Former UFC welterweight title contender Nick Diaz has been the subject of persistent rumors regarding his return to the Octagon ever since he ended his six-year hiatus in 2021. Recently, Diaz has fueled speculation of his comeback by sharing fresh training clips across various social media platforms.
Nick Diaz is a seasoned former welterweight title challenger within the UFC and a former champion in both the now defunct WEC and Strikeforce promotions. He previously made a notable comeback to the sport at UFC 266 in 2021.
In his comeback bout, Diaz faced Robbie Lawler in a highly anticipated rematch. However, the match ended in a one-sided third-round TKO retirement loss for Diaz. Diaz looked visibly out of shape and basically quit in the cage.
Following the bout, Diaz revealed that his return to professional combat sports was somewhat coerced. He attributed his loss to the dissolution of his management and having to finance a neck injury surgery.
Despite the setback, Diaz has expressed a strong desire for a comeback match.
Diaz has been seen in form during his training sessions, including rigorous road work alongside heavyweight knockout artist Derrick Lewis.
There have been several missed opportunities for Diaz’s return to competition. Towards the end of last year, there were talks of a submission grappling match against former welterweight rival Georges St-Pierre.
However, the proposed UFC Fight Pass Invitational bout failed to materialize. Additionally, Diaz was accused by former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley of turning down a “dumb” pay cheque to compete against him in a professional boxing match.
In a recent post on social media, Diaz shared new footage of himself training. He posted the video along with the caption: “Somebody is gonna pay very soon…”
Despite not securing a victory since his title eliminator bout against B.J. Penn in 2011, Diaz is considered to be one of the most biggest UFC stars. He also had an impressive 11-bout winning streak at one point in his career.
UFC fans are speculating online that Diaz is gearing to face DIllon Danis who teased an MMA return recently.
Danis described his next opponent as a former UFC champ and a hall of famer. Diaz certainly falls into the Hall of fame category, however he was a champion in the promotions UFC acquired as opposed to the actual UFC.
There aren’t that many names that fit the former UFC champion/Hall of famer description but among them are a couple of options, namely Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva. It’s interesting to note Danis declared his return will be in MMA and not in Boxing, adding another significant tidbit.