Nate Diaz breaks his silence, wants to return to UFC Octagon this year and he is looking at welterweight champion Tyron Woodley as his next opponent.
Diaz hasn’t fought since a majority decision loss to Conor McGregor in their lucrative rematch at UFC 202 in August 2016.
Although Diaz has maintained he would prefer a trilogy fight against McGregor, who has been not fought since 2016, remains uncertain following his reported $100 million purse for boxing Floyd Mayweather last August.
Diaz told ESPN he is “ready to rock and roll” this year and not much concerned about Mcgregor.
Tyron Woodley, he’s eyeing a potential showdown against lightweight Nate Diaz — and even willing to bet his house on it and Diaz is open to discussing that matchup with the UFC.
“I’m getting to the point where I’m sick of not fighting. I’m not getting any younger,” Diaz said to ESPN. “I put that tweet out saying I wanted to fight in May or June, but I didn’t say who because I was weighing my options. And now, Woodley is my best option.
“I see him on TMZ every week, talking about me. I’m like, ‘What the f—? If that’s what you want to do.’ It’s not really my weight class, but I’m with it. I think it’s my title we’re fighting for. If he’s the one calling me out, whose title are we fighting for? Who’s the real champion here?”
Nate Diaz said he’s ready to share the UFC octagon with Tyron Woodley at any time, as long as he can come to financial terms with UFC officials. Also, he would like to fight in Las Vegas, perhaps at UFC 226, which takes place on July 7.
“I’d like a good two or three-month camp,” Diaz said. “We’ll figure it out. There’s definitely going to be something. I’m trying to fight.”
Initially, there was some controversy with UFC president Dana white back in November about offering Diaz and Woodley the matchup. However, it seems like the matchup is again on the table.
“They called me out of nowhere, when I wasn’t trying to fight nobody,” Diaz said of the initial offer to fight the welterweight champion. “They asked if I would fight Woodley and I said, “Well, I’d like a three-month camp.’
“I told them I’d fight him on shorter notice, but would send them what I wanted in the contract. It was nothing out of the norm. My boxing coach said something about $15 million in an interview, but that was never the number.
“Then I saw in the media, the UFC said they never approached me about it. I was like, ‘F— it then. I wasn’t the one asking for the fight.”
Nothing is official yet from UFC, but it seems like both opponents are on the same page and ready to rock and roll in the UFC octagon.
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