Even after his big victory over Conor Mcgregor, Nate Diaz expresses frustration with UFC and fans.

Nate Diaz earned what many are considering the biggest win of his career at UFC 196. His upset submission victory over Conor McGregor immediately moved the needle in a way that positively impacted his earning potential and cult following. However, Diaz still doesn’t seem too thrilled with his new position in the organization. In fact, his recent comments speak towards frustration with fans and the UFC as a whole.

“I feel like, honest, I feel like the UFC wants to weed me the f— out of this position,” Diaz told Brett Okamoto of ESPN. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to say that. Sorry. I feel like a lot of people are coming at me now. I see them making a lot of excuses for him, and I think it’s kind of ridiculous.”

His comments continued to express disdain with not only his employer but the fans who support mixed martial arts as a whole.

“I don’t think it’s just the UFC,” Diaz said. “It’s everybody. People are saying, ‘Oh, [McGregor] is great, he’s accepted the loss so well.’ If I would have lost, people would be saying, ‘piece of s— shouldn’t have accepted the fight.’ I don’t mean to be bitter, but there are a lot of excuses being made for this guy. He’s talking about winning the first round. There are five rounds in a fight. Who gives a s— if you won a round? You lost.”

Since his defeat in the main event, McGregor has received praise from various personalities within sports. Diaz took the fight on short notice when Rafael dos Anjos pulled out due to injury and came into the bout an underdog. However, that didn’t stop him from submitting the featherweight champion with a rear naked choke in the second round.

The question now is where Diaz goes after this win. He defeated the 145-pound champion in a welterweight bout that doesn’t impact the ratings of either group. What he did do is prove that he’s a personality that captures the attention of fight fans, and he puts together exciting fights when the lights shine the brightest. He’s looking for a shot at the 155-pound title and a rematch with dos Anjos.

“I’m thinking probably the lightweight title fight, whatever is biggest,” Diaz said. “We’ll see how things play out. As far as rematches go, I lost close decisions and never got a rematch.”

This win gives Diaz the opportunity to demand much more from his employers. That’s exactly what the Stockton native is doing with his newfound stardom.

“I’m not asking for anything,” Diaz said. “I’m demanding more than everybody. I want more than everybody, straight up. Money talks. I want the biggest fight. Whoever I’ve got to fight — the biggest show, biggest payday — that’s what I want. I think they’re over exaggerating how much — I don’t feel like anybody did me any favors, I’ll tell you that much — but I made a good chunk of change and I’m grateful. I’ve been demanding that.”

It will be interesting to see how the UFC responds to this situation. More and more fighters are continuing to push for higher paydays for bigger bouts, and Diaz’s sentiments fall within those lines. He even went as far to hint at retirement if he’s not given the opportunity he deems worthy. He jokingly pointed toward retirement while speaking with Clarissa Thompson of Extra. Even though he was laughing, he’s stepped away from the sport for extended periods in the past when he did not get the offers he felt he deserved.