Jake Shields, one of Nate Diaz’s closest friends and training partners, recently declared that Nate Diaz could be nearing a return to the Octagon if Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) comes correct with it’s financial offers.
And a date for his possible comeback could be as early as Aug. 4, 2018. That’s according to a report by ESPN, which revealed that the promotion and the Stockton slugger have had talks recently regarding his return to action.
The UFC and Nate Diaz have discussed the possibility of him returning to the Octagon at UFC 227 on Aug. 4, according to sources. Although an official deal remains uncertain, the two sides have at least discussed the August date as recently as last week, sources told ESPN.
Diaz hasn’t competed since coming up short in his rematch against Conor McGregor back at UFC 202 nearly two years ago, preferring to sit on the sidelines in hopes of scoring a trilogy fight against the Irishman. But according to Shields, that isn’t the case anymore as Nate is simply looking for a good payday to make it worth his while to dust off his gloves.
And it’s a good thing, too, as it seems the promotion is high on booking a Lightweight title fight between “Notorious” and newly-crowned champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
As far as what weight class Nate will compete in, that is still very much up in the air as Diaz has fought in both the lightweight and welterweight divisions. That said, his adaptability gives him and the promotion a lot of wiggle room to find a suitable foe to lure him into singing on the dotted line.
UFC 227 is currently set to feature a Bantamweight championship rematch that will see division king T.J. Dillashaw defend his title against bitter rival Cody Garbrandt