After a three year lay-off, Nate Diaz (20-11) has made his highly anticipated UFC return with a bang.
The Stockton native defeated Anthony Pettis (22-9) at UFC 241 co-main event. The 34-year-old American got the W via UD (30-27, 30-27 and 29-28), completely dominating his adversary for the whole 15 minutes.
“Showtime” got off to a better start, relying on his good striking, but Diaz kept coming back. Nate countered with a takedown late in the opening round, reminding us of his marvelous skillset in the grappling game. Even though he was away from the cage for almost three years, Nate showcased some good boxing, landing at will as the fight went on.
Both fighters got warned to keep their fingers inside the gloves, as Diaz was noticeably wiping away at his left eye, which may have been due to an eye poke. Pettis was way too comfortable with Nate moving forward. Anthony’s counter attempts were too fragile to push back Nate, who turned the bout into a phone booth style fight. The final round saw Diaz completely cutting off the distance. He even knocked Pettis down with a series of knees to the head against the cage that saw Pettis crumble under the weight of the strikes. The fight ended on the ground with Nate trying to lock a submission, but Pettis managed to make it to the final bell.
This is why we love Nate Diaz #UFC241 pic.twitter.com/S17Hv82XZj
— Evil Gokhan (@EvilGokhan) August 18, 2019
That was Nate first UFC fight since his rematch loss to Conor McGregor back in 2016, as for the former UFC lightweight champion that was his 4th loss in his last 7 fights.
