Back in March, following a loss to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158, Nick Diaz said he was done with fighting short of getting a rematch with the welterweight champion because there wasn’t much else that interested him in MMA anymore.
A few months later, Diaz emerged from his cave to proclaim he was going to try his hand at fight promotion, and WAR MMA was born.
One show later, Diaz was already pondering what’s next, because he wasn’t sure fight promotion was really his game.
Now a whole four months after his retirement, Diaz appears poised for a return to action.
Diaz recently took to Instagram—the one social network he seems to love to stay active and posting on—to reveal that he had broken up with his girlfriend and was looking for a fight now.
UFC president Dana White said he’s more than happy to get Diaz a bout if he’s serious about returning. Diaz is still under a deal with the UFC, and despite his earlier proclamations about retirement, it doesn’t seem the promotion went ahead and ripped up his deal.
“He said broke up with his girlfriend, wants to fight, Dana get me a fight,” White said about Diaz‘s message to him on Instagram. “Nick Diaz is under contract with the UFC, whenever Nick Diaz wants a fight, I’d be more than happy to get him a fight.”
Diaz was in attendance during UFC 162 fight week, but he had no actual meeting with White while he was in town.
While Diaz‘s cryptic way of asking for a fight doesn’t necessarily mean he’s returning to the UFC, it’s a safe bet to say his days of retirement are numbered.
Back in 2012 when Diaz lost a unanimous decision to Carlos Condit for the UFC interim welterweight title, he declared he was done with the sport then as well. He did end up being out for a year, but that was because he tested positive for marijuana in his post-fight drug test after the fight with Condit and was suspended 12 months from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Now just four months after his last declaration of retirement, Diaz is at least hinting that he’s not ready for shuffleboard courts and wearing an array of bad Hawaiian shirts just yet.
If Diaz does return, there are plenty of compelling matchups for him in the UFC welterweight division. There is still a rematch with Condit that the UFC tried to put together right after their last fight ended until Diaz‘s drug test came back with a positive result.
There is also a very intriguing fight pitting Diaz against welterweight upstart Rory MacDonald. Diaz has a long-standing feud with MacDonald’s camp at Tristar Gym in Montreal (it’s the same one that houses Georges St-Pierre), and MacDonald also holds a win over his brother Nate Diaz in the UFC.
Whatever fight makes sense, a Diaz return to the UFC is a good thing, and the welterweight division is better for it.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted
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