After a long layoff from the UFC, Nate Diaz is pumped to get back inside the octagon against Rafael dos Anjos this Saturday night at UFC on Fox 13. Nate Diaz is currently ranked #14 in the UFC rankings system, but was ranked #6 after his last fight, when he defeated Gray Maynard. It was inactivity that dropped him down in the rankings as he has not fought since November 2013. Diaz was in a contract dispute with the UFC over fighter pay. Diaz’s teammate Gilbert Melendez was able to get more money after a long dispute with the UFC and Diaz thought he could do the same. The UFC did not quite meet Diaz’s demands, but he still eventually came back as he wanted some money period. Diaz has also identified a desire to make a title run in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division.
His opponent dos Anjos is ranked #3 and is in the talk for a title shot against Anthony Pettis if he can defeat Diaz. Khabib Nurmagomedov is ranked #1 in the division right now and also wants a shot against Pettis, even though he blew out his knee not too long ago. Pettis hurt his hand in his most recent fight against Melendez and might not be able to fight until June. While a win over dos Anjos may not be enough to get Diaz a title shot, it might just be enough to vault him back into the top five of the lightweight rankings.
The always opinionated Diaz has made recent remarks on Twitter about the new UFC/Reebok deal and about CM Punk joining the UFC. Diaz tried to say that his account was hacked when he said “F*** UFC uniforms”.
On the recent CM Punk signing, Diaz mentioned that it made the rest of the UFC fighters look like amateurs instead of professionals. He compared it to “Stefan Struve’s big ass getting signed by the NBA. You just can’t cross over like that. The UFC should be the same way.” There is a rumor that Cathal Pendred is in line to fight the CM Punk first, but if Diaz beats dos Anjos this Saturday, he has made a case to move up in weight class and challenge CM Punk. Diaz is a louder and way more controversial figure than Pendred, and this could lead to a big build up to such a fight. It must be remember though that Diaz or Pendred getting the first fight with CM Punk would go against what Dana White said before Punk was signed, essentially that Punk would be given a fight commensurate with his 0-0 MMA record.
Diaz and dos Anjos will serve as the co-main event this Saturday. Recently, dos Anjos has looked sharper than ever and is coming off a knockout victory over former champion Benson Henderson. He has to be careful though, as Diaz plays the type of mind-games that can lure other fighters into his type of fight. Bunches of punches is the typical execution style of Diaz and he has a very slick jiu-jitsu game off of his back. Diaz can scramble in transitions well and this can throw his opponents off their game.
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