The UFC plans for a huge PPV at UFC 306 at the Las Vegas Sphere, but Daniel Cormier doesn’t want Nate Diaz.
Well, more specifically, DC doesn’t want Diaz to headline the card. Diaz tweeted he had no interest in UFC 300 but instead wanted to be at the 306 card, the first for the brand new sphere.
But unless Diaz fights one of two huge superstars, it might be time to avoid putting him at the top of a PPV, according to Cormier.
“I like Nate Diaz, but I believe now it is the time for us to be honest with ourselves so that Nate can start to be honest with himself.” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “There are only a couple of people that he can headline a pay-per-view with right now, just because of where he is in his career. I think that’s Conor McGregor if they do the trilogy and possibly Jorge Masvidal. But we also have to be honest to ourselves in this regard: We are keeping these dudes, Masvidal and Diaz, relevant.
“Because when they say things everybody jumps on it, like I am doing right now myself. But does that pay-per-view, Noche UFC, look better to you with Nate as the main event? While the name value is exciting, Nate Diaz the fighter isn’t that guy anymore. … This isn’t the guy that beat Conor the first time. Nate has had moments. Against Leon Edwards, he had a moment. But outside of that, he got beat on the whole time. Last time he won a fight was against Tony Ferguson, and we know who Tony Ferguson is today.”
Diaz is 21-13 in his MMA career and last beat Ferguson, as Cormier alluded to, in September of 2022. Since beating McGregor in 2016, Diaz went 2-3 over the six years.
A fan favorite and one time UFC lightweight title challenger, Diaz pretty much was just an attraction.
A win or loss didn’t matter as long as it was entertaining. But that act seems to have worn thin with Cormier, at least as a headliner.
There’s been rumors of a trilogy fight with McGregor or a rematch with Masvidal, after the two fought for the inaugural BMF belt. But with Masvidal retired and McGregor set up to fight Michael Chandler, which has its own challenges, those two aren’t current options.
Diaz last fought April 12, 2023 in a boxing match against Jake Paul, which he lost via unanimous decision.
He remains unsigned by an MMA promotion at this time.
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