That's one way to look at it. But relying on one other man to get you paid, isn't very Alpha is it? If Nate was really the draw that he thinks he is, then he should just fight anyone he wants and get paid. But he isn't. He's going to sleep every night, praying that Conor will pick him to fight next.
Nate knows he's not that big a draw.
He also knows he has 1 last shot at that kind of money, maybe 2 if he fights McGregor afterwards.
If he loses this fight, which is very likely, because he's fighting the champion of a higher division (when he couldn't even get the belt at his own division), then he loses bargaining power for the 3rd McGregor fight.
Nate is comfortable never fighting again, so he gets to make these kind of demands.
If the UFC had paid him accordingly throughout his career, he wouldn't be acting like this. They wanted to stick him on a 20/20 contract after losing his title shot to Benson, so now he's looking for his "reimbursement."
Nate is looking to wring the UFC out like a wet mop, just like they did to him.