Nick Diaz’s coach Cesar Gracie says he will compete in 2022
The 2021 return of Nick Diaz, the older brother of UFC superstar Nate Diaz, doesn’t appear to be a one-off according to his coach Cesar Gracie. Diaz returned to competition last year after a six-year hiatus from the sport and lost to Robbie Lawler in the third-round at UFC 266. While many were critical of Diaz’s performance and how he looked in the fight, including UFC President Dana White who said in December that he doesn’t believe Nick Diaz should fight again.
Although there are doubts surrounding the fighting future of Nick Diaz, his coach Cesar Gracie took to Instagram on Tuesday and posted a photo of the former Strikeforce welterweight champion and UFC title challenger, with a caption revealing that Diaz will fight in 2022.
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“Look for Nick Diaz to fight by the end of the year”
There was no word given on when exactly Diaz could return to active competition if he does indeed return to fight again, but it would be interesting to see if he remained with the UFC, the promotion he’s fought for since 2011 and having previously fought for Strikeforce. His widely-popular brother Nate, recently asked the UFC for his release from the promotion and while there has been no movement yet, it would be interesting to see if the Diaz brothers look to fight elsewhere if they are no longer under contract with the UFC.
Currently without a win in his last four fights, Diaz has lost to Robbie Lawler, Georges St. Pierre, and Carlos Condit, while picking up a no-contest to Anderson Silva back in 2015. Knowing that he and his brother are massive draws in any fight against any game opponent, it would be interesting to see who the UFC would target to face him in a potential fight, or if there would be fights explored outside of the promotion. Either way, it sounds like the career of Nick Diaz is not over just yet.
