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Top ranked contenders from two weight divisions want to fight Nick Diaz. The UFC shouldn’t listen to them.
Despite years away from the game, it looks like Nick Diaz still carries some name value in MMA. After his manager announced plans for a 2021 return, pundits started fantasy matchmaking while fighters called him out.
This includes two top ranked contenders from two different divisions.
The number six ranked middleweight in Darren Till called for the bout via twitter.
If @nickdiaz209 wants to come back & scrap, who’s the biggest star, fight & best fight for him outside the Middleweight champ.? Fucking me that’s who…
— D (@darrentill2) September 7, 2020
Leon Edwards, who already deserves a crack at the welterweight title, asked for a bout with Diaz as well.
“That fight looks fantastic. (Nick Diaz) a big name in the sport, he’s been around for a long time, so that fight would be fantastic,” Edwards told Submission Radio. “It would be better for him (to fight me). If you come and beat me, a guy on an eight-fight win streak, that would put me in line for a title shot, right? So, I think it would be a great fight. And to come and beat like the new guy, which is me, the up and coming guy that’s dominating everyone, beating everyone, and for him to come back and challenge me – he’ll never beat me, but it’s a good fight, interesting fight. And that fight, I one hundred percent want it, I want to compete against Diaz.”
“I think Nick is Nick, right? Him and his brother are pretty much the same. Technically, they’re pretty much the same kind of fighters; boxing-based, Jiu Jitsu-based, cardio-based, and they kind of fight the same. So, I think Nick is Nick, and he’d come out the same. There won’t be nothing new, it’ll be the same way of the fight, and that’s just the way their bodies are designed to fight and where they compete. I know if me and him compete, I know I’ll win, and that’s the main thing.”
It’s hard to see how Diaz can still perform well at the top levels of this sport. Apart from being seen in a very concerning interview or excessively partying in Las Vegas for years, there’s also the simple fact that Diaz is now 38-years-old, and hasn’t competed in over five years.
Edwards flat out says Diaz will “never beat me,” and Till probably believes the same as well. Regardless if the elder Diaz is way past his prime and possibly a shell of his former self, there won’t be a shortage of top contenders calling for that high profile fight. The UFC shouldn’t listen to them though.
If Diaz really does return in 2021, that year would mark a decade since his last victory. That alone should be more than enough reason to keep him away from all these young killers and top contenders.