UFC Fan-Favorite Nick Diaz Has Been Out of Action Since 2015. Has Paul Daley Accidentally Told Everyone Why?
Nick Diaz is one of the most popular fighters in MMA today. Despite not having fought since 2015, when he lost to Anderson Silva (overturned to a no-contest), he’s still got cult hero status. Arguably, even more so than his younger brother Nate.
He received a lengthy ban after marijuana was found in his system following the Silva fight. Diaz was first given an incredible five-year ban, which was then downgraded to 18 months. In case you’re bad at math, that basically means the Californian is eligible to return whenever he wants now.
Yet, despite rumblings that he might be set to make a return this year, there’s been no official statement. Now former opponent Paul Daley may have accidentally let the cat out of the bag when he called Diaz out for a rematch.
Rehab
Daley and Diaz fought way back in 2011, under the Strikeforce banner. Since then, Daley has had a strange career, getting banned from the UFC and signing multiple times for Bellator. Diaz won by first-round KO, so you’d hardly expect that Daley would be his dream first opponent. Daley told the MMA Hour:
“I going to have to drag Nick Diaz out of rehab. I’ve heard he’s in Rehab and having tough times. I’ll have to drag his ugly ass out of rehab and get the rematch with him and put on another entertaining fight for the fans.”
Firstly: Was it really that entertaining? I’m surprised that he can remember, after getting his lights smashed out of his head. Second: If he’s revealed to the world that Diaz is in rehab then that just shows a lack of class. Not cool Daley, not cool at all.
Erratic
It’s uncertain whether or not there’s any basis behind Daley’s claims. Last week it looked like Diaz was in the gym training. A video went viral of him squeezing disgusting infected gunk out of a wound in his elbow. If you haven’t seen it, it’s above. You’ve been warned though.
If he is training, how can he be in rehab? Diaz has kept his head down a lot recently, not talking much to the media. He did release a statement regarding his fight against Georges St. Pierre, back in 2013, which he has attributed to being poisoned during his weight-cut. A lot of people responded thinking he was either being crazy or a poor loser. Who knows?
Return
Whatever happens, let’s hope he’s back in the cage soon. There’s really a feeling that the UFC has never used the Diaz brothers properly. They could have big stars as these anti-establishment figures, but that only happened after Nate submitted Conor McGregor. The hard work was done by himself.
While Nick’s future is uncertain, Nate does look set to make a comeback this year. He has turned down a fight against Georges St. Pierre but wants to compete in the lightweight division again, after a two-year break.
