Your Favorite Fighter’s, Favorite Fighter
By Eddie Sanchez
Nate Diaz has built up a fascinating legacy in Mixed Martial Arts. He is an OG in the fight game, considering he debuted at WEC 12 back in 2004, and has never hesitated to take on the toughest guys in his path.
Amplifying his image further, he carries an old-head’s mentality of hometown pride. He loves Stockton, CA and they love him back. Coming from a fighting family, he and his brother Nick Diaz have toed-the-line of controversy and superstar throughout their respective careers.
Despite being 36 years of age, he aims to continue down the path of most resistance and it seems that there is mutual interest with some of the most prominent fighters from the most stacked division in the UFC.
Considering the top of the Lightweight division is littered with possibilities for the Stockton Legend, he should have no issue securing a bout with whomever is inevitably left out of the Lightweight rankings carousel.
However, if you were to ask him what he would truly prefer, I would bet all of my Dogecoin that he would like to be the one to put the final nail in the coffin that is Conor McGregor’s career.
That’s not to say that Conor McGregor is washed, but in Nate Diaz’ eyes, he sees a weak individual begging to get stopped again.
In a recent interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, that was later featured on MMA Junkie, Nate Diaz shared some interesting comments about what he sees in the current generation of his UFC counterparts.
It’s fair to understand where Nate Diaz is coming from. He has rarely been stopped in the cage during his professional career.
He was submitted by Hermes França in 2006, when he went for the WEC Lightweight title. He was KO’d by Josh Thomson in 2013 and in his most recent fight, the doctors stopped his bout with Jorge Masvidal due to cuts, even though it seemed like he was starting to gain a sense of control in the fight.
Regardless, he is a bad man and has proved it time-in-and-time-out against some of the most elite fighters out there. Despite the losses, he has always gained the respect of his rivals and fans alike. He simply hates to see, what he perceives, is a lack of toughness with the current generation of fighters.
Given the process of elimination, let’s figure out his true options for a potential opponent in 2021.
It looks like we can cross off both Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor given that there is much noise surrounding their trilogy happening in the early summertime.
This would be a devastating turn of events for Charles Oliviera specifically, when you consider that he has turned down two opportunities to fight Michael Chandler as he waits for a shot with Dustin.
I believe it’s safe to say that Michael Chandler will not be considered for Diaz. My best assumption is that he will face either Oliviera or Gaethje – whomever is most willing. Bias aside, I hope we see Chandler-Gaethje. This fight would be extremely exciting and would likely be a stand-up slug fest full of action.
Regardless of whomever is selected for Michael Chandler’s next fight, the odd-man-out will have been a recent victor against the number sixth ranked Tony Ferguson. Would the fans wish to see a rematch? I highly doubt it!
Considering these notes, it looks like the best bets for the next Nate Diaz opponent are Tony Ferguson and whomever doesn’t fight Michael Chandler next, between Oliviera and Gaethje.
With these possibilities in place, the UFC might find themselves in an interesting predicament.
For the sake of argument, let’s move forward with the assumption that Chandler-Gaethje gets scheduled. Gaethje is ranked higher than Oliviera and Oliviera has already turned down Chandler twice. This would then leave us with Oliviera and Ferguson left as the most likely options.
We have already concluded that the UFC will share little-to-no interest in staging an Oliviera-Ferguson rematch, so based on our assumptions, we still look like we are in good hands.
What could be the predicament then, you may ask? Oliviera sits as the number three ranked contender. Similar to Leon Edwards in the Welterweight division, he is having some issues securing fights with the most elite and most marketable in his weight class. If the rumors we are hearing are true, Oliviera could be on the outside looking in as the rest of his highly-ranked counterparts will have attractive fights scheduled.
Based on these circumstances, you can argue that Oliviera is more deserving of an event with Nate Diaz than Ferguson would be. Unfortunately, Oliveira’s team isn’t interested in that fight taking place.
If that line of thinking holds true, then securing a Nate Diaz bout with Tony Ferguson would be an event that UFC fans would gladly watch.
Tony Ferguson looks vulnerable and the always-tough Nate Diaz can look to take advantage of the situation. If this takes place, who would Oliviera fight? Perhaps Rafael dos Anjos, but that is a discussion for another day.
For now, our focus is on Diaz’ next opponent. There are a lot of dominos that need to fall and sort themselves out, but adding Tony Ferguson to his resume would be a fine addition.
Since Nate joined the UFC in 2007 when he beat Manvel Gamburyan to win the Ultimate Fighter 5, his foe-list reads as a who’s-who list of legends and fan favorites.
He may not have been victorious every time he has excited the cage, but more often than not, he left with more respect and a larger cult-following than the men he has faced off against. Let’s hope his 2021 situation gets sorted out soon because there are millions of fans waiting to see who the Stockton native will take on next.
Who do you want to see Nate Diaz fight next?
