Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz trilogy 'permanently cancelled' after UFC 'decision'

UFC fans hoping to see the long-awaited trilogy between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz may forever be left disappointed.

McGregor and Diaz last locked horns back in August 2016 with the Irishman taking a unanimous decision victory after a five-round slugfest at UFC 202.

In doing so, the former UFC featherweight champion avenged his submission defeat to Diaz and the pair were widely expected to compete again to settle the score in what would be one of the biggest bouts in UFC history.

However, McGregor instead went on to fight Eddie Alvarez to win the UFC lightweight championship before suffering defeats against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier as well as pursuing a boxing fight with Floyd Mayweather.

Diaz continued to fight with the UFC, losing against Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards, before ending his contract following a win against Tony Ferguson in order to fight Jake Paul in a boxing bout.

McGregor defeated Diaz via unanimous decision at UFC 202 (Getty)

The American’s return to mixed-martial-arts was finally confirmed this week as part of the Most Valuable Promotion’s Netflix card headlined by Ronda Rousey’s return against Gina Carano. Diaz will face fellow MMA veteran Mike Perry in a triple headliner alongside Francis Ngannou.

Diaz’s decision to return with Paul’s MVP promotion might have cost him the chance to ever compete in the UFC, according to respected MMA journalist Luke Thomas.

Ariel Helwani confirmed Diaz was in discussions with the UFC over returning to the promotion prior to the Perry fight being announced and Thomas claims Diaz’s decision to sign with the UFC’s rivals means the door is now permanently closed on any future return.

Thomas wrote on X: “The way I heard it, Diaz taking this fight closes the door on a UFC return completely. “So whatever Diaz is making or planning for future fights, he’s doing so knowing there’s no UFC homecoming possible now.”

He added in a further post: “I think they're mad at him for taking the Jake Paul fight and then passing them over to go do this show is, as I understand, something they won't look back from.”

McGregor still has two fights remaining on his current fight deal and has been tipped to finally make his return this year after missing out on the White House card.

The 37-year-old was slated to fight Michael Chandler in 2024 but withdrew from the bout for the first time in his fighting career through injury and hasn’t been rebooked since.