oWeqSIBhW

— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2019

After that fight, pitting Masvidal against welterweight champion Kamaru Usman would've made sense. Masvidal is the No. 3 challenger in UFC's official rankings and hasn't fought Usman before.

But Masvidal vs. Diaz is arguably the more exciting matchup. The UFC might have stumbled onto something really fun as well if the BMF belt becomes more than just a one-off special treat.

By virtue of their big wins at UFC 241 and UFC Fight Night 157, respectively, Nate Diaz and Weili Zhang ascended in the latest UFC rankings.

Diaz moved up from No. 7 to No. 6 in the welterweight rankings, a rise that started after he beat Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision on Aug. 17.

Meanwhile, Weili moved into the champion spot on the heels of her first-round knockout win over Jessica Andrade for the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship on Saturday.

HISTORY FOR CHINA!! 🇨🇳🏆 #UFCShenzhen pic.twitter.com/fFlJZrY8QY

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 31, 2019

As a result of the decisive loss, Andrade dropped into the No. 1 contender position and fell out of the pound-for-pound rankings completely.

Diaz returned to the Octagon last month after a three-year absence and didn't seem to miss a beat. The win over Pettis gave him a career record of 20-11 and moved him closer to a potential shot at Kamaru Usman's UFC welterweight title.

Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, Leon Edwards and Rafael Dos Anjos are all ahead of Diaz, but he could conceivably leapfrog some of them due to his star power and name recognition.

In his post-fight interview, Diaz called for a potential bout against Masvidal, which could determine the next No. 1 contender:

"With this belt, I want to defend it against ... Jorge Masvidal had a good last fight, good last fight," Diaz said. "All respect to the man, but there ain't no gangsters in this game anymore. There ain't nobody who does it right but me and him. So I know my man's a gangster, but he ain't no West Coast gangster."

Diaz holds a victory over Conor McGregor, which is something few can say, and it gives him a great deal of bargaining power as well.

Zhang made history by becoming the first Chinese champion in UFC history, and she did it in front of her home fans in Shenzhen, China.

The 30-year-old owns a 20-1 record with her only loss coming in her first professional fight against Meng Bo for China MMA League in 2013.

Andrade had been on a four-fight winning streak before facing Zhang, but the loss dropped her to 20-7 and left her without a title.

While Andrade may be in line for a rematch, it is far from a lock since the likes of Rose Namajunas, Tatiana Suarez, Nina Ansaroff and Joanna Jedrzejczyk could be in the mix as well.

UFC fighter Nick Diaz has ignited talk of a possible clash with Conor McGregor after saying he'd "whup" the Dubliner, despite having had one professional fight in the past six-and-a-half years. 

Diaz—whose younger brother, Nate, beat McGregor before losing a rematch—recently spoke to TMZ alongside Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace AJ Agazarm, saying he'd "whup his ass" when the prospect of a fight arose:

Diaz, 36, last fought in January 2015 and returned to eligibility for the UFC in April 2018 after serving a one-year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for missing three out-of-competition drug tests in 12 months.

Younger sibling Nate, 34, recently returned to the Octagon following a three-year absence, beating Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision at UFC 241 in his welterweight comeback on Saturday.

McGregor, 31, took to Instagram and congratulated his two-time opponent on the anniversary of his victory against Diaz (Aug. 20). He suggested he's open to completing their trilogy after writing he'd "be prepared for it when we go again. If we go again."

The former UFC dual-lightweight and featherweight champion was recently back in media headlines for the wrong reasons.

Video emerged of McGregor punching an elderly-looking man in the head in Dublin's Marble Arch pub on April 6. Colin Brennan and Ciara Phelan of the Irish Mirror reported the victim turned down a shot of McGregor's Proper No. 12 whiskey, telling him he didn't "want to drink that s--t."

TMZ posted footage of the incident:

Tariq Panja of the New York Times reported in March McGregor is also the subject of sexual assault investigation in Dublin. A woman told police McGregor sexually assaulted her at a Dublin hotel in December.

Agazarm, 29, gained renown in grappling and BJJ circles but now holds a 1-1 record in mixed martial arts after debuting in January 2019.

He criticised McGregor for the punch incident and hinted he'd also be open to a bout: "I can't believe he hit that old man! That was crazy! Who would do that? If he's gonna hit an old man, I'll hit him."

Diaz (26-9-2) is without a win in his last three fights. He initially lost to Anderson Silva in January 2015 via unanimous decision; however, the fight was later ruled a no-contestdue to Silva testing positive for anabolic steroids, while Diaz tested positive for marijuana.

Prior to that, the Stockton, California, native suffered defeats to Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit in March 2013 and February 2012, respectively.

McGregor sparked talk of a fight with actor Mark Wahlberg in April, for which Diaz called him a "piece of s--t" for wanting to fight someone who is not a professional, via Instagram (h/t Bloody Elbow's Anton Tabuena).

A fixture opposite the older Diaz brother would surely move the needle in terms of attracting fans and pay-per-view interest, though McGregor may want to settle his beef with Nate first and foremost.