Chael Sonnen reveals the UFC is looking at a potential Nick Diaz vs. Kevin Holland matchup for 2022
Chael Sonnen has revealed that the UFC is looking to book a potential fight between Nick Diaz and Kevin Holland sometime in 2022.
Diaz returned to the octagon after nearly seven years away at UFC 266 in September this year. He suffered a third-round TKO loss at the hands of former rival Robbie Lawler during their rematch inside Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.
Meanwhile, Kevin Holland fought to a no contest with Kyle Daukaus in his most recent outing in October. Speaking on his Beyond the Fight show, Sonnen claimed Holland will likely move to welterweight for a high-profile bout with Diaz.
"Tommy from the bronx just reached out to me. Told me something. I said, 'Is this public?' And he said you can share it. It had something to do with Nick Diaz vs. Kevin Holland. A little bit surprised by it, only because Nick Diaz is such a megastar. But what do you do with him? Nick Diaz ,at all times, is one win away from being in a main event. He was last time when he fought Robbie Lawler... Kevin is gonna change weight classes down to 170 pounds, so we've been told. Nick's still under contract and he wants to do something and everyone wants to see him do it. So you start matching him up very cleverly... I get it. I'm in."
Watch Chael Sonnen speak about the Nick Diaz vs. Kevin Holland below:
Former welterweight title challenger Nick Diaz has fought at middleweight in his last two UFC fights
Nick Diaz (26-10-2) is a former WEC and Strikeforce welterweight champion. He has also challenged for both the interim and undisputed 170-pound titles in the UFC.
However, the Stockton native's last two fights in the world's biggest MMA promotion were at middleweight (185 pounds).
🗓️#OnThisDay in 2015, Nick Diaz made his last appearance in the Octagon at UFC 183, where he faced off against middleweight legend Anderson Silva
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He made his divisional debut against former champion Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in January 2015. The encounter was declared a no contest after both stars tested positive for banned substances.
The UFC 266 bout versus Lawler, on the other hand, was originally scheduled at welterweight. After Diaz was unable to make weight, it was bumped up to 185 pounds.