We haven’t seen Nate Diaz step into the Octagon in over two and a half years, so of course with his highly anticipated return on UFC 241 in August many are wondering what kind of Nate we’re going to see. Will he show up just as fierce and scrappy as he did for the two Conor McGregor fights in 2016, or will ring rust / his general disdain for the UFC result in a less than inspired performance?
We won’t know for sure until he actually fights Anthony Pettis, but leading up to the bout we’ve been seeing a lot of photos of Nate hard at work in the gym.
And he looks ripped.
In the past, the younger Diaz has struggled at welterweight, sometimes getting literally tossed around by much larger opponents. But now he seems to be embracing that 170 pound lifestyle after officially declaring his 155 pound days over.
Take a look:
Nate Diaz is in shape for UFC 241. @NateDiaz209 pic.twitter.com/nwxajPBdm4
— Ross Edmonds (@RosssEdmonds) June 16, 2019
And there’s way more on his Instagram.
Sizing up is going to be an important factor in Nate’s future success at welterweight, but at least he’s getting a soft reintroduction. Anthony Pettis is also a jumped up lightweight … not that it stopped him from taking out the much larger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson back in March.
As usual with Nate Diaz fights, this is one that we wish was five rounds. But the UFC is pretty damn set in their ways. Unless it’s the main event or for a belt, we’ll have to make do with three. And while we imagine Nate prefers a shorter fight when not getting paid extra for 10 more minutes of fighting, he’s one of the few fighters with such a clear cardio advantage that it’d be a major advantage if the bout was 25 minutes.
UFC 241 is headlined by a Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic rematch for the heavyweight title that may end up being Cormier’s last bout. Pettis and Diaz take co-main honors, followed by Yoel Romero vs. Paulo Costa. We can’t wait.