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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Donagh Corby

Nate Diaz lights joint while cageside for Francis Ngannou vs Ciryl Gane

Nate Diaz didn't miss the opportunity to light up a joint when he appeared on screen at UFC 270 in California last night.

The welterweight star was in attendance at the Honda Center to watch Francis Ngannou fight Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title, and when he was shown on the fan cam he received a massive reception.

Diaz, one of the most beloved MMA fighters in the world, is a California native and was joined at cageside by pals Chris Avila and Mikey Hothi for the massive fight card.

They were in attendance to support Brandon Moreno in his trilogy bout with Deiveson Figueiredo for the flyweight title.

And they decided to spark up when the camera panned to them in the crowd, sparking even louder cheers from the fans in attendance.

Marijuana has been legal in the state of California since 2016, and Diaz is a staunch advocate for its use.

The fighter looked in good shape during his brief appearance on the broadcast, with initial plans having been made for him to fight Dustin Poirier on the undercard, which were ultimately shelved.

He called out Poirier for a meeting that is years in the making after their 2018 bout was cancelled due to an injury suffered by the Louisiana native.

And the pair appeared to both agree, although a deal never came to fruition.

However, Diaz has since said that he will agree to whatever terms the UFC offer so long as he can get a fight with Poirier, whose latest outing saw him beaten by Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title.

Diaz most recently was dominated for five rounds by Leon Edwards, while he was also spotted at Jake Paul's recent fight with Tyron Woodley, where Avila fought Anthony Taylor on the undercard.

"UFC, stop playing with me," Diaz said in a recent social media post. "Consider this my signature to fight this f***er.

"I been trying to fight for a minute quit slowing down the real fight game it’s time."

Who would you like to see Nate Diaz fight next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

And while Poirier has also agreed to terms for a fight, promotional boss Dana White seems non-committal on the bout, saying the schedule is full until May.

“Of course we’re interested - this is what we do," White said in an interview with ESPN during the week. "We make fights every weekend.

"What happens is guys just want to jump out of nowhere and say ‘I want to do this, I want to do that.’

"We have fights booked all the way up until May 2 right now. Everything is in place, everything is done, so obviously Nate Diaz will get a fight.

"I say this all the time, Ive been saying it for 20 years: we are contracted to fight guys three times a year.

"They’ve got to get fights, he’ll get a fight.”

Diaz has one fight left on his UFC deal, and is expected not to re-sign with the company when he eventually becomes a free agent after his next bout.

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