Nate Diaz has been called out for a bare-knuckle boxing match with Diego Sanchez once he gets out of his UFC contract.
The former lightweight title contender will finally fight his way out of the UFC on September 10 at UFC 279 when he faces Khamzat Chimaev in Las Vegas. And once he is free of his deal, which has kept him exclusive to the promotion for 15 years, there will be a number of suitors willing to pay big money for his services.
And while it is expected Diaz will fight Jake Paul in a boxing match once he is out of his contract, he has also expressed interest in taking on many different disciplines. He has name-checked jiu-jitsu and kickboxing as sports he'd like to pursue, and it's likely a big money offer could sway him to bare-knuckle boxing.
His fellow MMA legend Sanchez is plotting a move to BKFC after fighting in Eagle FC since leaving the UFC, and wants to get a match-up with Diaz. He has already beaten Nate's brother Nick, and called him a "dream opponent" in a social media post.
"How fun would it be to watch Nate Diaz in BKFC," Sanchez wrote on Instagram, tagging the promotion and its president David Feldman, as well as their parent company Triller Fight Club. "Another dream fight for me."
Diaz will face a very difficult match-up in the No.3-ranked Chimaev, who had been told he could just wait on a world title shot if he wanted. The Swede is undefeated, and recently earned a jump in the welterweight standings with a win over Gilbert Burns.
“I think it would be a great fit for our organisation,” Feldman told MMA Junkie of a possible offer to Diaz once he is out of the UFC. “Let’s see what happens with this fight that they just announced in the UFC with him.
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“The one thing I always want to worry about is that these fighters should still be fighting and not saying he definitely should be fighting, But after a tough fight like that, does he want to continue fighting? Is his heart in it? Is his body still in it, and is he ready to do it? If those answers are yes, 100 per cent we would be in the Nate Diaz business, a hundred per cent.”
Diaz has been pushing for a way out of the UFC for years, and finally insisted on getting a deal across the line for his final fight this September. And he is now just weeks away from freedom, having struggled to fully capitalise on his earning potential following a star-making win over Conor McGregor in March 2016.
He has always been a fan-favourite with MMA hardcores, but when he stepped up on short notice to face McGregor at the height of his fame and submitted the Irishman, his stock rose to new heights. But he has fought just four times in those six years, including three years out following their immediate rematch, and a further pair of year-plus gaps in the last two years.
