Chael Sonnen drops a major hint about Nate Diaz's next fight
Chael Sonnen has put forth a juicy piece of insider information regarding Nate Diaz's next fight.
The former UFC middleweight star posted a video on Twitter to reveal that Diaz went to him for advice as he was zeroing in on two potential opponents. In the video, Sonnen, who claims to be "in the inner circle" of Diaz, said:
"Nate said, 'I want [Vicente] Luque.' And I said, 'What do you like about Luque?' Nate said, 'I like the number next to his name.' Went and looked it up, Luque happens to be number three. So I came back to Nate and said, 'Wait a minute. Why do you wanna be the top contender if you don't plan to use that contendership?'"
The sequence of events comes after UFC president Dana White confirmed rumors that Diaz only has one fight left on his current contract. Sonnen added that Diaz's grand plan is to fight out his deal and make himself available for a matchup against Jake Paul. According to Sonnen:
"This is all about Jake Paul – Nate going and boxing Jake Paul. But why [does he] wanna do that with Luque? And said, 'Well, you know those are the types of matchups I like to do.' And he said, 'Chael, what do you think about Tony Ferguson?' My first thought about Ferguson was that he's a [155-pounder]. My other thought on Tony Ferguson was, 'Nate, what in the heck has taken so long?' That will be one of the most massive fights."
Sonnen then said Nate Diaz was ultimately leaning towards picking Tony Ferguson over Vicente Luque after "sleeping on it."
Watch Chael Sonnen reveal Nate Diaz's potential next opponent:
Story Time with Uncle Chael featuring @NateDiaz209 https://t.co/19g0c1Q5kH
Dana White comments of potential Nate Diaz-Tony Ferguson matchup
UFC president Dana White told reporters that "he's working on" Nate Diaz's next fight during the UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori press conference. However, the UFC boss declared that Tony Ferguson is not among the fighters in the running for Diaz's final dance partner.
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@NateDiaz209 Hootie-Hoo -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 https://t.co/JyWcaYV5Zu
Diaz and Ferguson have previously shown mutual interest in fighting each other. The pair of star veterans had an interesting interaction on social media after Diaz posted a picture of Ferguson holding up the interim lightweight title.