Nate Diaz has a message for Ilia Topuria — and it is about as Nate Diaz as it gets.
“"He's a punching bag. He called me a punching bag, he's a f*cking punching bag. He got his ass whooped."”
Speaking at the launch event for Scott Coker's new Ki MMA promotion on Monday, Diaz was asked about Topuria, and specifically about the "punching bag" insult the former two-division champion had once aimed at him. Diaz flipped it back with no hesitation.
"I don't really give a fck about what they do, but Ilia is lame as fck," Diaz told MMA Junkie. "He's a punching bag. He called me a punching bag, he's a f*cking punching bag. He got his ass whooped."
But Diaz didn't stop at the insult. He also questioned the hype machine that carried Topuria to the top, comparing his rise to the way Conor McGregor was promoted early in his career. "They made a big deal out of him just like they did out of Conor when he started coming (up), getting an early pump up before you've been in a real fight," Diaz said. "So, that's what happened to him when he got into a real fight with Justin Gaethje. Now look at you."
A loss that changed everything
Diaz's timing is not accidental. Topuria's aura of invincibility was shattered in June at UFC Freedom 250, when Justin Gaethje battered him into a fourth-round stoppage loss at the White House, taking the lightweight title and handing Topuria the first defeat of his professional career. It was a brutal one. Gaethje broke both of Topuria's orbital bones, and the Georgian-Spaniard's corner stopped the fight after Round 4.
Topuria had entered that fight 17-0, with consecutive knockout wins over Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway, and Alexander Volkanovski — a run that had drawn legitimate comparisons to McGregor's two-division tear. Diaz knows that arc better than anyone. He famously handed McGregor his first UFC loss back in 2016, and he clearly sees Topuria as another hype train that hit the wall of a real fight.
Topuria, for his part, has had trouble accepting the loss. He recently accused Gaethje of loading his gloves — a claim officials rejected after confirming inspectors had checked them — and is lobbying for an immediate rematch. Gaethje, meanwhile, has dismissed the idea, saying the former champion is simply too small for 155 pounds.
Diaz isn't done fighting
The 41-year-old was never going to attend a Coker event just to make small talk. Diaz confirmed he would fight for Ki MMA if the opportunity arose — particularly if the fights take place in a ring rather than a cage. "100%, especially if there's a ring involved," he said, adding that the ring changes the geometry of a fight entirely.
Diaz said he wants to fight at least twice in 2027, and he's open to multiple promotional options, including what he described as a freelance-style return to the UFC. He wrote off a Mike Perry rematch for now, saying their paths have diverged since their bout at MVP MMA 1, though he made clear he plans to settle that score eventually.
Is Nate Diaz being brutally honest — or is this just another fighter enjoying the moment when a rival finally loses? Either way, the message is clear: Nate Diaz has not forgotten what Ilia Topuria said about him.
