Despite losing to Leon Edwards in his return, Nate Diaz’s stock is still as high as can be and his near-comeback was the talk of UFC 263. The Stockton-native revealed that he wanted a quick turn around after the loss, but it looks like his team has no interest in accepting a recent callout from a fellow veteran in Demian Maia.
“I know there has been speculation on whether Nate will accept the fight with Demian Maia. 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,” Diaz’s long time coach Cesar Gracie told MMA Fighting. “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,” he said. “It is a no-win situation.”
Maia will turn 44 this November, and has lost his last two bouts. Gracie explained he was “surprised” about Maia’s call out, as they’ve already reached out to him in an effort to try and get the BJJ legend to train with Nick Diaz for his return.
The jiujitsu coach says that instead of a “no-win situation” with Maia, he’d like to see a third bout against Conor McGregor.
“I would think the trilogy versus [Conor] McGregor,” he said. “I know that Nate wants tough fights. He is motivated by fighting the best guys.”
McGregor is set for a different trilogy, as he’s currently booked to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. With the winner likely getting a title shot vs new lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, a third bout with Diaz happening next only seems possible if McGregor loses to Poirier.
As for Maia, although he’s interested in a retirement bout against Diaz, he actually just completed his contract and Dana White has gone on record to say that his UFC days are “probably” over.
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