“Imagine, Nick Diaz at the top of the bill once more. Nick Diaz fighting for the title. That’s a humungous fight.”
Kamaru Usman’s next welterweight title defense is expected to be against Colby Covington, but ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is also open to a ‘fun fight’ with Nick Diaz, who is poised to make a comeback this year.
Diaz will return to the Octagon after a six-year hiatus and, if he’s still able to compete at a high level and prove himself as an elite mixed martial artist, Usman is willing to offer the former Strikeforce champ a title shot.
“We don’t know (how Diaz is going to look)”, Usman told TMZ Sports. “At the end of the day, if he got everything in order and he’s able to compete, that’s always a fun fight. Nick Diaz. Imagine, Nick Diaz at the top of the bill once more. Nick Diaz fighting for the title. That’s a humungous fight. Hopefully gets his faculties and everything in order, and if he’s able to do that, Nick is able to come in and do something spectacular… Of course, that’s always a fun fight.”
Usman recently defended his welterweight title by dispatching of Jorge Masvidal in the UFC 261 main event and, if he beats Covington a second time, the reigning champ will have virtually cleared out the entire division. Diaz, therefore, presents an opportunity for Usman to diversify his resume by beating a legend of the sport.
Diaz hasn’t fought since his No Contest (NC) against Anderson Silva at UFC 183, which saw Silva’s victory overturned after ‘The Spider’ tested positive for steroids. Diaz also failed a drug test, but for marijuana metabolites; he was suspended 18 months by the Nevada Athletic Commission.