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Bellator featherweight fighter James Gallagher hopes Nick Diaz stays away from fighting after seeing an unsettling interview with him last month.
In November, Nick Diaz went back into the limelight to sit down with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. The elder Diaz brother touched on several things, including possibly avenging his brother Nate’s loss to Jorge Masvidal.
What concerned observers was Diaz’s demeanor during the interview, which many deemed as “punch drunk” behavior. And for fellow fighters like Bellator featherweight James Gallagher, that interview alone is a strong indicator that Diaz should never fight again.
“That was scary. I don’t know what it is, punch drunk? It’s not weed, that’s not weed,” Gallagher told Metro. “That’s punch drunk. What was he even saying? There was a clip took off that was 58 seconds long of him speaking and he didn’t say anything.
“He was saying stuff like ‘I’ll walk if they want me to walk.’ What? I don’t even think he knows what he’s saying.”
The 23-year-old fighter was mostly concerned about Diaz’s well-being.
“It’s scary and that interview was scary. He’s still a legend,” Gallagher said. “I like him a lot. I’m a big fan, but I’m concerned with his health.”
The 36-year-old Diaz has not fought since January 2015, where he lost to Anderson Silva via decision. The fight was later overturned to a No Contest after both men failed their respective drug tests.