Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh has a date in mind for the third Nate Diaz fight.
Since the Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight on August 26th, Conor McGregor’s camp has been eyeing on one fighter for their next fight: Nate Diaz. It is a name that SBG Dublin head coach John Kavanagh had in mind all along, but he does not foresee this third fight happening in 2017.
Kavanagh does have other plans for the trilogy, and he revealed them in an interview during the recent Original Penguin AW17 collection launch.
“If it was my choice, and I must stress that this is only my choice and that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, it would be Nate Diaz in March,” Kavanagh said (via MMA Fighting). “That’s what I would push towards.”
“I have in my head that it would be a Paddy’s Day card in New York, Nate Diaz 3. I think that would be absolutely amazing. That’s what I would wish for. That’s what I’ll be leaning towards with my 0.1 percent influence when I meet with Conor and Audie (Attar) tomorrow. I want Diaz 3, Paddy’s Day in New York.”
McGregor has been repeatedly criticized for not wanting to defend his belts, and it has been a problem for many fighters since he held the featherweight title from 2015 to 2016. But according to Kavanagh, “The Notorious” is now in the position to choose his next opponent, notwithstanding the top contenders for the title, whom in theory, are more deserving of a fight.
“At this stage, I mention Diaz and people are shouting, ‘What about Khabib?’ or, ‘What about Tony?’ ... And there’s Kevin Lee and some other guys, (people say) ‘They’re due their shot!’”
“Really, Conor doesn’t have to do that anymore. He won the featherweight belt, interim and unified,” Kavanagh said. “He won the lightweight belt. At this stage he’s only doing fights because they’re fun. A big fight build-up and to win that — that will do for me anyway.”
“For a bunch of reasons (Diaz is the right fight). It’s not just about being the right guy — that’s all amateur level. This is professional and it’s about entertainment.”
