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Why Nate Diaz Will Not Join BKFC 'Right Now'

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Jaren Kawada | Last updated Oct 2, 2025 8:00 AM ET

As much as David Feldman would love to see Nate Diaz in the BKFC ring, he believes there is only one fight that can make it happen.

Since Diaz left the UFC in 2022, he has gone 1-1 as a professional boxer. As much as his fighting style seems to align with bare-knuckle boxing, he knows that his body is not cut out for that type of fight, according to Feldman.

However, Feldman believes that a third fight with Conor McGregor would convince him to take the gloves off.

"We talked to Nate a few times," Feldman said on 'The Ariel Helwani Show.' "He just literally said, 'Look, I have too much scar tissue for this right now.' But I think if it was Conor McGregor on the other side of that ring, he would take it."

“We’ve talked to Nate Diaz a few times. He literally said, ‘Look, I have too much scar tissue for this right now.’ But I think if it were Conor McGregor on the other side of that ring, he would take it.”

Could we see Conor McGregor x Nate Diaz in @bareknucklefc? pic.twitter.com/203y0s7C6Q
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 1, 2025

McGregor and Diaz went 1-1 in the UFC and were never able to settle the rivalry with a trilogy bout. Diaz's submission victory over McGregor at UFC 196 remains one of the biggest upsets in promotional history, while the second fight was one of its highest-grossing events.

After McGregor won the rematch, the UFC opted to throw him back into the title picture. 'The Notorious' would go on to make history with a flawless victory over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, leaving Diaz in the dust.

Although the rivalry is now nearly a decade old, it has not lost much of its luster. While neither fighter is in his athletic prime anymore, perpetual trash talk has kept the spark alive.

Conor McGregor continues to insist on impending BKFC debut

Since becoming a part-owner of the BKFC in April 2024, McGregor has insisted that he will fight for the promotion. He still has two fights remaining on his UFC contract, which he intends to fulfill before making his bare-knuckle debut.

McGregor was supposed to end a three-year layoff against Michael Chandler at UFC 303, but a broken toe kept him sidelined. He is now claiming that he will face Chandler at the well-documented White House fight card on July 4, 2026.

Diaz, who has not fought since picking up his first professional boxing victory over Jorge Masvidal in July 2024, remains a free agent. Since fighting out of his UFC contract, he has refrained from signing multi-fight deals.

If McGregor ever transitions to bare-knuckle boxing, it will likely not be for a few years. The UFC has worked well with the BKFC before, but the situation changes when it comes to the most popular fighter in MMA history.

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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