It appears that one of the most popular fighters in the UFC has his next date. Nate Diaz (20-13) took to Instagram today and announced that he would be, “Defending in December” insinuating that he will be returning to the octagon at the end of the year.
The last time we saw Diaz was at UFC 263 when he took on Leon Edwards (19-3, 1 NC). While Diaz has spent the majority of his career at lightweight, he’s fought his last five fights at 170 pounds.
Diaz has been more interested in fighting who’s considered to be the best than anything else. The UFC was struggling to get Leon Edwards a fight earlier this year. Given his talent and his winning streak, Diaz told the UFC he wanted to fight him.
The two met back in June. While Edwards controlled virtually the entire fight, the world was buzzing over the final minute. Diaz landed a flush 1-2 to the chin of Edwards and rocked him badly. Had that moment happened earlier in the round, Diaz might’ve finished Edwards.
However, Edwards survived and got the decision win. While Diaz is just 1-3 in his last four fights, his star power continues to grow. With him returning in December, it’ll be interesting to see who the UFC pairs him with.
Who will the UFC have Diaz fight?
In recent weeks, Diaz has really targeted Dustin Poirier (28-6, 1 NC). Poirier and Diaz were supposed to fight a couple of years ago, but the fight fell apart before the UFC could get things finalized.
Pretty much since January, Diaz has been calling for a fight with Poirier. While it’s expected that Poirier will be fighting for the UFC lightweight title next, he said on Monday that he wasn’t ruling out a potential fight with Diaz.Â
Another possiblity could be Jorge Masvidal (35-15). Gamebred and Diaz fought back at UFC 244 for the BMF title. Masvidal controlled the fight, but Diaz was coming on strong in the middle rounds. However, a doctor called a stop to the fight due to a cut over Diaz’s eye.
While Masvidal was clearly winning, it did leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. The UFC was originally looking to run that fight back last year, however, they ultimately scrapped that plan. With Masvidal coming off the loss to Kamaru Usman, perhaps the promotion is ready to have the BMF rematch.