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#3 Best: Diaz is back in business
At 34 years old and coming off three years of inactivity, there were plenty of questions around what exactly Nate Diaz would have left in the tank, even against a stylistically good opponent for him in Anthony Pettis.
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Well, in the end, Diaz fans need not have worried. Stockton’s favourite son – apologies to his brother Nick – looked like he hadn’t lost a step as he clearly beat ‘Showtime’ to take a lopsided decision win, putting him back on the UFC map with a bang.
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Pettis didn’t fight badly per se; he landed some huge shots on Diaz, but once again the TUF 5 winner showed off his phenomenal chin as he simply absorbed everything his opponent threw without a problem, and essentially forced ‘Showtime’ to wilt across the 3 rounds.
Diaz was too strong in the clinch, had the superior cardio and was able to put insane volume on the former Lightweight champion, hitting him with his trademark combinations from the pocket as Pettis simply couldn’t keep up.
There was even an argument for a stoppage in the third round as Diaz hit Pettis with a series of knees from the clinch that seemed to have him turning away from the fight, but the official allowed it to continue, not that it mattered really.
Diaz called out Jorge Masvidal post-fight and despite Masvidal having an argument for a title shot following his win over Ben Askren, a fight between him and Diaz sounds incredible. The best course of action for the UFC would be to put Diaz vs. Masvidal on the same card as a Kamaru Usman/Colby Covington title fight, but of course, that all leans on Diaz being firmly back in the fold. And as always with Diaz, the only thing that’s for sure...is nothing’s for sure.
