Nate Diaz did his best to rescue UFC 196 but to no avail

He called out The Notorious but got nothing in return.

In the aftermath of his win over Michael Johnson at UFC on FOX 17, Nate Diaz went with every gun blazing to lure Conor McGregor into a lightweight fight. Diaz turned the air blue as he declared he was the only man capable of shutting McGregor down. His rant was eventually cut short due to the amount of expletives he threw out. In the days after his impressive victory, Diaz claimed he had got his wish to fight the Dubliner. He claimed:

"[Dana White] said it's on! We're going to do this. "Hell yeah (UFC bosses) want it. Everybody wants that fight... If people want to see a real fight, they know who to call."

Diaz' claims fell on deaf ears as McGregor got his wish of a lightweight title fight with Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196. McGregor did address the Diaz situation at the UFC 197 [it has since been changed to 196] press conference and praised the Stockton native for shedding his recent sloppiness to get back on the winning track. The impression McGregor gave, however, would be that Diaz would have to get in line. Diaz may not get a shot at McGregor now until later this year so it comes as no surprise that he offered to rescue the ailing UFC 196 [now Fight Night: Hendricks v Thompson]. According to Bloody Elbow, Diaz told the UFC he would step in at short notice to fight Anthony Pettis in a lightweight headliner. The promotion declined Diaz's offer and, instead, opted to demote the February 6 event to Fight Night status but that does not mean Diaz and Pettis is up in smoke. Such a fight could still take place at UFC 197 or 198.