Diaz: Mayweather vs McGregor talk is just a 'publicity stunt'

Nate Diaz believes talk of a boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather has been created to distract fans from the fact he beat the Irishman in March.

Diaz submitted the UFC featherweight champion in the second round of a welterweight fight at UFC 196, and was supposed to fight McGregor again at UFC 200 in July before the bout was cancelled.

But while rumours have swirled that the Irishman will take on Mayweather in a boxing ring, Diaz has confirmed that the UFC and McGregor are keen on a rematch at UFC 202 on August 20.

'I hear all this Mayweather-McGregor s***, and I feel like that's just a big old publicity stunt to hide the fact that he got his a** whooped,' Diaz said of McGregor on The MMA Hour.

'It's rumors somebody is letting out, because they're both benefiting off each other's fan-bases and they're both building off of it.

'They don't care if it happens or not, they're both winning right now from the talk even happening. That's the truth about what's really going.

'The media is working their way and they're loving it. They're probably having dinner together every night.'

UFC president Dana White and the promotion's CEO Lorenzo Fertitta met with Diaz in Stockton, California on Friday to discuss a McGregor rematch but according to the 31-year-old Gracie Jiu Jitsu fighter they are yet to meet his demands.

McGregor claims that the first fight between the pair was the biggest pay-per-view event the UFC has ever put on, and Diaz wants a bigger slice of the pie this time around.

'We finished talking and then we walked out. It wasn't the worst meeting. It wasn't the best meeting but it wasn't the worst meeting either,' Diaz said of his dinner with White and Fertitta.

'(I said) "It seems like this is a pretty big deal, so can I be compensated for this?" They weren't the happiest about that, but they're not talking to me about it right now, so we're working on it and we're going to get it figured out.'

McGregor met with the UFC last week for the first time since being removed from UFC 200 for not turning up to a press conference in Las Vegas.

The 27-year-old featherweight champion told ESPN they had a 'good conversation' and that they still have a 'good relationship'.