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MMA superstar Nate Diaz recently sent a fiery message to the UFC about his next fight.
Diaz has made it clear on several occasions that he wants to fight No. 2-ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier. And he wants to take on “The Diamond” sooner rather than later.
The beloved fighter hasn’t stepped inside the Octagon since June 2021 when he fought Leon Edwards at UFC 263. Although Diaz lost the fight by unanimous decision, he nearly finished the Englishman in the closing minute of the five-round affair.
For months, Diaz has tried to book a fight and Poirier has been at the top of his list. It’s become public knowledge that Diaz only has one fight left on his UFC contract, which has caused some to speculate that the promotion has delayed booking Diaz in hopes of renegotiating his contract before he becomes a free agent. Some also believe that the UFC is waiting for Diaz’s rival Conor McGregor to receive a clean bill of health so that they can put on the trilogy fight before Diaz potentially rides off to another promotion.
Regardless, Diaz is ready to fight and he called out the UFC via Twitter on January 19, 2021. Sharing a photo of himself and Poirier facing off, Diaz wrote: “@ufc stop playing wit me consider this my signature to fight this f***** I been trying to fight for a minute quit slowing down the real fight game it’s time.”
See the embedded tweet below:
@ufc stop playing wit me consider this my signature to fight this fucker I been trying to fight for a minute quit slowing down the real fight game it’s time
A little while later, Poirier tweeted: “The real fight game,” seemingly in response to Diaz.
The real fight game
Earlier in the day, before Diaz sent his tweet, Poirier tweeted: “I’m gonna fight your a**,” quoting Diaz. Diaz said “I’m gonna fight your f****** a**” during his original callout of Conor McGregor in 2015. Watch Diaz’s uncensored challenge to McGregor below:
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Poirier Says Fighting Diaz Is ‘Something I Want to Do’
The Diamond also wants a scrap with Diaz, saying during a recent interview with Megan Olivi for Crypto.com that fighting Diaz “means something” to him.
And he’d welcome the fight at welterweight, leaving his longtime weight class of 155 pounds.
“I’ve done it before, you know; I’ve moved up before in the midst of the of the unknown and the uncertain,” Poirier said via MMA Junkie. “I don’t know. We’ll see. I can still make ’55. I can still make the cut. Do I want to make it five more times to get another title shot? I don’t know where I’m at with that. It’s still kind of murky and undecided, but there are fun fights for me at 170.
“If Nate Diaz does get a deal done with the UFC, that’s a fight we’ve been supposed to do. I think the fans would be in for a treat. That’s something I want to do. Where I’m at, I just want to fight fights that mean something to me and all these up-and-coming guys, they’re very dangerous and very fun to fight and maybe I will fight some of them, but right now I want fights that mean something to me, and Nate’s a fight that means something to me.”
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Diaz & Poirier Were Supposed to Fight in 2018
The Diamond and Diaz were scheduled to fight a few years back. They were linked to UFC 230 in 2018, however Poirier pulled out of the fight nearly a month before the event with an injury.
After Poirier broke Conor McGregor’s leg in July 2021, Diaz has been consistently calling him out on social media. Instead of choosing to fight Diaz, Poirier fought for the lightweight belt in December 2021. He lost to champion Charles Oliveira via third-round submission.
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Nate Diaz Sends a Fiery Message to the UFC About His Next Fight