Photo by William McKee for MyMMANews.com
Nick Diaz is back; set to fight at UFC 235
Nick Diaz will finally make his long-awaited return to the Octagon.
For four years, UFC fans have been asking when the elder Diaz would make his return, and now we finally know when he will return and who his opponent will be. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto broke the news that Diaz will be fighting at UFC 235 on March 2nd in Las Vegas, where he will be fighting Jorge Masvidal.
Breaking: The UFC is close to finalizing Nick Diaz's return to the Octagon, per Dana White. The fight is Jorge Masvidal at UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas. Diaz's first appearance in more than four years. Story coming soon to @ESPN.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 15, 2018
“Breaking: The UFC is close to finalizing Nick Diaz’s return to the Octagon, per Dana White. The fight is Jorge Masvidal at UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas. Diaz’s first appearance in more than four years,” Okamoto tweeted.
Meanwhile, Okamoto is also reporting that bout agreements have not yet been signed, but that is not a worry. The fight should be finalized soon.
Diaz last fought at UFC 183 in January of 2015 where he lost by unanimous decision to Anderson Silva which later got turned over to a no-contest. Diaz’s last win was way back in 2011 at UFC 137 where he defeated B.J. Penn by unanimous decision. Since his win over Penn, Diaz lost to Carlos Condit for the interim title and then lost to Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title a year later. Ultimately, the 35-year-old has never won the UFC title but was a dominant champion in Strikeforce.
He won the title and defended it three times before moving to the UFC. He holds a professional record of 26-9-2 and has fought some of the best in the world.
Meanwhile, Diaz’s opponent in Masvidal didn’t fight at all in 2018 and is currently riding a two-fight losing streak. He last fought Stephen Thompson at UFC 217 where he lost by unanimous decision. Masvidal is currently 32-13 as a professional.
The fight is a rather interesting one as for years no one knew if Diaz ever wanted to fight again. Well, it appears we know our answer. Ring rust could be a huge factor in this fight, but if Diaz looks like the Diaz of old, the UFC should be getting an amazing fight.
