Nate Diaz will return to the UFC before Conor McGregor - UFC analyst makes big claim
NATE DIAZ will return to the Octagon before Conor McGregor, according to UFC analyst Kenny Florian.
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Diaz, 19-11, hasn't set foot inside the cage since suffering a majority decision loss to McGregor in the main event of UFC 202.
According to UFC president Dana White, the Stockton native's lengthy hiatus, the longest of his career, is completely of his own doing.
"Nate Diaz turned down a fight with everybody on the roster," White recently said.
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"We’ve been offering him fights for (a long time). When was the last time he fought? A year-and-a-half-ago?
"For a year-and-a-half, we’ve been offering him fights. As a promoter, we have to offer him fights. Because we’re supposed to give him three fights a year.
"So we continuously offer him fights and he continuously turns them down."
I think we’ll see him first
Like Diaz, McGregor has also been on the sidelines for a considerable amount of time, although he did take part in a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr last August.
Diaz and McGregor's time away from the Octagon has led many MMA fans to ask themselves the same question: Who will return to the UFC first?
Florian, like many others, believes the youngest Diaz brother will be back in action before McGregor has his long-awaited comeback fight.
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“I’m going to go with Nate Diaz,” the former UFC featherweight and lightweight title contender said during the latest instalment of UFC Tonight. “He hasn’t been in the Octagon for a little while.
“I would love to see him fight. This is a guy who is very exciting. He can fight at 155lbs, 170lbs. I think he has more options.
“And the fact he’s back in the gym and posting that stuff I think is a good sign for him.
“I think we’ll see him first.”
