"I wouldn't be surprised if we see Nate Diaz back in the octagon" - Michael Bisping names two blockbuster Nate Diaz matchups that are likely to happen before the Stockton native "retires into the sunset"
Nate Diaz's main event fight against Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 was perhaps his last in the UFC. The iconic fighter brought his storied chapter in the octagon to a close, but there is equal anticipation for what he does next.
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping offered his take on the oft-discussed topic on his podcast Believe You Me. Bisping named the two potential Nate Diaz fights that would draw the most fans as being against former opponent Conor McGregor and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul:
"I wouldn't be surprised if we see Nate Diaz back in the octagon at some point. Because yeah, there might be a big money fight with Jake Paul, that's great, I hope it happens. Hope they make a ton of money. There might be a third fight with Conor outside the UFC, I find that difficult to believe because you know Conor would have to be out of contract with the UFC but if they did do that, they would make a lot of money."
Bisping continued:
"And I think with those two fights alone, he could probably go off and retire into the sunset. But if those don't happen, I mean what's he gonna do? Bellator? PFL? Bareknuckles boxing? Right now the biggest gravy ticket for him would be fighting pay-per-views in the UFC and getting a percentage of it and making millions of dollars."
Catch Bisping's full comments on the Believe You Me podcast:
Nate Diaz hints at a return to the UFC
Michael Bisping maintained that staying on in the UFC is Nate Diaz's best prospect commercially and opportunity-wise. Perhaps the Stockton favorite shares the same notion as he recently hinted towards a return to the UFC.
In his octagon interview with Joe Rogan after his submission win against Tony Ferguson, Diaz said:
"I'm gonna go out there, I'm gonna take over another profession and become the best at that, show everybody I'm the best at that and then I'm gonna be right f*****g back here to get a motherf*****g UFC title, the best title in the world."
While Diaz listed the various other combat sports he is open to trying, he maintained that the UFC title is the most premier championship in the world and stated his intent to return for it. A UFC championship is the only achievement lacking from Nate Diaz's incredible time in the promotion.
Watch his complete octagon interview with Joe Rogan: