Don’t be surprised if there’s a Diaz sighting in the UFC in 2023.
That’s according to Jake Shields, a longtime member of the Skrap Pack and teammate of the Diaz brothers. While Nate Diaz may have parted ways with the UFC earlier this year, older brother Nick Diaz remains under UFC contract, having been sidelined since his third-round TKO loss to Robbie Lawler in September 2021. Shields hopes that this will change in the near future.
“I think so,” Shields told Inside Fighting this past week when asked about Diaz fighting in 2023. “He’s looking a lot better, training again. I think we’re going to see Nick back.”
Nick now looks far better than he did when he fought Robbie
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) December 21, 2022
Shields added on Twitter: “Nick now looks far better than he did when he fought Robbie.”
Diaz (26-10, 1 NC) returned to action at UFC 266 after a six-year layoff and lost a bizarre showing that saw him refuse to stand after being dropped by Lawler in the third round. Diaz’s coach Cesar Gracie claimed in August that the 39-year-old veteran entered the bout with two ruptured disks in his neck and “had to pretty much take that fight” because of financial issues. Gracie claimed that Diaz was unable train properly because of numbness and numbness. However, Gracie has now addressed the neck problems and Diaz is back to normal.
“He had an operation, and he placed the titanium disks in his neck. He’s now feeling fantastic,” Gracie said to Submission Radio back in August.
” It’s almost like Nick is back. That’s really great. So, now that that’s happened, we’re waiting for the doctors. It’s a second appointment [in September].. He should then be allowed to resume his rigorous training. He can’t run or hit anything right now. He wants to fight. The UFC, I have been in touch with them. They just called me yesterday asking Nick about Nick. There are some really cool fight options .”
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A former Strikeforce welterweight champion, Diaz holds notable wins over B.J. Frank Shamrock and Paul Daley are among the many names that Penn has defeated.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/12/22/23522910/jake-shields-says-nick-diaz-looks-far-better-than-he-did-in-last-ufc-fight-expects-2023-return?rand=96749
