Nate Diaz doesn’t go away. He’s not around sometimes, but he’s never really “gone.”
Despite a No. 14 ranking in the UFC’s lightweight division, Diaz is currently booked to face No. 3 Rafael dos Anjos Saturday evening at UFC on Fox 13.
Diaz is 1-2 in his last three bouts. His most recent fight, a first-round TKO of Gray Maynard, came in November of 2013—more than a year removed from Saturday’s affair. Following that victory, Diaz went rogue, allegedly refusing to take fights and looking to renegotiate his contract. He expressed his unhappiness to the UFC brass, and it responded by booting him out of the rankings altogether.
You see, Diaz is not a company man. He’ll say some things his bosses don’t want to hear—things that cast a critical eye upon the promotion and its practices. Most recently, Diaz ripped the UFC’s decision to sign former WWE Superstar CM Punk, saying, “F–k him. F–k the whole situation.” (h/t MMAJunkie.com)
Eloquent.
Still, the UFC just can’t make Diaz go away. It can boot him from its rankings, try to belittle his popularity and claim that ‘”life goes on” without him.
But here he is, facing one of the hottest contenders in the lightweight division in prime time on Fox.
Diaz is always in the title mix at 155. A win over the No. 3 fighter in the class obviously puts him on the short list of challengers for Anthony Pettis‘ title. But more than that, Diaz is one of the few guys who can stir up interest for any reason at all.
Diaz is fighting? Someone, please knock him out.
Diaz isn’t fighting? Why is he ducking everyone? Don’t be scared, homie!
There are few fighters in the lightweight division who carry the sort of cult following Diaz does, and there are few fighters in the UFC who are as detested as the Stockton-raised bad boy. He taunts fighters in the cage, flips them off and never says the “right” thing from a PR standpoint.
The problem for the haters is this: Diaz can fight. He can strike. His jiu-jitsu is slick and polished, and his warrior instincts are matched by few.
He’s ranked 14th in the division right now, but he’s already demolished No. 10 Jim Miller and No. 4 Donald Cerrone. He’s proved he can hang at that level, and a big win over dos Anjos Saturday evening will launch him into title talks.
Like it or not, Diaz is here.
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