Latest news with #NateDiaz
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Nate Diaz Names Four Opponents For Potential UFC Return
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: Nate Diaz is seen in the corner of Kron Gracie during the UFC 310 ... More event at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) The last time Nate Diaz fought under the UFC banner was in September 2022, when he scored a submission win over Tony Ferguson in a fight that came to be when his initial opponent, Khamzat Chimaev, came in overweight for their main event welterweight matchup. The matchup at UFC 279 was the final fight on Diaz's UFC contract. The now 40-year-old Diaz seems interested in making a return to the UFC in 2025. "I plan on going back to UFC," Diaz said on "The HJR Podcast." "If they'll have me, I would like to go back and (expletive) whoop someone's ass there. I'm not fighting at (155 pounds), though. Right now I'm not fighting in there because there's nobody to fight really. It's kind of slow rolling. I don't really have a name in mind right now in the UFC. That's why I'm not there right now." Diaz (21-13 MMA, 16-11 UFC) has not competed in MMA since his win over Ferguson. Instead, he picked up a 1-1 record in boxing during his time away from the Octagon, losing a decision to Jake Paul in 2023 and then beating former UFC opponent Jorge Masvidal by decision in 2024. As for who Diaz could face if he makes a UFC return, the one-time UFC lightweight title challenger said that a trilogy fight against Conor McGregor would be on the table. "Whenever he's back, I'm sure we're going to fight," Diaz said of the man he went 1-1 against. "Me and him for sure got unfinished (business). Got to happen." In the first Diaz vs. McGregor matchup, the Stockton, California competitor scored a second-round submission upset over his Irish opponent at UFC 196 in March 2016. The two then met in a rematch at UFC 202 in August 2016, with McGregor picking up a majority decision win in that matchup. Both Diaz vs. McGregor meetings won "Fight of the Night" bonuses. As for other potential opponents, Diaz expressed interest in facing former UFC featherweight champions Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria. "Those are the guys right there who I would want to fight, like Max Holloway," Diaz said. "I would like to fight the other guy who's really good too, Topuria. He's really good, but he's smaller than me. I'm done with 155. I'm cool off that. It always was (a hard weight cut). When I was 18, it was hard. I'm staying at '70. I'll fight at 185, too." Not long after speaking about McGregor, Holloway, and Topuria, Diaz uploaded a video to his YouTube page where he said he would be willing to face former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad. I'll fight Belal's ass," Nate Diaz said while watching Muhammad lose his title to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315. "I think I'd beat the (expletive) out of Belal Muhammad." UFC CEO Dana White has not spoken about a potential Diaz return to the promotion, but Diaz seemed to fight out his contract on good terms with White and the promotion. "I always joke around about dealing with the Diaz Brothers. These two, you see it now. They're two iconic fighters that20 years from now everybody will remember and talk about. This will always be Nate's house. Nate grew up here," White said in 2023. "He came up on 'The Ultimate Fighter.' He fought some of the biggest fights ever here. We love the kid. I don't know about fighting in the future, but this is always going to be his house. We'll see."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nate Diaz claims he was supposed to star in 'Road House,' not Conor McGregor
Apparently, the movie remake of "Road House" was supposed to look a lot different. Former UFC star Nate Diaz claims that he was the original plan to play the protagonist's bad guy, Knox, and not his rival Conor McGregor, who ended up co-starring in the film alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. "Road House" was released in 2024 on Prime Video, and it made plenty of headlines given McGregor's involvement. Diaz claimed he turned down the role due to Gyllenhaal's prior role as a gay lover. "I was supposed to do Conor McGregor's part in Road House," Diaz said on "The HJR Podcast." "That was my part, but I was like I'm not fighting, go in there and losing a fight. I've seen the original Roadhouse. So I'm the main bad guy? I'm supposed to fight who's the Patrick Swayze then? And they said it was Jake Gyllenhaal, and I'm like, 'I ain't going to no movie and losing to no Brokeback Mountain.' F*ck that. I'm good. I can't do it." McGregor and Diaz have plenty of history between the two. They're fought twice, with Diaz submitting McGregor in the first fight back in 2016, and McGregor winning the second bout by decision a few months later that same year. Since, the two have spent tons of time trash talking each other online, and many hoped to see a trilogy bout between the two – which now seems unlikely. Diaz is no longer signed with the UFC, and McGregor hasn't fought since breaking his leg in 2021. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Nate Diaz says he was to star in 'Road House,' not Conor McGregor
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Daniel Cormier wasn't surprised Nate Diaz got into Russia reality show brawl
No one was surprised when the news broke that Nate Diaz was involved in a brawl during the filming of the Russian version of The Ultimate Fighter, "ALF Reality." Diaz was in Thailand filming an episode of the reality series alongside UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones when he got into a physical altercation with a contestant on the show. Video of the incident went viral. Advertisement Former UFC two-division champion and Jon Jones rival Daniel Cormier was offered a coaching position but turned I down. Instead, Diaz was slated to coach opposite Jones. "So I guess, Russian TUF, I was supposed to do this show, and the more and more that I hear about it, I'm kind of sad that I didn't go and do Russian TUF," Cormier said on his YouTube channel. "One of the things I was told was, 'Hey, we'll get you a massive villa. You're going to get paid big money.' It was big money. You get a big villa, a house, spend a month in Thailand and you coach these dudes." When Diaz was chosen to appear on the show, it was obvious to Cormier that the likelihood of something like what occurred happening was high. Advertisement Related: Jon Jones reacts to Nate Diaz Russian reality show brawl: 'It became serious right away' "Of course at Russian TUF, when you put Nate Diaz, who the Russians don't like, on Russian TUF, there's going to be an issue. I don't know - It's actually laughable because I don't know how you couldn't see this coming," Cormier said. "Nate Diaz and Khabib [Nurmagomedov] famously can't stand each other. Khabib can't understand why people like Nate Diaz when he's lost as many times as he's lost. Nate Diaz doesn't think Khabib is a fighter, which is unbelievable. These guys have been going back and forth for years. "They've gotten into fights. They can't be in the same area. I'm pretty sure someone over there on Russian TUF has some sort of ties to Khabib," continued Cormier. "But you stick Nate Diaz on there and what happens? He gets into a fight very, very early into the filming of the show." "You can't make this up, guys. You can't write this," he added. "Of course Nate Diaz fought one of the competitions. That's what would happen in that situation. I would just like to know what truly made it pop off."
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Diaz exits reality show with Jones after melee on set
Nate Diaz has dropped out of doing a reality TV show with Jon Jones after there was a melee on set in UFC stars were set to be opposing coaches on a Russian version of The Ultimate 40, arrived in Thailand this week, but a scuffle broke out involving several of his team on the first day of filming."We had one of our young fighters, a guy named Zalik, he was playing with Nate," Jones told Red Corner MMA. , external"He wanted to play-fight with Nate."Nate kind of came in a little bit on edge, I think he had some previous beef with some Russian fighters, so he was a little bit on edge when he got here. "Play-fighting with Nate was not the best idea. It became serious right away, and we had to replace Nate."Jake Shields, who flew with Diaz to Thailand, said the American "slapped" the individual who tried to grab him before several more people got has since emerged of the altercation, showing Jones tried to play peacemaker when the first melee happened before a second incident broke out will continue filming the reality show. The UFC heavyweight champion has refused to confirm whether he is officially retired or not while interim belt holder Tom Aspinall waits to find out if he will fight the left the UFC in 2022 and has competed in two boxing matches since then against Jake Paul and his former MMA rival Jorge Masvidal.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Jon Jones opens up on ‘serious' Nate Diaz brawl on reality TV show
Jon Jones has detailed Nate Diaz 's exit from a Russian reality television show, on which the pair were working until the latter became involved in a brawl. The MMA show, which has been described as a Russian version of The Ultimate Fighter, is being filmed in Thailand, where chaos broke out on the set this week. 'We had one of our young fighters, a guy named Zalik, he was playing with Nate,' Jones told Red Corner MMA. 'He wanted to play-fight with Nate. 'Nate kind of came in a little bit on edge, I think he had some previous beef with some Russian fighters, so he was a little bit on edge when he got here. Play-fighting with Nate was not the best idea. It became serious right away, and we had to replace Nate. 'I've been around the Bushido spirit for a long time, that martial arts spirit where everybody has a certain degree of... kind of certain rules you don't cross – like a martial arts spirit and everything. I don't think there's a lot of that here. 'Some guys are like warriors, and some guys are really just kind of street fighters. There's insults, there's weapons. This show... there's nothing like it, there's really nothing like it.' Diaz's longtime friend and teammate Jake Shields, a fellow former UFC fighter, was also involved in the show until Diaz's exit. He explained the situation in a video on his YouTube channel. 'Nate went and slapped him,' Shields said, referring to the fighter who tried to grab Diaz. That led to a full-blown physical altercation, with Shields adding: 'Right when I started to go off on him, I got just blitzed from the side – not where the fighters were. 'A couple of guys just started blitzing me, which, to me, seemed like they were crew working there, not fighters – because the fighters were in the chairs. To me, it was very clear that it was the staff and the workers. That was one of those moments where it's like: 'I better defuse the situation.' 'Why are we going to go back and film a show? It's one thing to be fighting the fighters; that's why I went out there with Nate, I thought it was a possibility some of these fighters will try to test him. But when you have potentially the crew hitting you, too, it's like: 'No, f*** that.'' Diaz, 40, left the UFC in 2022 after submitting Tony Ferguson in the final fight on his contract. Since then, the American has boxed twice, losing to YouTuber Jake Paul on points and beating fellow UFC veteran Jorge Masival via decision. Meanwhile, Jones . Jones, a former two-time light-heavyweight champion, holds the regular heavyweight title, while Aspinall owns the interim version. Despite that dynamic, which has existed since November 2023, the 37-year-old Jones has continued to dismiss a fight with Aspinall, 32. Britain's Aspinall actually chose to defend the interim title, in a rare move, retaining it last July while waiting for Jones to defend the regular belt against Stipe Miocic. Jones stopped Miocic to retain his title in November, a year after the pair were initially due to fight, with an injury to Jones delaying the bout by 12 months. Still, Aspinall has failed to book a fight with the American, who is considered the greatest fighter of all time by some fans, despite Jones's numerous failed drug tests and run-ins with the law.
