Before Rafael Dos Anjos was booked to face Kevin Lee, Nick Diaz was keen on a fight with the former lightweight champ.
Despite his UFC future looking stale for the last few years now, it appears former welterweight title challenger Nick Diaz was interested in a fight with Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC Rochester, before Kevin Lee was booked to fight the Brazilian.
Diaz (26-9, 2NC) hasn’t won a fight in MMA since 2011 against B.J. Penn, losing his last three UFC appearances. The 35-year-old was suspended for five years in late 2015 after testing positive for marijuana metabolites, however the ban was lifted the following year.
In 2017, Diaz was again suspended by USADA, this time for one year after failing to report his whereabouts to the anti-doping agency. His suspension was up in April of last year, and since then Diaz has been linked to matchups with a few fighters, but nothing has ever materialised.
Talking to MMAJunkie, Dos Anjos spoke about other options for his opponent at UFC Rochester, one of which was Diaz.
“We talked about some other options,” Dos Anjos said. “(Santiago) Ponzinibbio, (Jorge) Masvidal and even (UFC matchmaker) Sean (Shelby) called me to say, ‘Hey, Nick Diaz might be interested in a fight with you.’ Things did not work out and the only name they throw for me was Kevin. He’s a top contender at lightweight coming up a division and I can’t sit on my sofa waiting for the perfect fight. I’ve got to work.”
UFC Rochester will take place this weekend, April 19th, at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York. Dos Anjos’ fight with Lee will headline the card.