Nate Diaz (photo via UFC)

By FCF Staff

Following Nate Diaz’s loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 202, the fighter reported he was dealing with injuries during his camp, and now the Stockton fighter’s boxing coach has opened up about the situation.

Diaz was decisioned by McGregor on August 20th, which followed his submission win over the latter back in March. After the defeat Diaz reported that his preparation for the second bout had been hindered by rib and knee injuries. Recently Diaz’s boxing coach, Richard Perez, appeared on Submission Radio. During the segment, Perez said that Diaz’s injuries were “bad”, and that further (quote via MMA Fighting.com):

“So he can’t back out of the fight. And so I know that if he wouldn’t have been injured, McGregor would have gotten stopped again and Nathan wouldn’t have got hit as much as he did in that first round this last time. Because he was really sharp. He was sparring with guys McGregor’s size, really good boxers and he was whooping on them. So that’s why I knew it wouldn’t happen that way. But it did, and it came out as the best fight of the night. But he got cut, you know, and if there would have been another 30 seconds, he would have tapped him out, cause McGregor was ready to go anyway.”

Perez also called for a rubber match between the two to get booked. Although McGregor has said that he’s interested in a third fight with Diaz, the Irish star also believes that the bout should take place further down the line. UFC President Dana White has also said that a third fight will not come next.