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Nick Diaz will make his return to the UFC this weekend. He's set to fight Robbie Lawler in a five-round middleweight showdown at UFC 266.
The pay-per-view will mark Nick Diaz's first trip to the octagon since 2015. But in recent interviews, he's already spoken of taking a shot at UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.
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So, assuming he beats Robbie Lawler, does Nick Diaz really deserve a shot at the UFC welterweight champion?
The truth is that there are arguments for and against it. So with that in mind, here are three reasons why Nick Diaz should get a shot at Kamaru Usman – and two reasons why he shouldn’t.
#3. Nick Diaz remains one of the biggest superstars in the UFC
While the UFC has always prided itself on being the promotion that sees the best face-off, the truth is very different.
Sure, a lengthy winning streak can earn a fighter a UFC title shot. But particularly since the promotion’s 2016 buyout at the hands of Endeavor, the UFC has become much more about putting on fights that will draw the most money.
Right now, the UFC welterweight title challenger who could draw the most money is probably Nick Diaz.
Nick Diaz hasn’t fought in the UFC since January 2015. He also hasn’t won a fight in the octagon since 2011, but somehow, he remains a genuine superstar. One of the most polarizing fighters in MMA, Diaz simply draws the fans in, whether that’s because they adore him or because they want to see him get beaten up.
The UFC has seen several pay-per-views draw over a million buys over the years, but only a handful of fighters have headlined those shows. Not many of them are still around. Nick Diaz, though, is one of them.
That makes him a far bigger star than UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman’s other potential challengers right now. It also means that a title fight for Diaz would be hugely tempting for the UFC to book.
#2. The UFC has always used its older legends to build new stars
Some fans will undoubtedly frown upon the idea of handing Nick Diaz a UFC title shot at either Kamaru Usman or Colby Covington.
That’s because Diaz is 38 years old now, hasn’t won a UFC fight since 2011, and hasn’t actually fought since 2015. However, giving an older legend an unexpected title shot would be nothing new for the UFC.
2002, for instance, saw returning legend Ken Shamrock leapfrog the much more deserving Chuck Liddell to take a shot at UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. Shamrock hadn’t fought in the UFC since 1996.
While his 2006 fight with Matt Hughes wasn’t for the UFC welterweight title, it was still an eyebrow-raiser to see 39-year-old Royce Gracie return to the octagon. It forced deserving title contenders such as Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn to wait in line.
In fact, fights like these make sense from a business standpoint. In a trick taken from the world of pro-wrestling, often the best way to create a new star is to have them beat an older legend from a previous era.
Current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is a star of sorts right now. But he hasn’t really been able to ascend to the next level yet, despite beating a fairly big star in the form of Jorge Masvidal twice.
If Usman were to face off against a genuine superstar like Nick Diaz and give the aging legend a beating, it would push him over the top. He would finally become the massive star he deserves to be.
That alone makes the fight a worthwhile one for the UFC to book.
#1. A fight between Nick Diaz and Kamaru Usman would probably be entertaining
When it comes to the popularity of Nick Diaz, it’s worth remembering exactly why he became so famous in the first place.
The native of Stockton, California, has a largely unique personality, even in the world of MMA. He’s a trash talker, but not in the same sense as Conor McGregor. Diaz is abrasive, tells things like they are and genuinely doesn’t care what people think about him.
That personality makes him beloved by some and despised by others. However, when you watch him fight in the octagon, it’s immediately easy to see why he’s such a star.
Nick Diaz has one of the most entertaining fighting styles that we’ve ever seen in the UFC. He blends his volume-based boxing with a truly wicked ground game and a ridiculous amount of aggression.
Essentially, any time he steps into the octagon, it’s well worth watching. Unfortunately for other UFC welterweight contenders such as Leon Edwards, it’s nearly impossible to match Nick Diaz in terms of putting on an entertaining fight.
Diaz’s clashes with Diego Sanchez, Robbie Lawler and BJ Penn rank among some of the best fights in UFC history. There’s nothing to suggest that a fight with Kamaru Usman – even if it’d likely end badly for him – would be different.
At the end of the day, the goal of the UFC is to put on entertaining fights that people want to watch.
#2. Nick Diaz has done nothing to earn a title shot and a win over Robbie Lawler wouldn’t change that
On the flip side, while it’d be entertaining to see Nick Diaz take his shot at the UFC welterweight champion, it’d also be a thoroughly undeserved opportunity for him.
The cold truth is that Nick Diaz has done nothing to earn a shot at the UFC welterweight champion. Even an impressive win over Robbie Lawler wouldn’t change that.
Nick Diaz hasn’t fought since 2015 and hasn’t won in the octagon since 2011. While it’s fair to say that the fighters that beat him – Carlos Condit, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva – were about as far from scrubs as you can get, Diaz still lost.
But wouldn’t all of that change if he beats Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 this weekend? Unfortunately, the answer is no.
While Lawler is a UFC legend in his own right, he's past his prime at this stage. He held the UFC welterweight title from 2014 through to 2016 and made two title defenses. But 'Ruthless' now looks like a shadow of his former self.
Lawler has won just one of his past six contests and is currently on a four-fight losing streak. He also turns 40 in just six months. There's every chance, realistically, that this fight with Diaz might be his last.
It would simply not be fair for some of the other welterweight contenders to hand Nick Diaz a shot at the UFC welterweight title off the back of a win over an aging Robbie Lawler.
#1. Leon Edwards is a far more deserving UFC welterweight contender than Nick Diaz
Handing Nick Diaz a UFC welterweight title shot wouldn’t matter much if there was a dearth of other contenders in the division right now.
Unfortunately for Diaz, though, that isn’t really the case.
Sure, current champion Kamaru Usman has almost cleaned out the division. He’s beaten Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal. He will be looking to beat Covington for the second time in the near future.
Other potential challengers either aren’t quite ready (Khamzat Chimaev) or are coming off losses to other fighters (Stephen Thompson).
But one man looms large over the rest of the division right now, and that’s Leon Edwards.
‘Rocky’ is on the second-longest unbeaten streak in the division behind Usman. He hasn’t lost since his 2015 meeting with ‘The Nigerian Nightmare.’ He’s beaten the likes of Rafael dos Anjos, Vicente Luque and Donald Cerrone.
More importantly, he’s coming off a largely one-sided win over Nick Diaz’s younger brother Nate. Basically, Edwards is about as proven a UFC title contender as it gets.
Therefore, it’d be grossly unfair if Edwards were forced to wait in line for a largely undeserving Nick Diaz. In fact, it’d spit in the face of everything the UFC ought to be about.
