When it comes to lightweight, Nate Diaz is the “self-proclaimed king of that division.” Which begs the question: What’s he doing at welterweight then?
Diaz, who appears to be serious this time, is finally set to make his highly anticipated return to the octagon on Aug. 17, when he meets former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in a 170-pound matchup at UFC 241 in Anaheim, Calif.
It’ll be Diaz’s first fight in three years as the 34-year-old veteran hasn’t competed since losing a majority decision to Conor McGregor in their rematch at UFC 202. That fight was preceded by Diaz’s shocking submission win over McGregor five months earlier at UFC 196. Both of those fights took place at welterweight.
But prior to that pair of life-changing bouts, Diaz (19-11 MMA, 14-9 UFC) primarily competed at lightweight, where he’s had most of his success in the UFC. He’s gone 11-6 in the division, which includes winning “The Ultimate Fighter 5” and a 2012 loss to then-champion Benson Henderson. Meanwhile, as a welterweight, Diaz is a modest 3-3 with losses to Dong Hyun Kim, Rory MacDonald and McGregor.
As far as we can tell, making 155 isn’t a problem for Diaz and seems to be more a matter of his desire to cut the weight as opposed to struggling to do it.
With all of that in mind, we asked for our latest Daily Debate: Is Diaz making the right move by coming back to fight at welterweight?
The results (via Twitter):
To hear MMA Junkie Radio hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” discuss the topic, watch the video above.
For more on UFC 241, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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