Nick Diaz's training partner believes the 'bad boy' victory at UFC 266 could take him to the belt

N. Diaz returns to the UFC after more than five years of inactivity. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

This Saturday (25), Nick Diaz will make his return to MMA after more than six years of inactivity. Opponent of Robbie Lawler in revenge in UFC 266, the 'bad boy' can regain his status as title challenger if he overcomes his rival, at least that's what Gilbert Melendez thinks. Training partner of the 'bad boy', the veteran's friend explained why he believes the fighter can 'jump the queue' in Ultimate.

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"It is huge. It's a win for everyone. If I am Brian ortega and (Alexander) Volkanovski, I would be excited to have those guys on the card that I'm leading. They will bring the looks. If Nick is successful and wins, of course, he will be in a position to fight for the belt. Everyone will want to face him. Everyone wants to challenge a legend,” said Melendez, in an interview with 'MMA fighting'.

In defense of Nick, Gilbert went on to explain why giving his friend a title fight would make sense. Even though he has been out of the sport for more than six years, Melendez claims that the 'bad boy' is good for the organization's 'business', due to the name he has built and the engagement of a large part of the fans.

“We understand that we are not in the fight business, it is the entertainment business. You have to be a great fighter, but also generate engagement. You can be Conor McGregor, coming off two defeats, come back and fill arenas. You will have the struggles for these reasons. So yeah, it would be huge for Nick to come back and win. All of a sudden he could go straight for a belt,” he concluded.

Challenger for the welterweight belt (up to 77kg) in 2013, Diaz has not fought since his fight against Anderson Silva, in 2015. This weekend, the athlete will play among the middleweights (up to 83,9kg.) in an agreement signed at the beginning of this week.

If you overcome Robbie Lawler, Nick will achieve his first victory in almost 10 years. The veteran's last positive result came in October 2011, when he crashed B.J. Penn in a historic fight at UFC 137.