American UFC fighter Nate Diaz has suggested he is responsible for the recent resurgence in the popularity of mixed martial arts ahead of Conor McGregor's upcoming fight with Donald Cerrone.
The Notorious will take on 'Cowboy' Cerrone on January 19 in the Irishman's first appearance in the Octagon since he was beaten by Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.
Khabib is set to face Tony Ferguson in April before the tantalising possibility of a rematch between McGregor and the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion.
With much of the talk dominated by the two men, however, Diaz reacted angrily on social media by posting: "Don't act like I didn't kick this whole fight s*** back in gear...", in what would appear to be a reference to his achievements in 2019.
Diaz beat Anthony Pettis in August before being defeated by Jorge Masvidal in November in a huge fight in New York which even saw the attendance of President Donald Trump.
There was a mixed response to Diaz's tweet, with one user responding "You're not wrong" and another adding "You are the only reason I still watch MMA."
Some were more sceptical, however, with one pointing out "You have 12 losses" and another saying "It isn't 2006."
Meanwhile Khabib's manager Ali Abdelaziz has played down the chances of a rematch between his client and McGregor.
He told TMZ: "Listen, Dana [White] is the greatest promoter in history, (and) I respect the man very much.
“He has to make people care about Conor and by mentioning Khabib’s name, he is making Conor more relevant.
"It’s OK, he promotes, he can do whatever [but] Khabib has a plan, Dana has a plan, Sometimes we’ll get upset, sometimes we’ll agree, but business moves on.
“But Conor’s not on our radar. He might lose to ‘Cowboy,’ as far as I understand. I think he might lose.”
