Conor McGregor says he wants to complete his trilogy against Nate Diaz at UFC 237 in Brazil in May – after MMA legend Anderson Silva called out Nick Diaz to fight on the same card.
Silva, 43, returned to the octagon after a two-year hiatus at UFC 234 in Melbourne on Sunday, where he lost a unanimous points decision against middleweight kickboxng sensation Israel Adesanya, 29, over three rounds.
That bout had been promoted to the main event after middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was forced out with injury just hours before he was due to face Kelvin Gastelum.
READ MORE: Adesanya outguns Silva as replacement main event entertains at UFC 234
After his defeat to Adesnaya, which came following three rounds of crowd-pleasing action and some stunning striking, Silva spoke on where he goes from here.
“I think it makes sense for me and Nick Diaz to fight in Curitiba [Brazil],” he said.
Silva and Diaz, 35, faced off in 2015, with ‘The Spider’ originally winning by unanimous decision before the bout was ruled a no contest as both failed drug tests.
The call-out prompted McGregor to issue Nick Diaz’s younger brother Nate with a challenge to meet on the same card in Brazil in May.
“Book it [Anderson Silva v Nick Diaz]. I’ll fight Nate on the same card,” the Irish former ‘champ champ’ wrote.
UFC’s Curitiba show is planned for May 11 at Arena da Baixada, which would come just over a month after McGregor’s suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission expires over the post-fight brawl which marred his defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.
McGregor and Nate Diaz famously met twice in 2016, when Diaz shocked the Irishman with a second-round submission win in the first fight before McGregor exacted revenge with a majority decision win five months later. Diaz has not fought in the octagon since.
McGregor had earlier paid tribute to Anderson as he did battle with Adesnaya, saying it would be “an honor” to meet the Brazilian in the octagon.
Whether McGregor’s wishes coincide with those of the UFC remains to be seen, with promotion boss Dana White saying earlier in the week that he foresaw the Irishman taking on Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in the summer.
Also on rt.com ‘We want Conor v Cerrone in summer, Ferguson is no.1 contender for Khabib’ – UFC chief Dana WhiteCerrone himself hinted ahead of UFC 234 in Melbourne that he would meet McGregor for the interim lightweight title this summer.
McGregor was clearly following all the action Down Under as he took a potshot at Kevin Gastelum, whose main event fight with Robert Whittaker was canceled after the Aussie withdrew through an abdominal injury late on Saturday.
READ MORE: UFC 234: Robert Whittaker RULED OUT of title defense against Kelvin Gastelum with hernia
Gastelum was seen parading around the Rod Laver Arena with a UFC belt – which it later emerged belonged to flyweight champ Henry Cejudo – prompting confusion over whether he had actually been installed as middleweight king after Whittaker’s withdrawal.
Dana White later insisted Whittaker was still champion, while McGregor launched a ferocious invective at US fighter Gastelum for his antics.
Gastelum hit back by simply writing: “Come take it off. Little p****!”