Nate Diaz has a new target for 2026, and it’s none other than Paddy Pimblett.
Diaz hasn’t fought since winning a 2024 majority decision in boxing over Jorge Masvidal, putting the two fighters at 1-1 across two different combat sports. While the event was a big success at the gate with over 13,000 people in attendance, Diaz still ended up getting stiffed by Fanmio to the tune of $9 million dollars.
Advertisement
That would sour anyone on freelance fighting outside of the UFC, and since then Diaz has been pushing to return to the MMA promotion and finish off his fighting career with a run for the belt. The UFC doesn’t seem particularly interested in the 40-year-old, but that hasn’t stopped Nate from calling out a new UFC target.
“S—, I’m looking at Pimblett,” he said when asked who he was fighting next. “Probably Pimblett.”
We’re not sure if Diaz is aware, but Paddy Pimblett is a little busy right now. The Liverpool UFC star is set to face Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title on Paramount+ in January at UFC 324. If he wins, he’ll face Ilia Topuria to unify the belts in the summer in one of the biggest fights the UFC could put together. Why deviate from that plan for Nate?
Advertisement
Truth be told, we don’t hate a Diaz vs. Pimblett fight. It’d be a wonderful consolation fight if “The Baddy” falls to Justin Gaethje on January 24th. But the UFC and Nate are not on good terms, despite the lip service CEO Dana White pays to Diaz. They tried to destroy him on the way out by repeatedly matching him up against Khamzat Chimaev. And we’ve heard from many sources that Nate has been persona non grata with the promotion since fighting (and losing to) Jake Paul.
That was echoed by Jake Paul’s promotional partner at Most Valuable Promotions, Nakisa Bidarian.
“There are fighters out there who have guidance from UFC that says, ‘Hey, if you fight with MVP or you fight Jake Paul, you’re not welcome here anymore,’” Bidarian said. “‘You can’t come back, you can’t use the Performance Institute, and you won’t be considered for future fights.’ That’s the reality of how deeply angered they are with what we’ve been able to do. It’s very anti-competitive in many ways, from my perspective.”
That leaves Nate with few options as the clock ticks on the final days of his fight career. Does he really plan to spend those waiting on a Paddy Pimblett fight that won’t come together?
