Nate Diaz mentioned the names of Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira when asked who he wants to face next.
It’s been more than 15 months since Nate Diaz last stepped inside the Octagon. With a sizeable period of inactivity, the fighter is no longer a top-ranked fighter in UFC, and apparently, only an impactful comeback can bring him back in the elite scene officially.
The fighter stayed out for the entirety of 2020 and now it is about time for a much-anticipated return, and in lines with the same, the Stockton Slugger has some potential fight ideas.
Nate Diaz sheds light on who he wants to face next
While it is a general realization that Nate Diaz’s trilogy bout with Conor McGregor is awaiting. however, in an interview with ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani, Diaz implied that a fight with Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira interests him the most right now.
Diaz and Poirier were supposed to fight each other at UFC 230 (2018), but their fight fell through. Reflecting on the same Diaz said that the time is perfect to reschedule that fight.
“Now is the time for sure to fight,” Diaz said. “We should have fought a long time ago, and now the stars have aligned. … I’m waiting for a fight where people are ready for the big fight, and now is the time.”
Diaz continued, “I’m not gonna play (expletive) nice guy like how Conor McGregor just did with him. Conor just walked him right in for the taking. I think that a fight with me would be more real, a more serious situation for him. I don’t think he could sleep with that.”
While Dustin Poirier is the first name on his list, it seems Charles Oliveira’s dominant performance against Tony Ferguson has impressed him and thus he wants to challenge Do Bronx as well.
“That’s the guy right there,” Diaz said of Oliveira. “I’ll fight that guy. That’s who I’ll fight. I like the winners because I’m the winner. I ain’t lost to nobody. I’m trying to fight the guys who are winning. …
“I think Oliveira is the best fight right now and Dustin Poirier.”
‘I’ll probably fight at 170 pounds’
Though both Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira are currently the leading prospects of the Lightweight division, Diaz makes it known that he will not be returning to the 155-pound weight class.
“No, I’m not fighting at 155,” said Diaz, adding that he hoped to fight two to four times this year. “I’ll fight probably at 170, 165, anything to 185. Not 155. That’s a dead division. I don’t have anything that I’m hunting in that division, nothing I’m aiming for. I feel like I own it already, so I’ll probably fight at 170 pounds.”
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