Nick Diaz’s most recent fight, which took place at UFC 266 in 2021, was the last time any of us saw him in action. For 17 years, fans had wanted to see this fan favorite go up against former champion Robbie Lawler. However, Diaz was unable to come back after being knocked down in the first minute of the third round of their middleweight fight, which led to his losing the fight.

Since then, speculation has centered on a probable comeback for Diaz, now 39 years old. His coaches had assured the public that they would see him compete again before the year 2022 came to a close, but that did not happen. Jake Shields, Diaz’s teammate, mentioned in an interview in January that Diaz had been at the gym every day, which added more credence to discussions over a possible comeback.

During the celebrations surrounding UFC 285, Inside Fighting had the opportunity to catch up with Nick. The former champion of Strikeforce provided a concise update regarding his future professional goals.

“I’m asking to fight as soon as possible. Not (against) Jon Jones, though.”

It was then suggested that Israel Adesanya and the current champion Alex Pereira be brought into the picture, which Diaz enthusiastically endorsed.

“Something like that. That’s fine. I always want to fight the best.”

After testing positive for cannabis following his bout with Anderson Silva at UFC 183, Diaz was placed on indefinite suspension beginning in 2015, which is when the rematch with Lawler was scheduled to take place. The result of the fight, which was initially a decision win for “The Spider,” was changed to a No Contest after Silva tested positive for drugs as well.