Nate Diaz’s protégé earns fifth consecutive win as he targets Octagon return following shocking UFC and PFL releases

Nick Maximov continues to rack up regional wins following UFC and PFL’s disappointments

At 27 years old, Nick Maximov has already been through some significant ups and downs in his career.

He first arrived in the UFC in 2021 with plenty of talk surrounding him due to his status as Nate Diaz’s protégé and a fellow member of the Nick Diaz army.

While his run in the promotion started promisingly with back-to-back wins, two consecutive losses led to Maximov being surprisingly cut from the roster after he lost his undefeated streak.

He bounced back from this setback by putting together several wins in promotions like Fury FC and Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat before receiving an offer from the PFL.

Maximov didn’t compete for the PFL despite being scheduled at one stage to step in as a middleweight alternate and being offered a late notice bout that he turned down, leaving the promotion to part ways with him.

Looking to get his career back on track, he recently returned to Faber’s promotion where he successfully defended his welterweight title, beating Renato Valente via unanimous decision in the main event of A1 Combat 29 on August 1.

Nick Maximov claimed that his goal is still to return to the UFC

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Nick Maximov spoke about his departures from both the UFC and PFL and how that has impacted his career.

He’s been through a lot of setbacks and career adjustments but the 27-year-old now hopes that he’s on his way back to the Octagon.

Maximov told MMA Junkie that the UFC is still his goal and he hopes that his decision to briefly sign with the PFL won’t affect this.

“We’re going to shoot for the UFC,” Maximov said. “That’s the goal and has always been the goal. Hopefully this shows I want to go to the UFC more than anything, rather than going to their rival.”