"I love that he did it his way" - Nate Diaz praised by former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson after stepping away from MMA
Nate Diaz bowed out of the UFC on his own terms after completing the last fight of his contract at UFC 279. His former opponent, Benson Henderson, has praised the welterweight for doing it "his way".
The former UFC lightweight champion spent four years with the company and was realized as one of the greatest 155ers alive during his prime. Prior to making the jump over to Bellator, the now-38-year-old headlined 10 cards for the promotion and fought huge names like Jorge Masvidal, Donald Cerrone, and Anthony Pettis.
While discussing Nate Diaz's departure from the sport, Henderson had nothing but positive words to say about his former foe, insisting that he loves the Stockton representative and enjoyed the way he left.
"To Nate, I mean he did a great job. I'm a fan of Nate Diaz, I love that he did it his way, talking about doing it your way, not breaking to the man, not doing what they tell you to do, I love that he did it his way... Another thing I love the most about him is that he was a true veteran.
"He talked crap, he said this and said that but when it came down to it he was a true veteran of the sport... Hats off to him, respect to him, I'm sure he's still going to get a couple of big paydays down the line."
Following a three-fight win-streak, Nate Diaz was given the chance to fight for his first and only ever UFC title back in 2012. Standing across the octagon from the Californian was Benson Henderson, the lightweight titleholder at the time, who would outwork the challenger and retain his belt via unanimous decision.
Check out what the Bellator star had to say about Diaz in the video below.
What will we see Nate Diaz do next?
Nate has a number of options at his disposal after exiting the UFC on his own terms, but out of those possibilities, what could we potentially see Nate Diaz doing next?
As stated by the man himself during the UFC 279 octagon interview, we'll likely see the 37-year-old testing himself in a boxing ring—likely in a big money fight against Jake Paul—or trying his luck at competitive jiu-jitsu.
If Diaz does decide to return to MMA, the UFC will most probably be his next destination, though it shouldn't surprise many if we see him fighting with the PFL, Bellator, or BKFC.