Nate Diaz is back, ladies and gentlemen, with the UFC announcing on Monday night that Stockton, California's native son will return to the Octagon on December 19 at UFC on Fox 17. His opponent? Surging Blackzilian Michael Johnson. The announcement was made on Fox Sports Live on Fox Sports 1, and then confirmed by UFC VP of Public Relations Dave Sholler on Twitter:
BREAKING: @NateDiaz209 returns, meets @FollowTheMenace on Dec. 19 in Orlando. Cc: @FOXSportsLive
— Dave Sholler (@Sholler_UFC) August 25, 2015
This is a surprising but incredibly exciting fight for the lightweight division.
Diaz is a long-standing fan favorite who, no matter what anybody might say, is a solid needle-mover. The winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 has carved out a place near the top of the lightweight division and owns emphatic wins over the likes of Donald Cerrone, Takanori Gomi and Gray Maynard.
Unfortunately, a bitter contract dispute (Warning, NSFW Language) led to a lengthy holdout and a sloppy, rusty return fight against Rafael dos Anjos in December 2014. While he was briefly expected to return to the welterweight division to face Matt Brown, that bout was scrapped due to...confusing circumstances.
He looks to post a strong return effort opposite Johnson. The 25-fight veteran has evolved from a ho-hum lay-and-pray threat to a technically solid striker. A huge upset over Joe Lauzon in 2013 kicked off what would become an impressive four-fight winning streak. That run, however, was snapped at Fight Night 73 with a controversial split-decision loss to Beneil Dariush.
UFC on Fox 17 will be headlined by a lightweight title fight featuring champion dos Anjos and Cerrone, as well as an interesting middleweight fight between Tamdan McCrory and Josh Samman. Keep an eye out for more fight announcements as they come.
