Nate Diaz Turned Down A Movie Role; Conor McGregor Took It

Nate Diaz has revealed that he turned down the chance to star in ‘Road House’ alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. 

The film set a record for the most streamed film on Amazon Prime Video, bringing in around 50 million viewers globally in just the first two weeks since its March 21, 2024, release. Conor McGregor took the role, as The Notorious played the character of Knox, while Gyllenhaal played Elwood Dalton, who was a bouncer at a roundhouse at a Florida Keys. However, Diaz has stated that he could have starred in it.

Diaz is one of the biggest names in the UFC. However, he has not had a fight since beating Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 in 2022. Since then, he has had two boxing fights. He suffered a unanimous decision loss to Jake Paul on his boxing debut. He bounced back with a majority decision win against Jorge Masvidal in his next boxing fight. The win avenged his UFC 244 loss in 2019. Although Diaz has said he wants to return to the UFC, he had the chance to pursue an acting career. Diaz, though, turned it down as he did not want to star as someone who would lose a fight in the movie. 

Diaz Reacts

“I was supposed to do Conor McGregor’s part in ‘Road House’. That was my part but I was like, ‘I’m not fighting, I’m not going in there and losing a fight’. I seen the original ‘Road House’. I’m like, ‘So I’m the main bad guy, I’m supposed to fight. Okay, who’s the Patrick Swayze then?’ And they said it was Jake Gyllenhaal and I’m like, ‘I ain’t going in no movie and losing to no ‘Brokeback Mountain’. I’m good.’” “I’m like, ‘I can’t see it, I can’t do it. I ain’t losing to nobody in no fight,” Diaz said 

Elsewhere, Diaz has been linked with a trilogy against McGregor. Their current record stands at 1-1. Diaz won the first fight at UFC 196 via a second-round submission, while McGregor got his revenge in the rematch at UFC 202 via a majority decision. Nate has now called for a third fight, putting the ball in McGregor’s court as doubts remain over the Irishman’s UFC future.