Nate Diaz made his long-awaited return to the UFC this past weekend, as he defeated Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 241. Diaz's victory came just days before the three-year anniversary of his bloody battle with Conor McGregor, which McGregor won via decision, levelling their series at 1-1.
With Diaz back in the fold following a three-year hiatus and McGregor reportedly gearing up for his own return to the octagon, murmurs of their highly anticipated trilogy fight are growing louder than ever. McGregor himself took to instagram on Tuesday to congratulate his nemesis and let him know that he'll be prepared "if we go again."
The full message reads:
"3 years to the day myself and this Mexican warrior went to war. Congrats on the win this weekend Nate, it was motivating to see it for my own comeback. I don’t blame you not mentioning me for the trilogy bout post fight, you know what I’m like when I get going. Vicious. I loved the round 3 style from round 1 that you implemented. It’s what I was hoping you would implement for this bout and was glad to see you do it. I’ll be prepared for it when we go again. If we go again. If not, respect always. A war for the ages. No bitch talk. Just real shit."
As noted by Conor, Diaz didn't address the trilogy following his win over Pettis. Instead, Diaz called for a fight against one of the top-ranked Welterweights, Jorge Masvidal, who promptly accepted.
Fight fans will surely shell out the money for a Diaz vs Masvidal card, but UFC President Dana White knows that McGregor vs Diaz III would break the box office. It'll be interesting to see what's next for all involved now that The Stockton Slugger is back in action.