Nate Diaz has been known to take long layoffs, but don’t expect him to retire anytime soon, if ever.
Diaz is scheduled to return to the Octagon this Saturday night (June 12). He’ll go one on one with Leon Edwards on the main card of UFC 263. This will be a five-round fight. It’ll be Diaz’s first bout since November 2019.
During a chat with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Diaz explained why he wasn’t seen in action last year.
“Yeah, just maybe a little politics and stuff with the fight game and how it’s gone and how people are avoiding fights with me that I have history with. But I never planned on staying out. It just kind of happened that way. And especially how the last couple years have been real slow, so I don’t feel like I was missing much. I was in the gym the whole time.”
When it comes to potential retirement, it’s a thought that doesn’t even cross the 36-year-old’s mind.
“I’m not like these other fighters. I don’t plan on retiring ever in life. Ever. So I’ll be here till the end of time.”
When Diaz steps inside the Octagon this weekend, he’ll be doing so against the #3-ranked UFC welterweight in Edwards. “Rocky” hasn’t lost a fight since December 2015, and that was to the current UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman.
UFC President Dana White has said that if Diaz wins, he’ll put himself in title contention. With that said, the UFC boss still has Colby Covington as the immediate contender for Usman’s 170-pound gold. Of course, Covington’s claim of signing a contract to guarantee the title fight might be a bit of a stretch.
UFC 263 will be headlined by a middleweight title fight between champion Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori. The co-main event will feature a flyweight title rematch between titleholder Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.
Stick with MMA News this weekend for LIVE coverage of UFC 263.