‘Not the same BMF’ … UFC commentator questions if Max Holloway is ‘right fight’ for Nate Diaz

Daniel Cormier has ‘hard time thinking’ Nate Diaz can hang with Max Holloway

The last time Diaz fought in the UFC was in 2022, leaving the promotion off of a submission victory over the winless Tony Ferguson at UFC 279.

Diaz has since gone 1-1 in the boxing ring, dropping his debut against Jake Paul but coming out on top against rival Masvidal in a controversial decision last summer.

Meanwhile, Holloway has put on great striking performances at lightweight where he battered Poirier and Justin Gaethje, which leaves former two-division champion and UFC commentator Daniel Cormier concerned for even a fighter as durable as Diaz.

“I have a hard time thinking that Nate Diaz can fight right now with a guy like Max Holloway,” Cormier said on Good Guy / Bad Guy.

“Because Max Holloway is still ascending,” Cormier explained.

“Nate is still very good. I just don’t know if you can leave MMA, where it’s the same thing we talked about with Amanda Nunes, you don’t get better not doing something.

“Unless Nate has been in training camp this whole time wrestling, grappling, striking, it’ll be hard to get back in there at a championship level.

“This is the biggest difference. The BMF title isn’t what it used to be,” Cormier continued.

“The BMF title before was fun. It was guys that weren’t necessarily in title contention, guys that didn’t really have a path to a title. But now you’ve had the BMF title with Justin, Dustin, Max, and those guys. Those are all, guys that have held some version of a world championship. It’s not the same BMF division that it used to be.

“I’m interested [in Holloway vs. Diaz] because anybody should be interested in Nate Diaz returning.
I just don’t know if that’s the right fight for Nate Diaz.

“Would love it for Holloway because that means a lot of money in his pocket, but I just don’t know if that’s the right fight for Diaz,” Cormier added.

The BMF title was ‘resurrected’ at lightweight in 2023

For nearly four years after the inaugural belt was created, there were no BMF title fights.

The BMF title bout between Diaz and Masvidal was initially thought of as a special ‘one-off’ event. After Masvidal won it at UFC 244 with a doctor’s stoppage TKO, Masvidal’s belt would never be on the line again, despite his next opponent and then champion Kamaru Usman wanting to fight for it.

In 2023, the UFC brought back the title at lightweight instead of welterweight, with Poirier and Gaethje fighting for the second BMF title in the main event of UFC 291. Gaethje won the title via head kick knockout.

Holloway became the first fighter to successfully defend the title when he beat Poirier at UFC 318.