UFC Fighter Goes on Profane Rant Live on Fox

Nate Diaz did the Marquess of Queensberry proud on Fox Saturday night. Then he infuriated Miss Manners.

“F— that,” Diaz told interviewer Joe Rogan on the live broadcast on the Fox network. “Conor McGregor, you’re taking everything I worked for, motherf—er. I’m gonna fight your f—ing ass.

“You know what’s the real fight, what’s the real money fight? Me. Not these clowns that you already punked at the press conference. Ain’t nobody wants to see that. You know you can beat them already. It’s an easy fight. You want the real s—: Right here.”

Fox censors, perhaps knowing the younger brother of the Stockton Bad Boy’s penchant for bad language, sensibly kept their fingers on mute. Viewers at home heard mostly silence as they watched the not-ready-for-primetime puncher histrionically deliver an impromptu speech that might have left those on the couch speechless if only the network-employed bowdlerizers had let him speak.

Diaz exhibited elite boxing in a unanimous decision victory over Michael Johnson, whose head snapped back from numerous blows from his opponent. But his conduct in the cage also foreshadowed his vulgar language after the fight. Diaz pointed at his opponent after clocking him, hit him with an open-hand slap, and even folded his arms in ridicule at one point during the fight. As the horn sounded the coda to the combat, Diaz slapped a kneebar on his opponent as he celebrated. Johnson, upset with the antics, kicked Diaz in frustration before the referee took control of the post-match match.

Irish superstar Conor McGregor looks to capture the lightweight title after defeating Jose Aldo in 13 seconds earlier this month at UFC 194 to win the featherweight belt. Diaz, smelling money and offering a standup style pleasing to King Conor, called out the Irishman in his triumphant return to the octagon after a year away.

The 18-10 Diaz boasts victories over Cowboy Cerrone, Takanori Gomi, and Gray Maynard. But his performances in recent losses to Rafael dos Anjos, who successfully defended his lightweight title against Cerrone on Saturday, and Josh Thompson looked lackluster. The man, like his mouth, comes across as predictably unpredictable and consistently erratic.

He may not be Conor McGregor’s match in the cage. But mean-mugging Nate Diaz, unlike almost everyone else on the UFC roster, stands as the smiling Irishman’s equal in trash talking.