Conor McGregor has been catching some flack from the MMA world regarding his UFC 303 withdrawal due to a broken toe, but former foe Nate Diaz has defended the Irishman’s decision.
Conor McGregor was scheduled to make his eagerly anticipated comeback to the Octagon this coming Saturday at UFC 303 to take on Michael Chandler, after three years away from action.
Despite that, the former two-weight world champion withdrew just a few weeks out from the June 29 date after breaking his toe in training.
Nate Diaz defends Conor McGregor over UFC 303 withdrawal criticism
Following the Irishman’s withdrawal, current UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, criticised the 35-year-old for pulling out because of a broken toe.
“You don’t need a pinkie toe for a fight lol. Chicken.” Makhachev posted on X.
The Russian wasn’t the only one with harsh words towards McGregor, as current featherweight king, Ilia Topuria, was also critical of the 35-year-old’s decision to withdraw from his comeback.
“You are mentally broken. That is your biggest lesson. You doubt yourself, your abilities, your preparation, that’s why you don’t show up. You are a b****.” the 27-year-old stated.
Former rival, Nate Diaz, has defended the 35-year-old following the criticism, stating that it is a minor thing that has been made into a bigger deal than it needed to.
“I think it’s just a minor thing and they’re making a bigger deal out of it than it is,” Diaz told MMAJunkie.
“Good idea (to pull out), if I got f***** up I would like to push the fight back too, but people f****** freak out. I wouldn’t want to fight till I’m 100% ready to rock too because in the past I’ve done all kinds of s*** I shouldn’t have done.
“I think he learnt from experience and all these inexperienced people out there are talking s***,” Diaz added.
Diaz still hopeful of settling his rivalry with McGregor
Diaz and McGregor’s rivalry began back in 2016 when the Stockton Brawler stepped in on late notice to fight the Irishman, after Rafael dos Anjos withdrew from their scheduled fight. The 39-year-old pulled off the monumental upset by submitting the then featherweight champion in the second round.
‘The Notorious’ got his revenge later that year in a rematch, setting up for a possible decider fight.
Despite that, Diaz left the UFC in 2022 to take up opportunity in the boxing world. He went on to fight internet sensation, Jake Paul, in a boxing bout, in which he lost, and he is now scheduled to box Jorge Masvidal on July 6 in a boxing fight.
However, Diaz is still hopeful that he can return to the UFC one day to finally settle his rivalry with McGregor, as the Irishman only has two fights left on his current UFC contract.
“We’ll see what happens with time, it depends on what happens with my fight, his fight, the UFC, I ain’t a fortune teller you know what I’m saying, but we’ll see what happens,” the 39-year-old stated.
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