This is a fight that MMA fans will be baying to see.
Nate Diaz is back after three years out of Mixed Martial Arts and he has already given himself a belt.
The Stockton native won a unanimous decision over Anthony Pettis at UFC 241 and Dana White later declared him to be 'a needle mover'. Absence, and his two epic fights against Conor McGregor, has only seen his stock rise in recent years.
There was a bout against Dustin Poirier that fell by the wayside, as did Diaz featuring in a four-man tournament for the lightweight belt, and Diaz' attempts to get a 165lbs division going hit the skids too.
Getting the urge to re-enter the Octagon again, Diaz vowed to return if he got to pick the opponents he felt were capable of putting on a show. He turned, then, to 'Showtime' Pettis and while he ate some lusty strikes, his range and ability to keep pressing forward won him the bout.
https://twitter.com/btsportufc/status/1162942854777442304
After having his hand raised - winning 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 on the judges' scorecards - Diaz spoke to Joe Rogan. The Californian went so far as to give himself a belt and welcoming the very best to take a run at him. He declared:
"With this belt, I want to defend it against… Jorge Masvidal had a good last fight.
"Good last fight. All respect to the man, but there ain’t no gangsters in this game anymore. There ain’t nobody who does it right but me and him.
"So I know my man’s a gangster, but he ain’t no West Coast gangster."
Masvidal was in the UFC 241 crowd and he definitely seemed to enjoy the call-out:
https://youtu.be/iM4vFyCv12Y
Interestingly, there was not a singe mention of McGregor,
who has spoken of his desire to have a trilogy fight with Diaz some day. 'The Notorious' is often active on social media for big fight nights but steered clear for this event.
White, the UFC president, told reporters after that a Nate Diaz versus Jorge Masvidal bout would certainly be something the promotion would be interested in. Let's hope we don't have to wait three more years for that one.
