Conor McGregor has been catching some flack from the MMA world relating to his UFC 303 withdrawal as a consequence of a damaged toe, however former foe Nate Diaz has defended the Irishman’s determination.
Conor McGregor was scheduled to make his eagerly anticipated comeback to the Octagon this coming Saturday at UFC 303 to tackle Michael Chandler, after three years away from motion.
Regardless of that, the previous two-weight world champion withdrew only a few weeks out from the June 29 date after breaking his toe in coaching.
Nate Diaz defends Conor McGregor over UFC 303 withdrawal criticism
Following the Irishman’s withdrawal, present UFC light-weight champion, Islam Makhachev, criticised the 35-year-old for pulling out due to a damaged toe.
“You don’t want a pinkie toe for a combat lol. Hen.” Makhachev posted on X.
The Russian wasn’t the one one with harsh phrases in the direction of McGregor, as present featherweight king, Ilia Topuria, was additionally vital of the 35-year-old’s determination to withdraw from his comeback.
“You’re mentally damaged. That’s your largest lesson. You doubt your self, your talents, your preparation, that’s why you don’t present up. You’re a b****.” the 27-year-old said.
Former rival, Nate Diaz, has defended the 35-year-old following the criticism, stating that it’s a minor factor that has been made into a much bigger deal than it wanted to.
“I feel it’s only a minor factor and so they’re making a much bigger deal out of it than it’s,” Diaz instructed MMAJunkie.
“Good thought (to tug out), if I bought f***** up I wish to push the combat again too, however individuals f****** freak out. I wouldn’t wish to combat until I’m 100% able to rock too as a result of previously I’ve achieved all types of s*** I shouldn’t have achieved.
“I feel he learnt from expertise and all these inexperienced individuals on the market are speaking s***,” Diaz added.
Diaz nonetheless hopeful of settling his rivalry with McGregor
Diaz and McGregor’s rivalry started again in 2016 when the Stockton Brawler stepped in on late discover to combat the Irishman, after Rafael dos Anjos withdrew from their scheduled combat. The 39-year-old pulled off the monumental upset by submitting the then featherweight champion within the second spherical.
‘The Infamous’ bought his revenge later that yr in a rematch, organising for a attainable decider combat.
Regardless of that, Diaz left the UFC in 2022 to take up alternative within the boxing world. He went on to combat web sensation, Jake Paul, in a boxing bout, wherein he misplaced, and he’s now scheduled to field Jorge Masvidal on July 6 in a boxing combat.
Nonetheless, Diaz remains to be hopeful that he can return to the UFC at some point to lastly settle his rivalry with McGregor, because the Irishman solely has two fights left on his present UFC contract.
“We’ll see what occurs with time, it relies on what occurs with my combat, his combat, the UFC, I ain’t a fortune teller what I’m saying, however we’ll see what occurs,” the 39-year-old said.
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