Nate Diaz Reveals Why He Hasn’t Fought For Over Two Years
Nate Diaz’s awaited UFC return against Dustin Poirier was made official for November’s UFC 230 at today’s (Fri., August 3, 2018) UFC 25th Anniversary Press Conference.
Diaz was inexplicably absent from the presser at first, to which UFC President Dana White was questioned about his whereabouts. The UFC frontman assured the press that he would be showing up soon, but not before Poirier detailed why he had taken the fight with the fan favorite veteran after previously suggesting he’d only answer the phone for a title shot.
For him – a fighter who simply loves to fight – battling Diaz at Madison Square Garden was simply too good to pass up:
“You know man, I’m a fighter, I feel good, I have no injuries. And, Nate’s a guy I’ve been watching for a long time; I’ve been a fan of. If you’re a fan of fighting, you’re a fan of this fight. I’ve always wanted to fight at Madison Square Garden. I just wish we had a few extra rounds, three rounds, I wish it was a five, but I’m excited about this fight, you guys should be too.”
Diaz then did make his first appearance in more than two years, leading to his first faceoff with Poirier in L.A. He was promptly asked why he returned to face Poirier and answered with a short and simple response:
“It’s time to go, so it’s time to go.”
Diaz also offered his view of the fight with Poirier when “The Diamond’s” stance of only wanting a title shot came up:
“This is a championship fight right here.”
While it may not actually be a championship fight, Diaz vs. Poirier obviously brings the likelihood of it being an all-out slugfest that is worth the price of admission for paying customers, something that MMA fans have been complaining has been absent from recent UFC pay cards. Poirier asserted his belief that the bout would deliver, to the point of being one of the best fights of all-time:
“We’re gonna show up and deliver, I promise that. This is going to be one of the most exciting fights you’ve ever seen.”
Finally, Diaz was asked about the timing of his return, and why he would return to face “The Diamond” when it was thought he was holding out for a trilogy fight with Conor McGregor. To that, the younger Diaz brother said he had actually been dealing with a lawsuit since his last match with McGregor and was ineligible to fight:
“Since my last fight, I’ve been in a lawsuit so I wasn’t eligible to fight. I don’t know why nobody told you guys that.”
There’s no telling just what is now allowing Diaz to set foot back into the Octagon, but the good news for fight fans is that he’s going to.
And he has one of the most potentially action-packed match-ups he could hope for.
