After having had his name cleared by a judge and all charges dropped following an alleged domestic violence case back in May, Nick Diaz is finally ready to return to the Octagon. The MMA superstar released a statement via social media saying that he is ready to put that chapter of his life behind him and focus on making a return to the UFC. That’s wonderful news to the ears of fans, who love watching Diaz fight; reporters, who love the media circus he brings with him; and of course the UFC and its president Dana White, who are no doubt excited about the lucrative riches of a Diaz return bout.
Although no return date has been set for Diaz just yet, we can fairly speculate that he’s likely going to be aiming for a late 2018/early 2019 return, the perfect time to make a comeback with the UFC’s deal with ESPN kicking in soon. Here are some possible opponents for Diaz in his comeback to the UFC.
Georges St-Pierre
Yes, we’ve seen Diaz fight GSP before back at UFC 158, and the fight wasn’t very good, but a rematch would still be a blockbuster for the UFC. Both GSP and Diaz are superstars and a rematch could headline a huge pay-per-view in the early days of the ESPN era. GSP is looking for a comeback fight and no one seems to make sense for him right now aside from Conor McGregor, who is booked up, and Anderson Silva, who GSP doesn’t want to fight. He’s already mentioned Diaz as an opponent before and a rematch would be a big fight.
Conor McGregor
Speaking of McGregor, you have to admit a fight against Diaz would be huge as well. Just think about how exciting McGregor’s fights with his brother Nate were, and multiply that 10 and you’ll start to see how good a potential fight between McGregor and Nick could be. McGregor and Diaz would be able to hype this one up to no end and the UFC is no doubt salivating at this possible matchup. Think about all the quotes, think about how fun the press conferences will be, and think about the fight itself. This has to happen one day.
Tyron Woodley/Darren Till Winner
As crazy as it sounds, Diaz could potentially step in and fight the winner of UFC 228’s Woodley vs. Till if the UFC really wanted it to happen. It’s not fair and it doesn’t make sense for Diaz to get a title shot, but he didn’t deserve one back when he fought GSP five years ago either. It’s also true Diaz hasn’t won a fight in seven years, since October 2011 against BJ Penn, but he’s still a big name in the sport and I don’t think fans would be too upset to see him fight for the belt, even though he is clearly undeserving of it.
Donald Cerrone/Mike Perry Winner
I wouldn’t be against Diaz fighting the winner of Cerrone vs. Perry either. I think Diaz against either guy stylistically is a really fun fight, even though just the trash talking alone would be reason enough to watch Diaz fight either guy. Considering Diaz badly needs a win, fighting a guy like Cerrone or Perry who is at the bottom end of the top-15 would be a pretty fair situation for him to come back to. And like I said, stylistically Diaz against either guy could result in an amazing fight.
Nick Diaz vs. Uriah Hall
All of the fights I mentioned above for Diaz would be welterweight bouts, but if he wants to fight at middleweight then maybe a fight with Hall could be fun. After all, Diaz’ last fight against Anderson Silva was a middleweight bout so it’s not like he’s entirely opposed to move up a weight class to fight. As far as this bout goes, Hall is on a losing skid himself and desperately needs a win, just like Diaz does, so both guys are in the same boat as far as their rank goes. Stylistically this could be a very exciting standup affair and it would be interesting to see if Diaz could get into the head of Hall in the leadup to the bout as well as inside the Octagon itself, as we’ve seen in the past that’s Hall’s downfall.
Who should Nick Diaz fight in his return to the UFC? Leave a comment below with who you would like to see him face.
