They say money talks. But every once in a while, money walks to make way for something bigger. That’s what happened with Nate Diaz’s MMA return. UFC CEO Dana White had us believe that Diaz had an offer from Netflix that he ‘couldn’t refuse.’ This led to questions about the UFC’s financial pull, given that Netflix likely has much deeper pockets and could outbid the TKO brand on any given day. But, the Stockton star himself has now said that UFC made the bigger offer, but he left all that money on the table for a different reason!

Fans and analysts alike have questioned why ex-UFC star Nate Diaz would return to the cage under Jake Paul’s MVP promotion after retiring from MMA. Diaz started correcting the narrative there. He’s not fighting under MVP. He’s fighting for Netflix MMA and his own brand, Real Fight Inc. There’s a big difference between the two, and he wants you to know it.

Second, the refusal was not over the money the UFC offered, but rather the opponent they wanted him to face.

Speaking on comedian Theo Von’s podcast in his latest appearance, Nate Diaz revealed, “I wanna go back to the UFC,” Nate Diaz told Theo Von. “I had bigger offers from the UFC than I got from these guys [Netflix-MVP]. But the opponents weren’t the right opponents at the moment, and I believe everything in this fight game is timing.

“I think that if I went to the UFC, I wouldn’t have been fighting the fighters that I want to be fighting. I want to fight the best of the best. And if I am not gonna get that, then I am gonna find the biggest and the best I can.”

The Stockton native has stayed away from the sport for almost four years now, since leaving the UFC with a win over Tony Ferguson in 2022. He fought once each in 2023 and 2024, but in boxing, losing to Jake Paul first, and then beating Jorge Masvidal later.

Now, on May 16, he will step into the MMA cage again, against former UFC star Mike Perry in a five-round welterweight battle on the undercard of Rousey vs. Carano in LA. Still, many continue to push for his UFC return, and now he has finally addressed it.

Fighters like Islam Makhachev, Carlos Prates, and Michael Morales currently dominate the welterweight division. However, Diaz appears unconvinced that any of them present the kind of high-profile matchup he’s seeking, prompting him to walk away from the UFC’s offer.

Over the past few years, rumors circulated that the UFC and Nate Diaz were negotiating a new deal. In fact, even this month, veteran journalist Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC showed “interest” in bringing Nate Diaz back. However, follow-up reports claimed that Diaz declined the offer because the UFC abandoned the PPV system and moved to Paramount+ streaming, which limited his chance to earn additional revenue. Now we know that wasn’t the case. But there’s something to be explored here also.

Historically, Diaz has been one of the UFC’s biggest draws, particularly through his rivalry with Conor McGregor, with their two fights garnering close to 3 million PPV buys combined. With the promotion moving away from that model, Diaz has all the more reason to explore opportunities elsewhere. And he isn’t alone.

Ronda Rousey also declined a UFC return and instead joined MVP to face Gina Carano, while openly criticizing the new broadcast structure. McGregor, too, called for a new contract with terms adjusted to the new streaming model.

Despite the 40-year-old’s decision to go with Netflix and Jake Paul’s MVP, White has maintained there is no bad blood, recently stating that he is “happy” for the Stockton native. But the biggest reveal in the interview was not why Diaz turned down the UFC, but rather the UFC fighter he turned down.

Nate Diaz opens up on passing on the trilogy bout with Conor McGregor

In the same interview, Diaz also revealed that the UFC offered him a trilogy fight with Conor McGregor, an opportunity he chose to pass on. Diaz explained that timing once again played a role in his decision to decline the third fight.

“They want me to fight Conor McGregor right now,” Diaz said. “For me, Conor McGregor just—pull up his record, do we got his record? I know this, but I’m thinking about it, I’m like, Conor McGregor just—f–king lost to [Dustin] Poirier. He got knocked out on his a–… So Poirier knocks his a– out and then he breaks his leg, which is horrible… And then he gets his leg broken… We’re adversaries, but I’m like, ‘Bro, you broke your whole s–t.’ I don’t wish that on nobody.

“I go back to talk to the (UFC) about it and they’re all ready for me to come back and fight Conor. I’m like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, listen to what I’m talking about.’ I want to fight the best of the best when they are the best of the best. Conor’s great, but I’m not trying to go kill off Conor when he’s on his last dying f–king leg, literally. That’s f–ked up. I’m not trying to be the ending to some f–ker’s story like that.”

Right now, Nate Diaz hasn’t completely ruled out a fight with Conor McGregor. He just wants McGregor to get back in action first with a win, since the Irishman has been away from the sport since 2021. After that, Diaz plans to face him for the BMF belt if the UFC allows it.

This mentality was on full display the last time Diaz laced up his UFC gloves. He was set to fight Khamzat Chimaev at welterweight until ‘Borz’ missed weight and the card had to be restructured. Everyone wrote Diaz off in that bout, but he was willing to take on Chimaev when he was on a tear in the division.

Meanwhile, rumors continue to swirl about McGregor’s return, with talk of a possible clash against the reigning BMF champion, Charles Oliveira, or a rematch with Max Holloway headlining International Fight Week. Whether that materializes or eventually leads back to Nate Diaz remains one of the sport’s biggest questions right now.