Nate Diaz has been offered a shot at redemption 12 years after his first knockout loss.
The UFC legend is one of the hottest free agents in combat sports today. Diaz broke free from his UFC contract in 2022 and has since fought the likes of Jake Paul and BMF Champion Jorge Masvidal in the boxing ring.
Diaz has been inactive for almost a year now. The 38-year-old, who recently expressed interest in a UFC comeback, reportedly declined boxing matches with KSI and fellow UFC title challenger Darren Till this year.
Apparently, those aren’t the only fights that fizzled out.
Josh Thomson offers Nate Diaz boxing rematch
In 2013, former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson finished Diaz with a head kick and punches at UFC on FOX 7.
It was Thomson’s UFC debut and Diaz’s first and really only KO loss of his career considering Diaz’s TKO loss to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244 was a doctor’s stoppage due to a cut.
At 46, the retired Thomson said he was in talks for a boxing rematch with Diaz months ago. However, it never came to fruition.
Thomson claims he’d come out of retirement for a rematch with Diaz in the ring.
“I heard you turned down the @KSI fight,” Thomson said in a message to Diaz.
“I heard the UFC doesn’t want you back after your @jakepaul fight and that @TheNotoriousMMA looking like a hard no.
“No bulls—, let’s run it in Boxing or @bareknucklefc where there’s no kicks to make it more fair. @NateDiaz209.”
Thomson hasn’t competed since a 2017 TKO loss to former Bellator champion Patricky Pitbull. Thomson retired with an MMA record of 24-9, with no pro boxing bouts under his belt.
Josh Thomson ruled out a BKFC move a few weeks ago
If it’s not boxing, Thomson suggested the BKFC as a potential avenue for the Diaz rematch.
However, the 46-year-old wasn’t always keen on fighting for BKFC.
Last month, Thomson was asked if he’d ever take a bareknuckle boxing fight.
“No,” Thomson answered on The Weighing In Podcast.
“I had that in my mind. In the beginning, I wanted to do it a lot,” Thomson said of fighting in the BKFC.
“That was the one thing when it first started, coming around, I was like, yo, this this is definitely excites me…
“But now, I watched the fight the other day, and It destroys people’s faces. The guy was cut, like, probably at least seven or eight different spots. He looked like [one of the] ‘Garbage Pail Kids’.
“They always have stitches and scars and stuff. I was like, yeah, that’s what you’re gonna look like,” Thomson added.