After a disappointing outing against Jake Paul last year, Nate Diaz redeemed himself last weekend with an impressive win over Jorge Masvidal (watch highlights). The two UFC legends boxed it out over 10 rounds and threw nearly 1,400 punches during that time. Two judges thought Diaz’s punches and ring control were slightly more effective, earning him the majority decision.
And with that win, Diaz is back in a position to make a ton of money in his free agent era.
Unfortunately, two of the guys he’s voiced an interest in fighting are under UFC contract. The Stockton fighter has unfinished business with Conor McGregor and 170-pound champion, Leon Edwards. In a new interview with Submission Radio, Diaz’s coach, Cesar Gracie, discussed those possibilities.
“I think a trilogy probably makes a lot of sense for both of those guys,” Gracie said of Diaz vs. McGregor 3. “You know Chandler and McGregor is a good fight, too. But, I mean, just the history of Nate and McGregor, I think it’d be the bigger fan fight if they had a trilogy. And in my opinion, that’s what I’m thinking.
“Nate doesn’t look like he’s really lost any steps lately,” Gracie added. “With McGregor, he’s been out of it for awhile and he hasn’t had a win in a long time. I would have to favor Nate on that one. His toughness, and he’s been in the game. And you know, it’s not good when guys come out and stay out that long from the game. It’s hard for them. And I think whether McGregor fights Chandler or someone else, I think he’s going to have a lot of trouble getting back to his peak performance.”
“Edwards is at the top of his game for sure,” he said. “And the thing with Nate is he just always has the tools to beat you. Edwards landed some absolutely devastating shots in their fight. I saw kicks, I saw punches, and he won some of the rounds.
“But, if we’re going to be perfectly honest, if there was another round left, I think all the fans realized that Edwards was about to get knocked out in that fight,” Gracie finished.
He then suggested the only way to win a fight against Diaz was to avoid fighting him and to eke out a decision.
Sure, Sure
Anik’s Diaz view
“Nate Diaz back in the UFC. I don’t know to what extent that is possible in short order, but it’s very encouraging that that is one of the first things sort of on the tip of his tongue,” Anik said. “And far be it for anyone to bet against this guy in a high-profile setting against an elite fighter. Yeah, there’s certain matchups, right? Maybe you don’t like him against Sean Brady, but there are plenty of matchups that are good for Nate Diaz. … I think he’s got a lot of fight left.”
“Dustin Poirier and I were talking at UFC 303 as he was there doing the television work. There just aren’t that many fights right now for Dustin. It seems like he has the appetite to go out on a win,” Anik continued. “Dustin has intimated that he wants to fight one more time, and on the very short list of opponents that actually makes some fiscal and competitive sense is Nate Diaz. We’ll see if that’s something that actually materializes.”
And Here We Go !
“Millions and millions”?
As much as I want the Diaz bros to quietly walk away into the sunset, it will never happen.
Can’t wait to see a 40 year old man pointing middle fingers and carrying himself like an adolescent wannabe gangsterrapper in and around the Octagon. Not.
10rounds vs Dustin
Can’t wait to see Dana paying this guy millions and millions to do it…
Hes been making “multiple millions” every fight since his first fight with Conor, whether it was public or behind the scenes. So basically his normal rate to come back lol. I like Nate, entertaining and scrappy, but he hasn’t risen his stock a single bit to make more should he return. Then top it off with he’s 40 and the only single fight that would bring in “millions” in return would be Conor. If Conor ever fights Chandler and were to win, Diaz comeback vs Conor would sell like wildfire to all casuals
Cesar has always been the biggest idiot in the sport
If Jake is offering $15m it will clearly take millions and millions for Nate to go back to UFC. I just dont see it happening, unless Conor signs an extension he is better off waiting to Conor III on their own and get 100% of the revenue vs a tiny % and work with the UFC.
At this point conor is better promoter then ufc, atleast for his own fights