If Nick Diaz trained properly for his return could he be a Top 5 welterweight?

Absolutely, so long as it never actually takes place. In the mind of a Diaz brothers fan they are only capable of losing actual fights, never hypothetical ones.
 
It's over, he came back for a big paycheck and it's well deserved, he is a crowd favorite and a real badass but it's over.
 
Freddie83 said:
Nick returned out of shape, slow, and extremely unmotivated. With that being said he showed flashes of brilliance with his boxing combinations. I can’t help but think that if Nick was fully committed to his training and fighting again, he could be a Top 5 WW.
What do you think Sherbros?
Click to expand...


Defiantly possible. I agree..


How likely that is to take place depends entirely on him...a guy who's loved hated MMA for decades and really only wants the bigger fights which will slowly be harder to get as he keep loses..


I personally hope he gets new management and get himself to 170lbs quick times and Nate goes back to 155 and the Diaz bros can ride again once last time into the sunset ...well paid and legends ....

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Dude is 38 and hadn't fought in 6 years. That boat has long sailed.
 
The Diaz bros suck.
They're fan favourites because they take damage, spill blood and what not but they both just throw weak sloppy strikes in volume and always lose. Fuck em.
 
He could have came back at a high level when his suspension was overturned. He's at an age right now where I think that he should finish his contract with one more fight (maybe someone like Matt Brown) and do something sustainable with that cash.
 
i think yes. he looked amazing really. it was a pleasure to see his amazing punches in bunches style again. but he was really slow and did not have the cardio to pull it off. but even with that he was cleaning up for some of that fight.

maybe he doesn't have the will anymore but that's another matter.
 
Freddie83 said:
Nick returned out of shape, slow, and extremely unmotivated. With that being said he showed flashes of brilliance with his boxing combinations. I can’t help but think that if Nick was fully committed to his training and fighting again, he could be a Top 5 WW.
What do you think Sherbros?
Click to expand...
I think his time has passed.

I don't think he will fight again for UFC in any weight class. It would surprise me, it really would.
He didn't seem motivated, keen, didn't really want to fight.
I heard his attempts to setup a gym didn't work, so basically I think he did it only for the $$$ and I think the UFC were ok with it as Nate Diaz is so popular but I do really doubt that Nick Diaz has another go.
 
Freddie83 said:
Nick returned out of shape, slow, and extremely unmotivated. With that being said he showed flashes of brilliance with his boxing combinations. I can’t help but think that if Nick was fully committed to his training and fighting again, he could be a Top 5 WW.
What do you think Sherbros?
Click to expand...
Think how much sacrifice it takes to be a pro athlete...training, training, dieting, and more training...endlessly for months on end......you must be hungry....UFC is for young, hungry fighters. Nick is not young and not hungry. How would he muster up that kind of motivation? Life is fun, training is not.
 
Freddie83 said:
Nick returned out of shape, slow, and extremely unmotivated. With that being said he showed flashes of brilliance with his boxing combinations. I can’t help but think that if Nick was fully committed to his training and fighting again, he could be a Top 5 WW.
What do you think Sherbros?
Click to expand...
As many have said, he's a bit long in the tooth. I agree though that he came in looking unmotivated and still put on a decent performance. He could stay relevant and be a gatekeeper for a few years yet if only because of his unique style and selling power, but top 5-10 would be a stretch.
 
Umm tough to tell. Let's assume it's Prime Nick Diaz against the top 5 (and Usman)

0. Usman - Diaz gets the GSP treatment, maybe worse. Just ragdolls and uses his strength. Plus he may hurt Nick due to the threat of the takedown.
1. Colby - Colby is like the grappling version of Nick Diaz. He probably ragdolls him and wins via decision.
2. Burns - Nick could win this as I believe Burns has a meh chin. Plus I don't see Burns subbing Diaz.
3. Leon Edwards - Nick could also win this. Edwards may be the most chinny of the top 5. But if Edwards fights boring and safe, he can win the decision.
4. Luque - Very fun fight, likely the best fight among the top 5. This could be a pick em fight, as both are very tough and durable.
5. WB - I think this goes similar to WB vs Masvidal. WB simply tools Nick in a striking clinic.

Do want to note that Leon and Luque are still very young and can still improve. Neither have hit their prime imo. And WB is old, but if it was Prime WB vs Nick, WB would probably tool him even worse.
 
Freddie83 said:
Nick returned out of shape, slow, and extremely unmotivated. With that being said he showed flashes of brilliance with his boxing combinations. I can’t help but think that if Nick was fully committed to his training and fighting again, he could be a Top 5 WW.
What do you think Sherbros?
Click to expand...
He can definitely do a lot better, would be interested to see how he does in better shape. I think the reason he quit early was because he started gassing early in the fight. He isn't used to that feeling because cardio/conditioning was always his strengths before and now it isn't. Lawler's pressure drained him when he used to pressure fighters. He needs to get close to his fighting shape and ability from before. Get back to a similar mindset as well, that's a big difference that I saw in this recent fight. Can't just train the body, have to train the mind too. He used to come into fights treating it like a fight, this time he just showed up.
 
I think there is a lot missing from Nick's story.

He is a VEGAN who finished a Triathlon in the last few months supposedly.

The body he showed was not one of a vegan triathlete who got thru even a small MMA training camp....

His 1-2 looked nice for about a round worth of time... And I enjoyed watching until he quit.

But the weight he was carrying and his body shape was not that of a marathon runner who has impressive times... Not even an armature runner.
 
jimmy dakine said:
Think how much sacrifice it takes to be a pro athlete...training, training, dieting, and more training...endlessly for months on end......you must be hungry....UFC is for young, hungry fighters. Nick is not young and not hungry. How would he muster up that kind of motivation? Life is fun, training is not.
Click to expand...
My question was if he was “motivated and hungry” today, would he be able to crack the top 5 at WW.
 
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