Former two-division UFC champion turned MMA analyst Daniel Cormier doesn’t believe Nick Diaz is coming back.
Diaz’s longtime coach Cesar Gracie caused a stir in the MMA community after he shared on Instagram last week that Diaz will “fight by the end of the year.” Diaz last competed inside the Octagon in September 2021 when he rematched former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 266.
The fight was initially scheduled for welterweight, but Diaz changed the bout to 185 pounds. The two battled for three rounds until Diaz was dropped by Lawler, leading to the fighter from Stockton, California, to verbally call it quits.
During fight week, Diaz said that he wanted to be more active in MMA, especially if Lawler got the best of him.
“Definitely want to do this more often, especially if I get my ass whooped,” Diaz said via MMA Fighting. “If I get my a** whooped, I want to come back right away. If I get my a** whooped, I want to come right back.”
Well, Cormier isn’t so sure fight fans will see Diaz fight again. Speaking during a recent episode of his ESPN podcast “DC & RC,” the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion shared his skepticism, specifically pointing out Diaz’s in-cage physique compared to his body in the months prior.
“My last visual of Nick Diaz, I don’t feel like we’re gonna really see him again in the octagon,” Cormier said via MMA Junkie. “The pictures he looked shredded, inside the Octagon he looked like a different man and it didn’t seem like he wanted to be in there.”
Diaz Said He Hadn’t Felt Support from the MMA Community for Years
UFC 266 was Diaz’s first fight since 2015. When Diaz fought Anderson Silva at UFC 183, he was heralded as one of the biggest superstars in the sport. But as the years ticked on and Diaz remained on the sidelines, his support from the MMA community waned.
That’s what he said during the lead-up to his fight with Lawler.
“I’m not knocking the UFC, just maybe the whole sport in general,” Diaz said. “I always fought, I had three to five fights a year for like 17 years or so. All I ever thought about was weight, what am I going to eat After a while, you realize there’s more to life. After a while, you realize there’s more to life and everybody digs their heels into you while you’re down. It’s kind of rough.
“It’s nice to see a lot of support like two weeks leading up to a fight. But what about the last five years? That’s kind of how I feel. Of course, I get a lot of hi’s and byes and I’ve done plenty of handshakes. I’d like to take some of those back.”
Diaz Is the Former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, Went on an 11-Fight Win Streak
From 2008 to 2012, Diaz built one of the most impressive streaks in MMA at the time, winning 11 fights in a row.
During the stretch, Diaz was outside of the UFC and he captured the Strikeforce welterweight belt.
Diaz boasts wins over several notable names, including Lawler, BJ Penn, Paul Daley, Frank Shamrock and KJ Noons. He has a professional record of 26-10, which includes 13 wins by KO/TKO and eight via submission.
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Ex-Champ Daniel Cormier Shoots Down Talk of an MMA Legend’s Comeback