After Michael Chandler’s brutal head kick knockout of Tony Ferguson this past Saturday at UFC 274, he caught the attention of one of the sport’s biggest names.
After Chandler (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) put Ferguson (25-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) to sleep with a front kick to the chin early in the second round in Phoenix, Nate Diaz (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) said he’d like to get in there with the former Bellator lightweight champion.
The two chirped back and forth at each other on Twitter, but Diaz gave arguably his most definitive statement yet about wanting to get the final fight on his UFC contract booked.
“UFC got me on ice for a year now,” Diaz posted on Twitter. “Chandlers obviously ready to fight send a contract it’s time.”
UFC got me on ice for a year now chandlers obviously ready to fight send a contract it’s time pic.twitter.com/YJBWEu790F
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) May 10, 2022
Previously, Diaz had suggested a July 30 fight at welterweight after Chandler suggested a “quick turn around” in which he would “spin your head on its axis,” meaning Diaz.
After a three-fight winning streak in 2011-2012, Diaz has fought just 10 times in the past 10 years and is 4-6 in that stretch. His statement win came with a submission of Conor McGregor at UFC 196 in a short-notice fight in March 2016. Later that year, he lost a majority decision in rematch.
Then Diaz sat out for three years until an August 2019 return with a win over former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. But he lost the “BMF” fight to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244 later that year. In June 2021, he dropped a decision to Leon Edwards at UFC 263.
Ahead of UFC 274, a matchmaking board in the UFC’s offices in Las Vegas was caught on camera and showed a matchup between Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) for UFC 276 on July 2.
UFC president Dana White said that matchup is a hypothetical one – though it’s one he’d like to make.
But perhaps if that doesn’t happen, the promotion has a new target with Diaz and Chandler each seeming to be interested in a fight.