John McCarthy and Josh Thomson call Sean O'Malley "the new Nate Diaz"

Josh Thomson and John McCarthy are of the belief that Sean O'Malley could serve as the next Nate Diaz for the UFC.

In the wake of his emphatic win over Raulian Paiva at UFC 269, Sean O'Malley is arguably receiving as much attention as he ever has within the world of mixed martial arts and in mainstream media, too.

'Sugar' seemingly has everything required to make him a superstar and as we look ahead to 2022, he's setting himself up nicely for a really strong year.

As per Thomson and McCarthy, O'Malley may even rise so high that he gets onto the level of someone like Nate Diaz. During an episode of the Weighing In podcast, the pair had the following discussion:

McCarthy: “He’s lighting it up with the fans, they’ve connected with him, in one way or the other. They either love him or they hate him and it’s all good.”

Thomson: “Is he the new Nate Diaz?”

McCarthy: “Yeah, in a way he is. He’s doing it in a different way, but I love when he says the thing about ‘I’m in the fight business, I’m not in the fight game’. Smart! That’s the way to look at it. This is your business.”

Catch the segment of the Weighing In podcast below:

While O'Malley hasn't had the kind of career that Nate Diaz has, the pair definitely share some of the same qualities and their respective fanbases are beginning to intertwine.

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Will Nate Diaz return to the UFC?

Ever since losing to Leon Edwards in a valiant effort earlier this year, Nate Diaz has made it clear that he does plan on climbing back into the octagon at some point in the future.

He's hinted at fights with several of his colleagues, including Vicente Luque and Conor McGregor, but a new contender seems to be emerging in the race for the Nate Diaz ticket.

The name? Dustin Poirier.

The two have been going back and forth at one another on social media, with the intention being that they will finally settle their rivalry inside the cage in the next few months.

Nothing has been confirmed, but if we get Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier, it could easily be a pay-per-view headliner in 2022.