- Jake Shields said Nate Diaz has always eyed a top-10 contender
- The 43-year-old reckoned the UFC doesn’t want to let go of Diaz despite not handing him a fight
A few days from now, it will be exactly one year since Nate Diaz last fought inside the octagon. The 37-year-old has been vocal about his desire to fight one of the biggest draws in the UFC but for some reason, he is yet to be booked for a scrap.
Aside from the fans, Diaz’s team has also been wondering what is really going on.
Nothing is there for Nate
In a recent interview with Helen Yee Sports, Diaz’s longtime Gracie teammate Jake Shields said that the entire situation has been “weird” as despite the evident interest, they are getting nothing concrete from the UFC.
“The whole situation is just getting weird and frustrating,” Shields said of Diaz’s status. “I don’t think anything’s really changed. It just seems to be the same pattern of Nate wanting to fight. [But the UFC] They’re not offering anything.”
Khamzat fight stalled
Shields went on to stress that Diaz was ready to take on Khamzat Chimaev when he finally beat a top-10 guy in Gilbert Burns at UFC 273. However, they heard nothing from the promotion since then. Now, they are starting to believe that the UFC keeps on stalling the final fight in Diaz’s contract to keep him under its umbrella for a little longer.
“[Nate] He always said he wants to fight top 10 because they offered him Khamzat,” he explained. “He wasn’t sure but then he said he’d fight him after the Burns fight, once, you know, he finally beat a ranked opponent and then they went off from the fight after he asked for it. So, seems like it’s been kind of weird, I think. It’s the last fight of his contract, the UFC just don’t want to let him out of his contract.”
Diaz’s previously said that he’s been trying to get “a fight with a real fighter ASAP” with July being a potential target date.
