When Cesar Gracie took to GracieFighter.com on Friday to announce that his prized student, Nick Diaz, was going to return to the UFC, it didn’t come as too much of surprise. After all, other than training other fighters, Diaz’s employment options are most likely limited, so why shouldn’t he come back to the employer that paid him $200,000 for his fight against Carlos Condit? So, no, the idea of a Nick Diaz return did not come as a surprise.
What did come as a shock was the fighter Gracie said would make sense for Diaz’s return, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Gracie wrote: “As far as future opponents, Nick has stated that he would like to take fights ‘that matter.’ Since GSP will be fighting Condit, he has to look elsewhere. He will respectfully ask for a fight with Anderson Silva, a fighter he respects and would like to challenge.”
It’s hard to know if this request was influenced by the fact that Silva and his management team seemingly have no interest in fighting any of the current batch of top-ranked middleweights.
Whatever the reason, there it was in black and white: Nick Diaz will return, and when he does, he wants Anderson Silva.
Ballsy? Check. Slightly delusional about his standing in the UFC? Most would say yes.
Money in the bank? You bet.
One person that seems interested in seeing this fight is Silva’s manager, Ed Soares, who tweeted:
I think the idea of @SpiderAnderson vs @nickdiaz209 is pretty good. Let’s see what the @ufc thinks?
— Ed Soares (@edblackhouse) July 28, 2012
Silva vs. Diaz is an interesting proposition, and it is a fight that would surely generate a great deal of interest along with a substantial amount of cash.
But as far as making it happen? You’re going to be hard pressed to convince fans that Diaz deserves a shot over Chris Weidman.
Sure, Georges St-Pierre versus Anderson Silva is a fight that puts any 185-pound contender on the backburner, but Nick Diaz, a fighter coming off a loss at welterweight as well as a year-long suspension? That’s a tough sell.
Crazier things have happened, though. Stay tuned.
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