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If you ask Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White, Nate Diaz is pretty picky with the fights he chooses to accept. To hear him tell it, the Stockton slugger has turned down several fights, which has caused him to sit on the sidelines for three years.
And while Diaz has his own reasons as to why he took an extended break, he will be the first to admit that he won’t take a fight that doesn’t interest him, even if it is for the title. During a recent interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Nate revealed that bouts against Lightweight king, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Welterweight champ, Kamaru Usman, simply don’t do much for him.
“I feel like I’m just better and cooler than those guys. What the hell do I want to fight them for. Pettis is cooler than both of them fight wise,” said Diaz. “You know what I’m saying? Do you remember Street Fighter, ‘I want to see that guy vs. that guy.’ Or even at school when you knew two guys would kick ass and you were like, ‘I wonder what would happen if them fools fought?’”
Indeed, Pettis was cool enough to get Nate to end his break and sign on the dotted line, as the two will engage in a Welterweight matchup in the co-main event of this Saturday’s (Aug. 17, 2019) UFC 241 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Anaheim, Calif.
While a trilogy fight against Conor McGregor would have worked, too, “Showtime” was the man that ultimately got the call. Another interesting name that Nate threw out was Jorge Masvidal, saying that what he’s been doing lately has peaked his interest.
“So I think of it from that perspective, too. If I were someone wanted to watch me fight in the UFC, I would want to watch me fight Conor or Petis. Masvidal just did his thing the other day, and that was great. You know, stuff like that.”
Diaz – any Diaz brother — against Masvidal? Sign me up like yesterday.
For now, Nate has his hands more than full against Pettis, as the former Lightweight champion has already started off his 170-pound career on the right foot by knocking out Stephen Thompson. Should Diaz defeat Pettis, then he can continue to write his own ticket moving forward.
And a third fight against “Notorious” could very well be a reality before we know it.