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UFC Veteran Says Money Is The Real Reason Nate Diaz Won’t Fight Conor McGregor In UFC
Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz (Photo by Imagn Images)

UFC Veteran Says Money Is The Real Reason Nate Diaz Won’t Fight Conor McGregor In UFC

Originally posted on Total Pro Sports  |  By Pavan Sharma  |  Last updated Apr 14, 2026 2:50 PM ET
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UFC Veteran Matt Brown has been around the fight business for a long time. He knows how to look past the bigger talk and get to the real reason behind most decisions in combat sports: the money. On a possible Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor trilogy, Brown said the Netflix fight paid more than the UFC offer, and that’s the whole story.

According to Brown, money is the main reason Diaz is not taking the UFC matchup at the moment. He says Diaz likely received an offer that was too good to turn down, which is why he leans toward believing Dana White’s side of the story.

At the same time, Brown also admits there may be details in the contract that people on the outside do not know yet. Even with that, his main belief is that Diaz is earning more from the Netflix deal than he would inside the UFC.

“He is making more money with this Netflix fight than he would with the UFC. And that’s all there is to it. That’s why he’s not fighting Conor in the UFC. He got again, I lean towards believing Dana on this, right? He got an offer that he couldn’t refuse,” Brown said.

In terms of the fight itself, a trilogy between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor is easily one of the biggest matchups that could pull in millions of fans. Both fighters have iconic names and loyal fanbases. That is why money seems like the only real reason to choose a Mike Perry fight over a McGregor matchup.

David Feldman Says Mike Perry vs. Nate Diaz Would’ve Been A Different Level In Bare-Knuckle

Feldman believes the Diaz vs. Perry fight would have been much bigger in bare-knuckle. He feels the style fits both fighters well because they both like to fight aggressively. In his view, the hype would have been much bigger, and the fight could have turned into a brutal bare-knuckle war.

“100 percent better [in bare-knuckle]. Just announcing it as a bare-knuckle fight, it would have got 10 times the hype that it got, and it got a lot of hype, don’t get me wrong. It’s different and people want to see it in bare-knuckle. That would have been it. You talk about a bloodbath, that was a bloodbath,” Diaz said.

The idea that it was an offer he could not refuse makes the situation pretty clear. It shows that Diaz made a smart business decision, while also suggesting that the bigger story around choosing the Perry fight may be getting more attention than it really deserves.

This article first appeared on Total Pro Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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