Will Nate Diaz’s next fight be his last? It seems that could be the case if you take his word for it.
Diaz (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) has called out Dustin Poirier on numerous occasions since last year, and he did it again Friday night at Shaq’s Fun House as part of Super Bowl festivities in Los Angeles – but this time there was an unexpected twist.
“I would like to fight Dustin Poirier, like now,” Diaz told TMZ on the red carpet. “Like I’ve been trying to. If there’s any mix-up, it’s him and them and the game,” Diaz said.
“I want the fight now. What’s up? Dana White, let’s get this retirement fight cracking so I can get out of this fight game. I’m done with it.”
It’s the first time publicly that Diaz, 36, has mentioned the possibility of retirement. Diaz has one fight remaining on his UFC contract and appears to have no intention of re-signing with the promotion. His older bother, former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz, seemed conflicted about continuing on with his MMA career after losing to Robbie Lawler last September in his first fight in more than six years.
It’s unclear what the hold-up has been to book Nate Diaz against Poirier, as both men have expressed interest in fighting each other. They were supposed to meet in November 2018 at UFC 230, but Poirier withdrew because of an injury roughly one month away.
Diaz, one the UFC’s most popular fighters, has lost two fights in a row, most recently dropping a unanimous decision to Leon Edwards last June at UFC 263.
https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2022/02/ufc-nate-diaz-wants-retirement-fight-vs-dustin-poirier
