It was reported late Thursday night that Nate Diaz would be making his long awaited return to the Octagon, for the first time since is loss to Conor McGregor in March 2016, to face Dustin Poirier as the co-main event for UFC 230 in November.
Poirier will be fighting for the fourth time in 12 months when he takes on Diaz, winning his previous three fights in impressive fashion. “The Diamond” was a favourite to receive a shot at the title if a deal failed to come together between Conor McGregor and current champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. He even went as far to say after his last fight that he wouldn’t be picking up and calls from the UFC unless it was a title fight.
Nate Diaz back from exile
Nate Diaz will be returning from his self imposed exile from the company, after he had refused every fight the UFC had sent his way, stating that the only fight he would return for is a rubber match with McGregor. It will also be the first time he has fought in the Lightweight division in nearly three years, his last fight in the division was a unanimous decision over Michael Johnson in December 2015.
There is yet to be any official announcement from the UFC on the bout, however it is expected to be revealed at the press conference in Los Angeles later today. This fight could lay the groundwork for a McGregor bout to also be announced shortly, with the winner of this fight then taking on the Irishman, assuming he can make his way past currently undefeated champion Nurmagomedov.
UFC 230 looks like it may be one of the most exciting cards of the year, and the main event for the event is still to be announced. Fans could be in for a treat.
The latest UFC 230 lineup includes:
- Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier
- David Branch vs. Ronaldo Souza
- Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman
- Paulo Costa vs. Yoel Romero
- Sultan Aliev vs. Lyman Good
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