Getty What's next for UFC superstar Nate Diaz?
UFC superstar Nate Diaz already seems to be campaigning for his next fight, and that’s a stark change from how he’s handled his social media activity in the past. The 36-year-old American is coming off a one-sided loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 263, but you wouldn’t know it from all the things Diaz has been posting about that Octagonal effort. Over the past week, Diaz has continued to celebrate the one moment in the fight where he clipped and hurt Edwards over the vast majority of the rest of the 25 minutes that actually saw Edwards handle Diaz with relative ease.
Diaz posted, “I’m only taking Ws tho…”.
He also posted, “I got this whole s*** shook up…”.
Diaz continued to crown himself via Twitter. He posted, “I been had this whole shit shook up…Whos next…”.
But that last bit is the key question for the superstar, and it might actually have a fairly straightforward answer, at least in the mind of Diaz and his many fans.
There’s only one fight that makes sense, and it’s against Conor McGregor.
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What’s Next for Diaz?
Diaz is one-half of arguably the most dynamic rivalry in UFC history, and the other half of that historic dust-up is getting back to action at UFC 264 on July 10.
Diaz might be getting into virtual throwdowns with the likes of UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman as of late, but it would seem his real aim is what it’s always been.
Diaz wants another crack at McGregor.
Speaking of Usman, another clue about Diaz’s real end-game lies in one of Diaz’s earlier posts this week.
When Diaz and Usman got into a back-and-forth online brawl via social media, Diaz claimed he knew exactly what he was doing with those posts.
He reiterated the same again earlier this week.
He posted, “I know what I’m [doing]…You do what [you’re] told”.
Well, he’s right.
What Diaz is doing seems to be pretty clear at this point. Diaz is creating more heat around his already hot name in the sport so that he can be ready to fight after the result of UFC 264 is determined.
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McGregor vs. Diaz 3 Makes Sense No Matter What
McGregor takes on Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier in a trilogy capper at UFC 264 on July 10 in Las Vegas.
Poirier defeated McGregor at UFC 257 in January 2021 after McGregor grabbed the win over Poirier in 2014. Now, the two stars are headed into an important rubbermatch.
But an even more important rubbermatch is probably due after UFC 264 is over, and, honestly, the UFC could book a third fight between Diaz and McGregor no matter how UFC 264 turns out.
Win or lose, McGregor vs. Diaz sells more pay-per-views than any other fight for either star.
Diaz knows that. McGregor knows that. Dana White knows that.
Heck, deep down, I would bet UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira knows that, too.
Most importantly, though, McGregor vs. Diaz 3 is a fight that should happen as soon as possible. As popular as both superstars remain today, accumulating more losses on their records will eventually remove that shine.
UFC Might Be Running Out of Time
The UFC might be running out of time, at least in regards to making the third fight as big as possible.
Since their two fights against each other back in 2016, Diaz has gone 1-2 in UFC fights while McGregor has done just slightly better at 2-2.
Do you remember UFC superstars Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz? Those guys used to sell out entire arenas against each other, but their last pay-per-view fight under a different promotional banner hardly registered a blip on the radar.
The same will eventually happen to McGregor and Diaz, so there’s no time to waste.
Diaz wants another go at McGregor, and the Irishman probably wants the same.
Diaz knows what he’s doing by actively campaigning for his next fight already.
Let’s just hope everybody else involved with making the fight happens knows what he’s doing, too.
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What’s Next for Nate Diaz?