Would A Nate Diaz Title Shot Do More Harm Than Good?

Yesterday (Tues., November 14, 2017) amidst a sea of Conor McGregor-Bellator 187 news, the mixed martial arts world was forced to shift its focus to the prospect of a potential return by UFC fan favorite Nate Diaz, who was rumored to be training for a comeback, possibly against Tony Ferguson and possibly even facing welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at December’s UFC 219.

And then today Woodley acknowledged he would return early from an injury suffered at UFC 214 to fight Diaz at UFC 219 if the chance arose.

If you’re thinking this fight is an odd one, you’re right; however, we shouldn’t really be surprised by anything the UFC does during a rollercoaster 2017 where new(ish) owners Endeavor continue to show they’re more about booking the fight they think might make a ton of money rather than the one that makes sense in terms of actual fighting skill and merit, the main tenets the UFC is built – or at least claims to be built – on.

To put Diaz’ body of work in Woodley’s welterweight division in context, the normal lightweight has a 3-3 record at 170 pounds, with wins over McGregor, Rory Markham, and Marcus Davis, and losses to McGregor, Rory MacDonald, and Dong Hyun Kim. It’s far from the resumé of a title challenger in one of (perhaps the) most stacked landscapes in the UFC, but Diaz is a draw because of historic rivalry with McGregor in 2016, and Endeavor needs a big draw to hopefully put up some big numbers to close what has otherwise been a disastrous year on PPV outside of Mayweather vs. McGregor and Jones vs. Cormier II.

So Diaz is a draw because he beat McGregor, the current UFC lightweight and former featherweight champion at 170 pounds, and that has potentially earned him a title shot at welterweight against a champion who has, ironically enough, been calling for a fight with Nate’s older brother Nick from the very minute he won the belt. In a way – mostly financial – the fight makes sense for all three involved parties. Woodley can get his coveted payday fight, Diaz can prove, or at least attempt to, that he can draw without McGregor, and the promotion might have somewhat of a smash on their hands – at least in terms of this year’s low standards.

But there’s a far seedier underbelly present to signing the bout, and it’s the continued erosion of the overall spirit of MMA – that the UFC is the cream of the crop where the best fighters fight the best challengers to decide who is truly at the top of the mountain. Obviously, that strategy has been thrown out the window in many ways this year, and thus far, the results have been mixed if we’re being incredibly kind.

Many hardcore fans will blast this fight for its lack of merit as they call for McGregor to defend his title against the next rightful contender, interim champ Tony Ferguson. Casual fans will tune in to this fight to see Diaz largely because of his history with McGregor, that much is true. It’s going to come down to a matter of if the UFC is willing to risk their once-revered reputation of pitting the best against the best just one week after MMA fighter-turned-Oklahoma Congressman MarkWayne Mullin questioned (or rather, grilled) UFC exec Marc Ratner on how the UFC has some extreme questions and inconsistencies in how they book their champions.

Woodley vs. Diaz would be big, yet would it be big enough to continue what is essentially amounting to spitting on the legitimacy of MMA’s face?

What if Diaz somehow won? Then he could defend his 170-belt against McGregor in their long-rumored trilogy bout that is more of a foregone conclusion than anything else, lending McGregor a chance to win an unprecedented third title without fighting a legitimate contender in the division, much like he did at lightweight.

Now I’ve answered my own question, and that fight, which they’re understandably hoping for, would have a chance to be the biggest fight in MMA history in terms of overall numbers.

Welcome to today’s MMA climate, ladies and gentlemen, where dollars are valued over everything even if a fight may not make sense. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise.