After over five years on the sidelines it seems that Nick Diaz may be on the verge of a comeback.
That’s the word according to his manager Kevin Mubenga via ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, who has revealed he’s already undergone a test weight cut in preparation for his return.
“He weighs in the 175-165 pound range, per his manager Kevin Mubenga,” Helwani wrote on Twitter. “He just completed a 14-week diet and training regimen. This is the first time he cuts weight in approximately four years, Mubenga said. Diaz wanted to do a test cut because he is keeping a close eye on the big welterweight fights coming up. He is “100%” planning on fighting again, per Mubenga, and is targeting an early 2021 return.”
The 37-year-old Diaz’s last fight was against Anderson Silva at middleweight back in 2015, which he lost by unanimous decision, although the bout was later amended to a no-contest after his opponent tested positive for steroids and Diaz also tested positive for marijuana.
That result followed on from two previous losses against Carlos Condit and Georges St-Pierre, which had brought an end to an 11-fight winning streak, which had largely been compiled in the Strikeforce promotion, where he had reigned as their welterweight champion.
Once the more famous of the Diaz brothers, while Nick has been on the sidelines enjoying a party lifestyle it’s his younger brother Nate who has been hitting the headlines in recent years courtesy of his blockbuster fights with Conor McGregor and more recently Jorge Masvidal.
Nick Diaz is unquestionably a unique character though and if he does return it will likely be against another major star and will generate a lot of hype, though it remains to be seen how much he will have left in the locker after such a long layoff.
