Chael Sonnen: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 3 will never happen in UFC

Chael Sonnen thinks the ship has officially sailed on a trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz happening in the UFC. Diaz (21-13 MMA, 16-11 UFC) revealed during a recent interview with Theo Von that he was in negotiations with the UFC to make a return to the promotion, with the long-awaited rubber match with McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) being a focal point. Diaz wanted to fight Charles Oliveira for the BMF title instead, then when he was offered a fight against Mike Perry for May 16 on Netflix, he opted to accept that instead .

Moreover, Diaz said he wasn't interested in facing McGregor because he wanted to complete the trilogy "when we're both on the uprise, not when someone's dying out. " His willingness to pass on such an opportunity came as a surprise to many, but not Sonnen, who knows Diaz and his mentality well. "Nate Diaz lives by a code, and you're not going to get around it," Sonnen told MMA Junkie.

"You're not going to bribe him, you're not going to pressure him. He lives by a code. It just gets complicated, but this is not a negotiation tactic by him.

He's serious (when he says), 'I don't want to fight Conor, Conor's been out for five years and by the way he's got a leg injury. Let him get back, get a win and then I'll come in. ' He wants to fight Charles Oliveira.