Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, except, in the case of Nick Diaz, you should be completely aware that you’re witnessing greatness in and out of the cage. No one is more quotable, no one is more interesting, and few people bring it harder than Nick Diaz. Half of the memes in MMA history were created thanks to the Diazes, and the last time we saw nick, he was doing this:
Now, Nick is free. His 18-month suspension for marijuana metabolites has been lifted. It’s time to do some matchmaking — who should Nick Diaz have his return fight against? The usual Uproxx MMA crew was all over the place, and our special guests were just as diverse. The one surprising thing — rematches were a constant.
Granted, all of these entries were written before Robbie Lawler lost his belt, but that might just make the Lawler rematch more likely (unless Nick gets the Woodley fight that Tyron so desperately wants).
Jessica: Nick Diaz is back, baby! There’s an interesting three-way scuffle when it comes to who Diaz should fight. There’s the guys he should be fighting, which are guys hovering around the top 15, since he hasn’t won since 2011. Then there’s the fights Nick thinks he should get, which are the big money fights. Then there’s the fights that would just be rad as heck and that’s what I care about, because they don’t care about rankings.
With much consideration, and since Lyoto Machida is likely going on suspension as Nick is coming off, I gotta say that Diaz versus Wonderman Thompson is the best potential matchup. Nick once said he plays as Ryu in Street Fighter since “he’s most like me”. Well, Thompson is a karate man, too, so this might be the best chance we’ll ever have of Ryu versus Ken in the UFC.
Jason: The only person who could make a Nick Diaz fight boring is Daniel Cormier. Even though I’d love for Nick to take a fight at 205 (I believe in his weight gain!), I think the realistic fight here is Matt Brown. I would very much be down for a Matt Brown/Nick Diaz fight considering it makes sense within the welterweight division rankings, and it would just be fire. I think Jessica is onto something with Wonderboy, but if we’re going to the top 2 in the division, screw it — give him a title shot. Lawler/Diaz 2 is not only a big fight, but the storyline of Lawler avenging his loss in his late career resurgence would be cool. That’s predicated on Lawler beating Woodley, though. And if Nick wants to go up to 185, then give him Bisping. That’s a fight I’ve wanted to see for years. We need to get over his record and just give Diaz all the big fights. Come on.
Dan MacRae: My first instinct is to get worked up into a lather about a possible Diaz/MacDonald welterweight tilt, but then I forgot that Rory has to grow a new nose for that to happen. Instead, I’m going the novelty route and consider Nick Diaz vs. Anderson Silva 2 as the ultimate return match wet dream. Dana White would likely disagree because their first bout resulted in Silva getting popped and Nick continuing to be more weed than man, but there’s marquee value and likely a different fight in store with Silva shifting from division titan to aging attraction. Nick beating Silva pal B.J. Penn at UFC 137 adds storyline seasoning and there’s the potential that Nick gets his first non-decision result since his Strikeforce days. It’s not necessarily the best fight available to Nick, but it’s one that could make him tons of cash.
Bill: I’ll honestly be happy with Nick Diaz fighting absolutely anyone, just because I can never have enough active Diazes in my life. The most reasonable answer is someone like Nate Marquardt or Tim Boetsch, but if we’re blue-sky dreaming, I just want to see a rematch between Diaz and Anderson Silva.
It’ll probably have to be a catchweight match, of course, but a pissed-off, long-layoff Nick against Fat Anderson would really warm my heart.
Worst case scenario, add him to the group of dudes lining up to clean Bisping’s clock.
fight.memes's photo https://t.co/oN0BA6ZFtV
— Nick Diaz (@nickdiaz209) February 28, 2016
For the record I like @nickdiaz209 I've always been a fan. But if wants to throw down I'm in.
— michael (@bisping) February 29, 2016
Tommy Messano: Nick Diaz’s first fight back needs to be versus Georges St-Pierre. Diaz’s loss to pre-USADA GSP still munches away at his soul. Read what GSP drove Diaz to say the last time these two were scheduled to fight:
“I pull up to a stoplight the other day and some f*cking 40-year-old lady, some soccer mom sticks her head out the window and she’s like, ‘I hope GSP beat’s your ass!’ We’re in f*cking Lodi, b*tch! I’m like, ‘Are you serious?’ We are in Lodi right now and you’re hoping he beats my ass? That’s f*cking wonderful. I’m living in a small town with people that hate me over here. I’m trying to work my way up into a fight and now I’m the most disrespectful person that walks the Earth and I deserve to have the sh*t beat out of me and I’m this disgusting person because when you (St-Pierre) say something, everybody f*cking believes it, dude. Everybody wants to think what Georges thinks and what Georges says and look like Georges and wear tight shorts like Georges and be strong and forget about jiu-jitsu and forget about boxing, let’s do a Superman punch like Georges. F*ck mixed martial arts, f*ck the martial arts aspect and the jiu-jitsu. That’s disrespectful. If you want disrespect, that’s it right there.”
Make it happen, UFC.
Jared: Let’s be honest, if we’re going to fantasy pick what will likely be the only Nick Diaz fight we’ll see for the next year or two, it might as well be the one that returns the most bang for our buck. Luckily, I know a guy who not only turns in Fight of the Night-worthy performances every time he steps into the octagon,but has recently been making a hell of a splash in the welterweight division as well: Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
I could probably just stop there and await my award for “Greatest Matchmaking Job Ever: Internet Division,” but first, a few quick facts.
Since moving up to 170 at the start of the year, Cerrone has arguably looked better than ever, rattling off back-to- back wins (and “Performance of the Night” bonuses) over Alex Oliveira and Patrick Cote. Cerrone is also the first man to ever legitimately TKO “The Predator,” which really says something for a guy who has faced such heavy hitters as Stephen Thompson, Anderson Silva, Tito Ortiz in his prime, Drew McFedries, and KALIB THE CRUSHER STARNES to name a few.
Aside from the fact that Cerrone has likely already agreed to this fight on Twitter, he’s also the most reliable guy on the roster to show up on fight night (I don’t think he’s ever pulled out of a fight), eats nails and sawdust for breakfast every goddamn day, and once beat the Water Temple level from Ocarina of Time while blindfolded and stuck in a Chinese finger trap. Again, these are all undeniable truths.
In conclusion, Cerrone is the realest, most hardcoringest non-Diaz to ever step foot in the octagon, and his history with Nate Diaz makes him the perfect guy to welcome Nick back to the cage. He is as bad at balancing a budget as he is awesome at fighting, and chances are that he’s already spent the money he would make on this fight anyway. Do it up, Joe Silva.
SpilledBagOfIce: It’s been a dozen years since he beat Robbie Lawler and that would be a great fight and I think he could beat Bisping if he wanted to go up to 185 but but he’s not getting a title shot coming off 2 losses and a no-contest. Matt Brown would be fun. Or Cowboy Cerrone. It’s a tough question but you know who I really wanna see him fight…. Conor McGregor. *mic drop*
*picks up mic* Seriously, like you wouldn’t watch that?
Justin Golightly: It seems as if the UFC has realized that their laughable rankings are as meaningless as everyone have said they were. Rankings be damned. They’ve just booked Henderson versus Bisping 2 for the Middleweight title and Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor twice now, both in lieu of the contenders in line on paper. So, what of the other Diaz? Nick Diaz has stated he only wants big fights on his return. What bigger fight is there than Nick Diaz versus Robbie Lawler 2 for the title?
The fact is, UFC is booking with interest and money in mind, and if Bisping can fight Henderson for a title based off simply timing and history, then Diaz can rematch Lawler considering he already knocked him out when he was like sixteen. Depending on which weight Diaz wanted to return at, I wouldn’t be surprised if he even fought Bisping for the Middleweight title as well. Whoever it is, I’m sold on him laying down in the middle of the Octagon and yelling, “come on, b*tch!”