Nate Diaz finally has another fight booked and it’ll come against Michael Johnson at UFC On FOX 17 on December 19th.
Diaz hasn’t fought since a unanimous decision loss to the man who now holds the lightweight title, Rafael dos Anjos back in December of last year.
Diaz had come into that fight after almost a year out in protest at his current UFC salary and weighed in almost five pounds over the 155lb limit. It marked his third loss in four fights and saw him slide to 14th in the divisional rankings with the 30 year-old appearing to be in the most turbulent period of his career.
Diaz had been linked to a welterweight fight with Matt Brown earlier in the year, but that fell through after the Stockton native turned it down. The closest he’s been to a fight since was outside the cage at a recent WSOF event in Las Vegas where he became involved in a physical altercation with Khabib Nurmagomedov that threatened to turn into a full-scale riot as both fighters camps got involved in the melee.
So, it’s definitely about time that Diaz got his career back on track and that’ll be easier said than done against a star on the rise in Michael Johnson.
Johnson is actually coming off a loss himself, however it came via a highly controversial split decision verdict against Beneil Dariush earlier this month, with many believing he’d done enough to get the victory himself.
The loss snapped Johnson’s four-fight winning streak, but it’s not damaged his status in the division too much as he still remains at No.5 on the official UFC rankings, so a win over a high-profile fighter like Diaz would likely set him in amongst the division’s top contenders.
Diaz Vs Johnson is set to take place on the main card of the UFC On FOX 17 event whic will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between Rafael Dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone.
