Nate Diaz's coach has welcomed the possibility of a third fight with Conor McGregor to settle the score once and for all. 

The American's long-time coach, Cesar Gracie, reckons Diaz would be willing to fight The Notorious for a third time as "he is motivated by fighting the best guys."

McGregor suffered the first loss of his UFC career at the hands of Diaz in front of a capacity crowd at the T-Mobile Arena but avenged the result five months later in a rematch.

Both fighters would then go their separate ways but a public feud on social media has kept their rivalry very much alive and the UFC have been keen to book a lucrative trilogy fight. 

The Irishman's next fight though will be in the weight class below against Dustin Poirier on July 24 at UFC 264 in Las Vegas. He has however previously expressed interest in fighting Diaz again as he bids to get his career back on track. 

When asked who he would like his star pupil to fight next, Gracie told MMA Fighting: “I would think the trilogy versus [Conor] McGregor.

"I know that Nate wants tough fights. He is motivated by fighting the best guys.”

Diaz, who recently lost to Leon Edwards, was called out by Demian Maia following his loss to Belal Muhammad. 

But Gracie didn't seem too keen on the idea. 

“I know there has been speculation on whether Nate will accept the fight with Demian Maia,” he added. “Although I have not yet talked to Nate about his thoughts on this fight, I can tell you that I am completely against the idea.

"Demian has been a great representative of Brazilian jiu-jitsu on the mat and in MMA. He has accomplished much and we all respect him.

"He is still a dangerous opponent but I don’t feel Nate has anything to gain from this fight.

“If he were to lose, he would be losing to a 44-year-old that is on his way out of the sport and if he won it would be to a 44-year-old man that is leaving the sport. It is a no-win situation.”

He did however extend an invitation for Maia to come and train with the Diaz brothers at the Nick Diaz Academy in Stockton, California. 

He continued: “We have actually reached out to someone close to Demian to set up some training with him and Nick Diaz.

“Nick and I discussed this as we watched Demian’s last fight. We thought it would benefit them both.

"I was surprised when Demian came out with his statement to fight Nate but I am still open to him training with us.”

Read more: Nate Diaz reacts to Nick Diaz's comeback speculation