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Nick Diaz is reportedly preparing to fight again in 2022 and while that's exciting news for many fans, former UFC lightweight fighter Josh Thomson believes it's all about the paycheck for the older Diaz brother.
Diaz's longtime coach Cesar Gracie gave a surprise update regarding his pupil's fighting future, declaring "Look for Nick Diaz to fight by the end of the year" in an Instagram post.
During a new episode of the Weighing In podcast, Josh Thomson and 'Big' John McCarthy debated on whether Nick Diaz was trying to fight out his UFC contract or pad his retirement fund. After estimating Diaz had something like three more fights on his contract, Thomson said:
"He's got a ways to go. He's 38-years-old, something like that. I don't think he'll be able to fight out his contract and go somewhere else unless he wants to fight into his mid-forties. I don't think he's interested in boxing either, I think he was when he was younger. I think he's trying to make that last little money grab before he rides off into the sunset, which is fine, it's great."
Watch the full episode of Weighing In discussing Nick Diaz's return below:
Diaz returned to action at UFC 266 in September 2021 against Robbie Lawler. A week before the bout, the bout was changed from welterweight to middleweight at Diaz's request. At times, Diaz looked slow and disinterested en route to a third round stoppage loss.
Prior to that, Diaz hadn't competed in the octagon since a 2015 bout against Anderson Silva, which was ruled a No Contest after both Silva and Diaz failed drug tests.
Dana White said he doesn't think Nick Diaz should fight again
While UFC president Dana White was charitable with regards to Diaz's performance against Robbie Lawler at UFC 266, he later stated that he didn't think Diaz should fight again. In an interview with ESPN, White said:
“Regardless of how good he looked and what he did after such a huge layoff, I don’t think Nick should fight. He’s a grown man and he can do whatever he wants to do. I just don’t think that Nick does it ‘cause he loves it. I think Nick does it ‘cause he has to do it.”
He added:
"I always talk about the people who sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic and go to a job they hate. That’s what I feel like when Nick Diaz is getting ready for a fight. He’s in bumper-to-bumper traffic going to a job that he doesn’t love at all.”
Diaz has a 26-10 MMA record but is just 2-3-1 over the past decade.
