5 logical fights for Nate Diaz when he makes his UFC return

#4. Nate Diaz vs. Demian Maia

A battle of veterans might be just the ticket for Nate Diaz to get his name back on the scoreboard. Demian Maia is a fifth-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jistu. Despite his exceptional grappling, the 20-year veteran is coming off two straight losses.

In March 2020, Maia fell by way of a first-round TKO to Gilbert Burns. After more than a year away from the octagon, Maia returned at UFC 263 where he lost via unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad.

Currently number 11 in the welterweight rankings, Maia is rightly considered one of the greatest grapplers the sport has ever seen. However, at 43, Maia has passed his athletic prime and appears to be slowing down.

A Nate Diaz fight for Maia should be an easy sell for Dana White and one where the result is somewhat predictable. However, Diaz’s superhuman cardio and on-point ground game would be more than enough to keep him competitive.

In fact, due to the lack of striking on Maia’s part, Nate Diaz would likely have the fight won if he could keep it on the feet. After all, they don’t call him ‘The Stockton Slugger’ for nothing.

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#3. Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone II

It’s safe to say that Donald Cerrone has seen better days in the octagon. The Denver daredevil hasn’t won a fight in more than two years. The main thing keeping him afloat in the UFC right now is his popularity among audiences.

These two previously fought at UFC 141 where Nate Diaz extracted a unanimous decision victory. For the Stockton endurance machine, this is a fight he could almost certainly win again. The popularity of both men would ensure a rock-solid payday as well. With his endurance and aggression, Diaz could quite plausibly secure a TKO/KO win on Cerrone this time around.

While the Stockton native’s slow burn strategies make a round one KO a la Conor McGregor at UFC 246 unlikely, he’d be the favorite to finish the bout in the later rounds.

Although collecting Cerrone’s scalp won’t be quite enough to net Diaz a shot at title contendership, it will improve his frustrating 20-13 record. From Cerrone, a rejuvenated Diaz could move on to bigger things again and likely have the confidence and focus to pick up more victories.