Nate Diaz labels Conor McGregor's boxing licence a 'publicity stunt' but wants to follow suit

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star Nate Diaz has labelled Conor McGregor attaining a boxing licence as a "publicity stunt" but admits that if the Irishman is granted permission to box from the UFC hierarchy, he will also follow suit and get his own licence.

The Irishman attained a licence earlier in the month amid talks of a possible fight against undefeated five division champion and now retired Floyd Mayweather. But the latter's manager made it clear that the fight is unlikely to happen as the UFC bosses will not allow him to step into a boxing ring and that his actions were merely to garner more fans.

McGregor hit back at those comments by stating that he will knock out Mayweather if they are ever in the ring together, but indicated that he was serious about moving from the octagon to the square ring. Diaz, who has beaten the current lightweight champion in the past is also keen to box and revealed that he unsuccessfully tried to buy out his UFC contracts to switch sports.

"I think the whole thing is a publicity stunt," Diaz said, as quoted by punditarena.com

"I'm going to get my boxing license in Cali and Nevada," Diaz told Seckbach. "I tried to get out of my UFC contract years ago. I had guys try to buy out my UFC contract so I could box — years ago. But the UFC wouldn't let me go. So I have been stuck in these contracts and stuff.

"Now [McGregor] is talking about this Mayweather stuff and it's getting all this hype, and I'm like 'Do your thing with Mayweather.' But if they let him out to box, then I'm boxing somebody too — somebody mainstream on the same card. Or another card — whatever," the Stockton-born fighter explained.

"But I'm not doing it for a publicity stunt, I'm doing it because I love the sport of boxing. I want to win, I want to win fights for real and get out of this MMA shit that I'm not even into anyway. I don't think they want me in there anyway, so I might as well stay out."