Nick Diaz comes out of retirement with sights on Anderson Silva

After claiming last year that he was done with mixed martial arts (MMA), Nick Diaz has opted to come out of retirement, signing a three-fight contract extension with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

UFC president Dana White publicly confirmed Diaz’s comeback via Twitter on Friday, July 25. However, the financial terms of the new deal were not disclosed.

He’s back @nickdiaz209 just signed a new bout agreement 2 fight! Details coming soon http://t.co/coguxLGhUI pic.twitter.com/BGlZriJjMW

— Dana White (@danawhite) July 24, 2014

Diaz (26-9, 1 NC), a former Strikeforce and World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight champion who often had a rocky relationship with the world’s premier MMA promotion, has not fought since dropping a five-round verdict to Georges St-Pierre in a title tilt at UFC 158 in March 2013.

“I’ve been doing a whole lot of not getting punched around-type stuff. I’ve been staying in shape pretty good, doing a lot of running. It’s been a good experience having this much time off,” Diaz said in an interview on UFC.com.

The 30-year-old native of Stockton, California has been heavily rumored as a potential opponent for Anderson Silva’s return to action after suffering a gruesome leg injury in December of last year.

Moreover, the target is for Diaz to make an Octagon homecoming in early 2015, which would align perfectly with a possible bout against the longest reigning UFC middleweight kingpin.

“I’d be interested in fighting [Anderson Silva] and anything that’s going to do well. As far as Anderson Silva, I think that would be a great fight for people to see because he has my type of style,” he stated.

White recently expressed interest in the marquee match-up that could take place on UFC’s traditional Super Bowl weekend card in 2015, but the company’s head honcho offered a different take on the enticing clash between Silva and Diaz.

“There is no update on Anderson vs. Diaz. Anderson can’t fight [until February]. Lorenzo [Fertitta] and I have not even talked to Anderson,” White wrote on his Twitter account.

Meanwhile, Diaz believes that a decisive victory over Silva will get him closer to another shot at a UFC gold-plated strap.

“I’d like to fight for the title. I think that would be a big deal and worth fighting for. I want fights that will lead to a title fight. Whoever is in line and whoever has the title, that’s who I’m going to be fighting,” he asserted.

Although he has not competed for nearly a year and a half, Diaz stressed that he is prepared to take any fight and remains open to a variety of possibilities.

“Next year I guess [is the target for my next fight]. I can fight tomorrow or tonight. You have to do what you have to do. [I came today] to sort things out with Dana White and Lorenzo,” Diaz ended. – Rappler.com