Enigmatic UFC star Nate Diaz has shunned the limelight for the past two years but appears to be warming up the idea of a return to the Octagon.
Last month, Diaz stated that he is ‘sick of sitting around’ and targeted May or June for his UFC return.
According to a recent tweet from Lance Pugmire of the LA Times, however, the 32-year-old is interested in fighting at next month’s UFC 222 pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The best option to fill in for the @BlessedMMA void at #UFC222 is @NateDiaz209 and he tells me he’s interested….make it happen @ufc
— Lance Pugmire (@latimespugmire) February 4, 2018
Diaz, younger brother of fan favorite Nick Diaz, threw his name into the hat after it was announced that UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway had pulled out of his headlining championship tilt against Frankie Edgar due to a leg injury.
Diaz had previously hinted that he would only return to the cage for a trilogy bout with lightweight champ Conor McGregor, who he choked out in a short notice welterweight fight at UFC 196 but lost in the immediate rematch at UFC 202.
It’s unlikely that Diaz will rematch McGregor in March, but the Stockton local could go on to fight top-three lightweight contender and former champ Eddie Alvarez in the new UFC 222 main event, given that ‘The Underground King’ has had somewhat of a rivalry with Diaz dating back to 2015.
The UFC is also working on booking a potential match-up between Frankie Edgar and Brian Ortega to fill the void left by Holloway. UFC 222 takes place next month, March 3 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
About the author
