Nate Diaz will be competing for the first time in three years when he takes on Anthony Pettis at UFC 241 in Anaheim, California. Some names that were linked to Nate Diaz as potential opponents in his time away are Tyron Woodley, Conor McGregor, and Dustin Poirier. But ultimately, if all goes according to plan, it will be Anthony Pettis whom Diaz will be facing upon his return, and in an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani MMA Show,” Diaz explained why (Transcript via Sherdog.com):
“I think it is the best fight,” Diaz said. “He is coming off of a good win and he’s one of the top guys, one of the better guys in the division. Most entertaining fighter in the UFC, I like that.”
Anthony Pettis is coming off of a potential KO of the Year victory over Stephen Thompson in the main event of UFC Nashville in a performance that put the welterweight division on notice. With that victory, Anthony Pettis entered the welterweight rankings at #8 in the division. And aside from that victory, Pettis has proven himself to be one of the most exciting fighters in the division. Another example of that can be found in his Fight of the Year caliber bout against Tony Ferguson at UFC 229. Nate Diaz is among the list of names who has taken notice of Anthony Pettis’s outings, and he has actually been noticing Pettis for quite a while:
“It’s a guy I actually enjoy watching over the rest of these fighters,” Diaz said of Pettis. “Everyone is getting boring, the fight game. If I’m going to take part in any fights, I want a fight that is interesting to not only me but to the fight fan. If I’m a fight fan I want to see an interesting fight, not a boring fight.”
If there is one thing fans can count on when they arrive to watch Anthony Pettis and Nate Diaz duke it out is that they will not be in for a boring fight.
What do you think about Nate Diaz’s reasons for choosing to fight against Anthony Pettis?
