Events as transpiring rapidly for the elder of the fighting Diaz brothers.
News broke, late last night, that the Nevada Athletic Commission had finally cleared Nick Diaz to compete in all combat sports-related activities in the state, which includes Las Vegas.
The UFC star had been fined $100,000 and banned from fighting for 18 months after a failed drug test in 2015. Although the UFC stated that Diaz was back on the active roster, earlier this year, the unpaid $100k fine prevented him from even cornering for younger brother Nate at his two fights with Conor McGregor.
The 33-year-old had only paid off $25,000 of his NAC fine but MMA Fighting report that a settlement has been reached.
Within an hour of that news breaking, UFC weltwerweight champion Tyron Woodley was making his play:
@MMAFighting @arielhelwani Is @nickdiaz209 Free to Scrap to? Perfect time 4 #UFC209 I have the perfect person in mind🤔 @malkikawa @danawhite https://t.co/TFkN7YVLnG
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) December 7, 2016
Woodley is angling for a big pay-per-view headliner and has already declared his willingness to fight Conor McGregor upon his return to the UFC. ‘The Chosen One’ also has Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson, who he split a decision with at UFC 205, on his radar.
Diaz has not fought since his non-contest with Anderson Silva in January 2015. Prior to that he lost to Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit. His last victory in the UFC came in October 2011 over B.J Penn.
Although Diaz is not listed in the UFC’s weltwerweight or middleweight top 15 rankings, such is his PPV drawing power that he could conceivably walk straight back into a title shot.
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