Sean O’Malley was seriously impressed by Nick Diaz’s performance at UFC 266 and is already looking forward to seeing the former Strikeforce champion back in action.
Diaz returned from a six-year layoff to rematch Robbie Lawler this past weekend. The welterweight duo first squared off all the way back at UFC 47 in 2004. On that occasion Diaz emerged with the win, 17 years later ‘Ruthless’ got his revenge at UFC 266.
The fight delivered big time with both men going back and forth for three rounds before Diaz dropped to his knees and refused to get back to his feet forcing Herb Dean to wave off the bout.
O’Malley recapped the fight on the TimboSugarShow podcast, he said.
“That was one the sickest fights ever. Just two f***ing dogs… There’s just not a lot of guys that bring that f***ing level of hype dude.”
‘Suga’ went on to consider who might be next for Diaz. The bantamweight prospect first named Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal as potential opponents before talking up a fight between Diaz and Mike Perry.
“Kamaru (Usman)? Nick versus even Jorge (Masvidal)? Oh, Nick vs. Mike Perry could be sick,” O’Malley said. “Nick might dog him. Just outbox him. That’d be sick, Nick (vs.) Perry would be sick.” (Transcribed by Sportskeeda)
‘Platinum’ was once an exciting prospect himself but has fallen off in recent years. The 30-year-old has lost four of his last five UFC fights and appears to be on the brink of being cut by the promotion, not that he’d mind. Perry has been open about his desire to pursue lucrative opportunities in boxing.
Diaz hasn’t recorded a win inside the Octagon since beating BJ Penn over three rounds more than a decade ago. Prior to UFC 266, he had taken a long time away from the sport after suffering a unanimous decision defeat against Anderson Silva in 2015. The result was later overturned to a no-contest after ‘The Spider’ failed his post-fight drug test.
Do you share Sean O’Malley’s excitement about a potential fight between Nick Diaz and Mike Perry?