Diaz Accepts Chandler’s Challenge

If fights against Dustin Poirier and Khamzat Chimaev aren’t going to happen, Nate Diaz is all for a showdown against Michael Chandler. Diaz recently posted an open invite on social media for a fight on July 30 at welterweight, to which Chandler was quick to accept.

Now, the Stockton slugger wants to make it a reality because he once again hopped on his Twitter account to ask Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) matchmakers to make the fight happen as soon as possible.

“UFC got me on ice for a year now Chandler’s obviously ready to fight, send a contract it’s time,” he wrote.

Of course, Diaz has been clamoring for a fight for some time now, likely because he wants to fulfill the final fight of his deal with UFC. Diaz has stated numerous times that he’d love to test his skills elsewhere, but by UFC delaying giving him a fight, he’s still contractually bound to them.

A bout against Chimaev was supposedly in the works for UFC 276, but UFC president Dana White recently said a possible date and location — or even an agreement — was still up in the air. Diaz and Poirier have been at each other’s throats for a few years now, but if that fight was meant to happen you’d think matchmakers would have made it by now.

As for Chandler, he recently got back in the win column thanks to a highlight-reel knockout win over Tony Ferguson last Saturday night (May 7) at UFC 274 (see it again here). The win was his first in three tries, prompting him to call out everyone from Conor McGregor to a championship rematch against Charles Oliveira.

But since the former Bellator MMA lightweight champion didn’t suffer any injuries during his fight against “El Cucuy,” he is more than willing to make a fast turnaround to compete in a couple of months. As for Diaz, he is currently on a two-fight skid and hasn’t competed since losing to Leon Edwards at UFC 263 in June 2021.

Diaz’s proposed date would line up with UFC 277, which could possibly go down in Dallas, Texas. As it stands, that pay-per-view (PPV) event currently features an interim flyweight title fight between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France.