With the announcement late last night that Rustam Khabilov is out of his UFC 170 bout against Rafael dos Anjos and that dos Anjos has been shifted to UFC on FOX 11 against Khabib Nurmagomedov, the top 10 of the promotion’s lightweight division is starting to organically sort itself out.
However, two key fighters don’t have their next assignments booked yet: Abel Trujillo, who won FOTN and KOTN for his destruction of Jamie Varner at this past weekend’s UFC 169 event, and perennial contender Nate Diaz, who recently turned down a fight against Nurmagomedov, if you believe the UFC president.
But I don’t understand what the UFC is waiting around for. If it was up to me, I would book a fight between these two immediately.
At the UFC 169 post-fight press conference, Trujillo was asked who he would like to face next after his incredible knockout victory over Varner. The up-and-comer said if it was up to him, he would fight either Donald Cerrone or Diaz next, two fighters with aggressive styles who match up well with Trujillo. I thought the Cerrone fight made a lot of sense, because we all know “The Cowboy” never turns down a challenge, and a fight stylistically pitting Cerrone and Trujillo would be fireworks. But UFC matchmaker Joe Silva instead decided to book Cerrone vs. Edson Barboza (an excellent fight in its own right), which leaves Trujillo still looking for his next opponent.
Cue Diaz.
The former TUF winner is coming off a huge knockout win over Gray Maynard at the TUF 18 Finale and has been demanding a title shot in recent weeks despite the fact that he is 1-2 over his last three fights. Yes, Diaz is a fun fighter to watch and a draw, but UFC president Dana White already said he won’t get the next title shot, so Diaz finds himself in no man’s land at the moment. Diaz allegedly refused a fight with Nurmagomedov (although he refutes this), but now that “The Eagle” has his next fight booked, there is really only one fight that makes sense for Diaz next – Trujillo.
Regardless of whether or not Diaz ducked Nurmagomedov, the fight was always going to be a stylistic nightmare for him. Diaz’ biggest problem is his weak takedown defence, and Nurmagomedov is one of the most powerful wrestlers in the entire UFC lightweight division. Although Diaz is a slick fighter off his back, most believed that Nurmagomedov would have controlled him en route to a decision, and Diaz would never get to show off his boxing skills, his most marketable attribute to paying fans. A fight with Trujillo, though, would let Diaz unleash his best weapons, and thus the likelihood of him turning down the bout are low.
Against Trujillo, Diaz would get to show off his slick hands, because Trujillo would no doubt be willing to stand and bang with the 209er. Nate and his brother Nick are always complaining about fighting wrestlers, well guess what? Trujillo is going to stand and strike, and he’s going to walk forward and try to hurt you. Against an emotional fighter like Diaz with an equally-aggressive style, this can only lead to a dream fight, and one that would be a real treat for the fans to watch.
But not only would the fight make sense from a styles point of view, it would also make sense from a rankings point of view. Diaz is top 10 at the moment and looking to keep his status as a contender, while Trujillo is just about to break into the elite, but is looking for that one big win on his resume. Beating Varner was no doubt a great achievement for the Blackzilian-trained fighter, but Diaz would be the victory to catapult him into the title picture. And for Diaz, beating Trujillo would help him climb back towards another title shot.
Considering that all of the other top lightweights have been booked for fights, are injured, or have already fought Diaz, the only fight that makes sense for him is a fight with Trujillo. And the only fight that makes sense for the surging Trujillo is a fight with Diaz. On paper, this is a tremendous matchup with “Fight of the Year” potential, and if the UFC doesn’t book it, they’ll have missed a great opportunity.
