(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting.com)
Earlier this month, Nick Diaz‘s lawyer stated that the Anti-Bullshit Superhero would remain retired unless he was offered a rematch with Georges St. Pierre or an even-more undeserved middleweight title shot against Anderson Silva — heartbreaking news, really. But if there’s any MMA fighter who’s likely to violate our MMA fighters retiring then immediately un-retiring ban, it’s Nick. For all of his complaints about being disrespected by his opponents and getting paid too much but not enough, fighting is in Diaz’s blood, which is a nice way of saying that he has absolutely no other marketable skills and will probably need to come back at some point to earn a living.
So forget those silly retirement threats, and let’s talk about reality — who will Nick actually fight next, assuming that the UFC wouldn’t book Diaz vs. GSP II or Diaz vs. Silva unless they were absolutely desperate. How about Demian Maia, the BJJ whiz who has successfully reinvented his career as a welterweight? Maia’s three-round domination of Jon Fitch at UFC 156 placed him in the top-tier of the 170-pound division, and according to a report from Ariel Helwani on last night’s edition of UFC Tonight, Maia wants to face Nick Diaz in his next appearance, preferably on the August 3rd Aldo vs. Pettis card in Rio.
On one hand, Maia vs. Diaz makes a lot of sense from a competitive standpoint, and you’d think that Diaz would have enough respect for the grappling ace to consider taking the fight. On the other hand, Maia is not Georges St. Pierre or Anderson Silva, which means that Diaz will probably turn his nose up at the suggestion and go back to playing with his nunchucks.
So what do you think? Is Maia vs. Diaz the most logical option for both men? And who wins that fight if it happens?