Anthony Pettis: I definitely want to kick Nate Diaz's ass, but he had his chance

UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis is more than happy to kick Nate Diaz‘s ass, but he’s having a hard time understanding why the scrappy 209er didn’t speak up when he had his chance.

“I definitely want to kick his ass,” Pettis said about Diaz. “Anybody in my weight class, I want to kick that ass. But man, he had his chance. I was on the show with him for seven weeks. I seen him everyday, and he didn’t say anything. So once the show is over, he wants to talk afterward? It doesn’t matter.”

Pettis (17-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) recently served as coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 20,” where he appeared opposite current UFC lightweight No. 1 contender Gilbert Melendez (22-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC). Diaz (17-9 MMA, 12-7 UFC) was one of Melendez’s assistant coaches, and the former Strikeforce champ recently told MMAjunkie Radio there was more tension between Pettis and Diaz than between the head coaches.

“He’s such a cholo, bro,” Melendez said of Diaz. “He don’t smile one bit; he don’t say hi to nobody. I like having him around; he has a great intimidation factor. He’s all business. He’s always ready to go.

“Most people just give him his space. They don’t want to call his bluff. (He would say about fighting Pettis), ‘Whenever you want, Gil, you let me know.’ I’m like, ‘Nah, Nate, it’s cool.’”

But Pettis remains unimpressed.

“He had seven weeks to say something,” Pettis said. “He didn’t say anything, so that’s what it is.”

Pettis, who was speaking at a weekend Q&A session in California, also addressed a potential rematch with Donald Cerrone, as well as the possibility of fighting Jose Aldo, Khabib Nurmagomedov and more. Check out the video above for the highlights.

And for more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.