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Nate Diaz is undoubtedly one of the biggest draws in the UFC right now. A huge fan favorite, the Stockton native is known for his durability and resilience inside the octagon and his brazen and outspoken nature outside the cage.
Diaz has the ability to turn a fight on its head even after seemingly getting touched up until the very end of the three or five scheduled rounds.
The 37-year-old has just one fight left on his current UFC contract and it doesn't seem like he is willing to extend the same. While he's been seeking a fight for quite some time now, the UFC is reluctant to give him what he wants.
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The Stockton native is rumored to fight Khamzat Chimaev down the line, but the fight is yet to be announced officially. He previously claimed that Chimaev refused to accept the fight, citing injury. Although nothing is confirmed yet, UFC president Dana White recently said that it would make for an interesting matchup.
With clouds of uncertainty hovering over Diaz's future inside the octagon, it remains unclear whether we will even see him fight again. Even if we do, it is most likely going to be the last fight of his UFC career. If that is the case, and it seems like it will be, there are some dream fights that fans will be missing out on.
Let's take a look at five such fights featuring Nate Diaz that have not happened over the years.
#5 Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson
Nate Diaz and Tony Ferguson are two of the most popular fighters in UFC history. 'El Cucuy' previously went on a 12-fight winning streak in the UFC but his run was ended by Justin Gaethje. Since then, Ferguson has lost three more fights in a row, against Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, and Michael Chandler respectively.
Diaz, on the other hand, has lost three of his last four fights inside the octagon. With neither fighter in the title picture right now, it would have made sense for the promotion to book this fun matchup between the two fan-favorites.
Both Ferguson and Diaz are known for their durability, resilience, and never-give-up attitude every time they step inside the cage.
They are also adept at both striking and grappling, and on the face of it, it'd be an intriguing fight, probably too close to call. After Nate Diaz seemingly challenged the entire UFC roster recently by asking for a fight, Ferguson responded, likely insinuating his eagerness to fight the Stockton native.
At this stage of their careers, it's a fight that makes sense for both men, but the UFC is reluctant to book Diaz in a fight until he extends his contract with the promotion.
For now, it seems like another dream matchup for fans that is unlikely to take place with just one fight remaining on the 37-year-old's contract and Diaz unwilling to extend the same.
#4 Nate Diaz vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov aren't fond of each other and over the years, neither man has tried to hide the fact. Their rivalry began at the World Series of Fighting (now known as the Professional Fighters League) in 2015 when the Stockton native claimed that he apparently slapped the Russian.
"They took a group picture with me behind them, just to laugh at me, make fun of me. And then I'm watching my friend walk out, trying to watch his fight, and [Khabib] is like, ‘Ah, come on, man’ and they’re all laughing, 12 Russian dudes. I slapped him in his face for making fun of me and I’m like, ‘What?’ And he didn’t do nothing."
Diaz later claimed that Nurmagomedov and his Russian teammates were apparently mocking him and making fun of him, which prompted him to act aggressively. The pair almost came to blows another time during UFC 239 back in 2019 but the UFC security handled the situation before it could escalate.
Although Khabib retired in 2020 and a fight between him and the Stockton native never came to fruition, it would have been quite the spectacle to see Diaz and Nurmagomedov share the octagon in a bid to settle their rivalry.
#3 Nate Diaz vs. Michael Chandler
Michael Chandler is currently one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC. The former Bellator lightweight champion has a kill-or-be-killed style of fighting inside the octagon which never ceases to provide edge-of-the-seat thrilling action whenever he steps inside the cage.
Following his knockout win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 274, Chandler expressed a desire to fight Diaz in July. Although 'Iron' initially agreed to the July 30 date proposed by the Stockton native, he later claimed that it will be difficult for him to fight so early because he is yet to be medically cleared to compete.
After Diaz accused him of lying about not being medically cleared to compete in July, Chandler reaffirmed that he wasn't lying and asked the 37-year-old to "stay in the gym" and prepare for the fight.
Diaz, however, seems like he's hell bent on fighting in July and has seemingly moved on from the idea of fighting Chandler.
#2 Nate Diaz vs. Kamaru Usman
Nate Diaz has been competing in the welterweight division for almost nine years now. It is surprising that a big draw like him has never fought for a world championship title in the division. This is likely due to the fact that he failed to put together a run of wins that could earn him a title shot.
His star power, however, almost earned him a crack at the title against reigning champ Kamaru Usman. Following Usman's emphatic knockout victory over Jorge Masvidal in their rematch at UFC 261, the Stockton native challenged 'The Nigerian Nightmare' to a fight.
Diaz jibed at Usman for calling out Colby Covington for a rematch after beating Masvidal, claiming that the 35-year-old had already finished 'Chaos' in their first fight.
In response, Usman claimed he'd be more than willing to share the octagon with Diaz and asked the Stockton native to talk to UFC matchmaker Hunter Campbell if he was serious about the fight.
The back-and-forth continued for a while on Twitter but the speculation surrounding a fight between the pair died down when Dana White confirmed that Usman would indeed fight Covington in a rematch at UFC 268.
#1 Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier
Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier were initially booked to fight at UFC 230 back in 2018. The fight, however, didn't come to fruition as the Louisianan pulled out due to an injury he required to undergo surgery for.
Earlier this year, with both men looking for an opponent to fight, they decided to go up against each other. Diaz and Poirier indulged in several back-and-forths on Twitter and seemed to verbally agree to fight one another. The Stockton native said he wanted to fight Poirier and subsequently retire from MMA.
Poirier too seemed game to fight Diaz and fans were hyped to see two of their favorite fighters share the octagon but the UFC brass played spoilsport. Diaz revealed that the UFC apparently isn't interested in booking a matchup between him and 'The Diamond'.
"I just talked to the ufc I said wassup with the Dp fight I wanna fight asap but they said dustin sucks and they don’t want it sorry Dustin you suck hope to fight asap tho let’s do this Ps Olivera you suck too."
Whatever be the reason for the promotion rejecting the idea of a potential scrap between Poirier and Diaz, fight fans were denied of what would have been an intriguing fight between two elite fighters.
