Mixed martial arts legend and crowd-favorite fighter Nick Diaz will fight again at the end of this year according to his manager and jiu-jitsu coach Cesar Gracie
Nick Diaz has been on a public hiatus ever since he historically returned to the UFC octagon at UFC 266, after a six-year lay-off. Diaz is widely regarded as a pioneer for integrating fitness and cardio into MMA and utilizing his endurance to drown opponents. The legendary Diaz pressure and output was missing at UFC 266, although ‘The Stockton bad boy’ showed glimpses of his stellar boxing skills. He lost the fight against Robbie Lawler by TKO.
Since that fight, Diaz has made some public appearances at seminars, went on a vacation to Hawaii with his rumored girlfriend and is taking some time away from the anxiety he had building up to fight week.
Although word on the street of a potential fight against Kevin Holland was making the rounds, the rumor wasn’t confirmed by the organization. Diaz’s jiu-jitsu coach and longtime manager Cesar Gracie confirmed on Instagram earlier today that the ‘Stockton Bad Boy’ will return by the end of this year.
He posted a picture of Nick Diaz from his glorious days at Strikeforce as a champion, with the caption, ‘ Look for @nickdiaz209 to fight by the end of the year.’
What went wrong with Nick Diaz at UFC 266 ?
Nick Diaz’s interview with ESPN reporter Brett Okamoto had the fans perturbed considering his willingness to fight. Although the Stockton superstar is never afraid to scrap, his physical shape before the fight left fans in a cold sweat.
The MMA community was delighted to see Nick Diaz in top shape and ripped while he was in camp preparing for Robbie Lawler. However he showed up to fight week, not in his best form, and the bout had to be moved to middleweight owing to that.
It was reported that Diaz had some problems towards the end of the camp with a switch in management. Kevin Mubenga was his manager when the bout was scheduled, but according to his former strength and conditioning coach Jose Garcia, Cesar Gracie took over the remainder of his fight camp, which forced the switch in management. Longtime training partner and MMA legend Jake Shields reacted to his fight at UFC 266 by saying, ‘ Wanted to do a fight later but was pressured to take it before he was ready. People care about money not his health’
Has Nick Diaz finally got his life outside the octagon organized, and his team set for a potential return, is a question that remains for the future.
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