Conor McGregor is happy to take credit for Nate Diaz’s rise in popularity and ability to command bigger paydays after “The Notorious” lost their UFC 196 fight in March in what many considered a surprising upset.

Diaz (19-10 MMA, 14-8 UFC), however, certainly doesn’t see it that way. Although he admits McGregor (19-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) represented a “shortcut” to where he wanted to be, Diaz has always believed in his star potential for both hardcore and mainstream fans. He knows he’s an entity people are interested in and want to watch, stemming all the way back to when he won “The Ultimate Fighter 5.” He just needed the company to get behind him.

He forced the UFC to do just that when he beat McGregor by second-round submission at UFC 196 to set up a landmark rematch at UFC 202, which goes down on Aug. 20 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Diaz has strong feelings about his position in the sport and believes he’s been underappreciated for a long time. He turned the tables when he won at UFC 196, though, and with power finally on his side, Diaz said he was going to use it to cash in.

“I was ahead of everybody as far as a following in the UFC: I was the biggest draw, I was the biggest everything in every weight class and then Conor came around and was the biggest draw, he was getting a big push, everybody was all about – the UFC was Conor McGregor,” Diaz said on the recent UFC 202 media conference call. “If I’m going to fight somebody, it’s going to be someone that’s a big deal. I’m not signing fights just to fight because I could make just as much money outside of the ring as in the ring. If you’re going to have a big fight, then I’ll fight, but I’m not going to (expletive) around no more.”

Although many haven’t started listening until recently, Diaz has always been a proponent for maximizing his value in the sport. He had a fallout with the UFC several years ago over a contract dispute but eventually found common ground. There hasn’t always been mutual satisfaction between fighter and promoter, but Diaz said always knew his goals and where he wanted to be.

Diaz made a disclosed salary of $500,000 for his UFC 196 victory over McGregor and likely cashed in on some other fight-related incentives, as well. McGregor has stated his rival would have never made close to that amount of money if the UFC 196 fight failed to come together, but that’s a notion Diaz finds impossible to get on board with, especially after making recent appearances on late-night talks shows such as”Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “Conan.”

One thing Diaz can admit is that beating McGregor expedited his process, and winning at UFC 202 would help even more. But in the end, Diaz said he would have got his one way or another and bashed fighters who don’t approach their careers through the same lens.

“They’re all (expletive) dumb,” Diaz said. “The guys are around me are (expletive) taking contracts. I’ve been bitching about my contract for the last six years. I’ve been going through hell. I knew I was going to get mine when it was time to get mine and I was going to get what I was going to get regardless, and I planned to do it. It’s not thanks to Conor that I got all of it. I’m going to say it was a shortcut.

“If I was stupid I wouldn’t have got to where I’m at. I did what I had to do, I got that fight with (Michael) Johnson, I plotted him out and I got my (expletive) down. Then they plotted back and got me on 10 days’ notice, and it still worked out, regardless. I asked for the fight, I got the fight, so I’m going to take the fight. I feel like I’m in the position I’m in because I put myself in this position and it is what it is. That’s my take on the whole situation. I wasn’t following the lead on making some money here. I was going to get my money regardless and I was going to get where I’m at regardless. But he was a shortcut.”

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