‘We ain’t going nowhere’ – Nate Diaz supremely confident he and Conor McGregor will complete their trilogy despite his impending UFC departure

Nate Diaz is 100 per cent sure that he and Conor McGregor will complete their trilogy, even though he is expected to leave the UFC after one final fight.

The MMA legend will complete his current UFC contract this weekend when he takes on Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round, non-title fight at UFC 279 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

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After 15 years with the promotion, Diaz is now excited about exploring what promises to be a lucrative free agency.

In the eyes of many, though, Diaz’s impending departure from the UFC seriously reduces the likelihood of a third McGregor fight, but the 37-year-old disagrees with that notion.

“The timing’s not on right now. We’ll worry about that later. It’s for sure going to happen at some point,” Diaz told  

“He needs to get back on what he’s got to do, whatever that is. It’s like, when we match up, we’re going to match up. But we ain’t going nowhere.”

‘Notorious’ seems down for the third fight with Diaz and even posted a clip of his rival's comments about their next scrap to Instagram.

McGregor and Diaz first fought in a short-notice match-up at UFC 196 in 2015.

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The featherweight champion entered the bout a huge favourite and in the first round, it was clear why as he was piecing up his opponent on the feet and seemed to be on his way to another big victory.

Things quickly changed in round two as the UFC legend was unable to get rid of Diaz despite throwing everything at him. McGregor became tired before getting wobbled by a punch and shooting for an ill-advised takedown.

Diaz native let off some ground strikes and synched up a rear-naked choke submission – he’d won against the odds – before delivering a memorable four-word reaction to the biggest win of his career: ‘I’m not surprised, motherf******'.

An immediate rematch followed, and this time McGregor was much more prepared for the durability of his opponent.

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The 34-year-old landed often, dropped Diaz several times and survived some tricky moments to bounce back with a majority decision win.

Now, McGregor is on the sidelines and has been for more than a year after suffering a catastrophic leg injury at UFC 264 in July 2021.

The Irishman, who is expected to make his eagerly anticipated comeback in the first quarter of 2023 has already announced his intention to compete at welterweight – the same weight as Diaz – when he returns to the Octagon.