Diaz Defends McGregor’s UFC 303 Withdrawal – ‘They Made A Bigger Deal Out Of It’
Nate Diaz has defended Conor McGregor’s withdrawal from UFC 303.
The Irishman pulled out his fight with Michael Chandler, which was set for June 29. It was a massive disappointment for fans, given the huge anticipation. The UFC live gate set a record of over $20 million, while tickets for the press conference were sold out in nine minutes. It would have been McGregor’s first appearance in the UFC since his 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier.
The Notorious later disclosed that he suffered a toe injury. The reaction did not go down well with his MMA peers. Islam Makhachev, the UFC Lightweight Champion, called McGregor a chicken. Alex Pereira had also suffered a broken toe two weeks before his fight with Jamahal Hill. And yet, the Brazilian did not withdraw as he knocked out his opponent in the first round at UFC 300. While that may have been the case, Diaz refused to criticize the Irishman.
Diaz Reacts
“I think it was just a minor thing. I think they made a bigger deal out of it than it is. Good idea. If I get [messed] up, I would like to push the fight back too, but people [bloody] freak out. I think I wouldn’t want to fight until I’m 100 percent ready to rock too, because in the past I’ve done all kinds of [nonsense] I shouldn’t have done. So, I think he learned from experience and all these inexperienced people out there talking [nonsense], just speaking for their inexperience. They’re going to have to deal with the criticism until the fight gets done, but I think it’ll happen and it’ll all be good,” Diaz said
One man who had offered to step in was former UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski. The Volk showed that he was willing to take any fight when he moved up to lightweight to face Islam Makhachev. The Australian took the fight on less than two week’s notice, as Mackhachev knocked him out at UFC 294.
Volkanovski At UFC 303
The Australian was stopped in his next fight against Ilia Topuria, losing his featherweight title at UFC 298. Despite admitting that he took the Islam fight on too short notice, Volk was ready to do the same again. He has previously admitted that his mental health struggled due to not having fights lined up. That’s why he was willing to do the same again.
“I did put my hand up, I said ‘Do you need a guy?’ We all heard the whispers like you guys did. He didn’t show up to the press conference, heard whispers they were looking for someone to maybe replace. So I was like, ‘Hey, if you need someone, you know a guy,’ I did put my hand up.
“Obviously seen that some people put that up, so it got out there. Some people think I’m mad, but I am back into training now, and I am excited to get back in there. That’s all it takes, just a little thing like that, and I put my hand up. But, it wasn’t me. I didn’t get the call back,. The UFC were like, ‘Oh no.’ They were sitting saying, ‘You’re a savage, but we’ll let you know if we need you’ type of thing,” Volkanovski said
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