N. Diaz. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Former UFC lightweight title challenger, Nate diaz believes that he will soon have the chance to compete again for the title in the under-70 kg category.
In December 2012, after a sequence of three convincing victories, the American had the opportunity to face then champion Benson Henderson, but ended up defeated by the judges' decision. Then he looked Josh thomson, but was knocked out for the first time in his career.
Next Saturday (30), the younger brother of Nick Diaz will return to the octagon to complete the trilogy against Gray Maynard in the main fight of the final of the 18th season of reality show The Ultimate Fighter.
"I will win Gray Maynard and I will go after [Anthony] Pettis and Thomson to take them down. I will quickly be fighting for the title again,” he said, in a video released by the UFC.
Both times Diaz and Maynard faced each other there was a victory for each side. In the first meeting, still at TUF 5 [and, therefore, the fight does not count in the fighters' official records], Diaz submitted Maynard with a guillotine choke in the second round. In the rematch, in 2010, Maynard won by split decision.
Diaz believes he was the real winner of both fights and hopes to declare his superiority in the third meeting. “I will hit Gray Maynard. It's the third time I'll fight him, so I want to finish him to end it. I won the first one and I think I also won the second fight. You can ask him how he won, but I don't know if there will be a good answer”, he commented, recognizing, however, the qualities of his opponent.
“I improved and I think he improved too. He has good wrestling, hits hard and is a good athlete, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he said. Maynard, 34, is also coming off a defeat: he was knocked out by TJ Grant at UFC 160, in May this year.
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