Daniel Cormier: Nick Diaz can’t “embarrass himself” in UFC return
In a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy with Chael Sonnen, Cormier reacted to Diaz’s return to the Octagon.
“The thing about Nick Diaz, for me, I want the guy from the pictures. Imma’ just say it,” Cormier said of Diaz. “I don’t want to see Nick Diaz that is just ripped. When he fought Robbie Lawler, I was so excited. Because I was like ‘Man, he’s been back on the triathlons, and he looks even better than he did in his prime’. Then when he got to the Octagon, he looked nothing like that person. Like a guy that was pushing 40, that hadn’t fought in many, many years and I didn’t know if he still had that fight in him…
“Vicente Luque is thought to be on the decline,” Cormier continued. “I kind of judged him based on how badly Joaquin Buckley beat him. But now watching Joaquin Buckley do what he did to the kid that was 18-1 in St. Louis, what he did to Stephen Thompson…now I look back at Vicente Luque and wonder if I was too quick to judgment…Nick Diaz struggled with Robbie Lawler, and Robbie Lawler was only one fight away from retirement. Vicente Luque is not going anywhere, it’s a tough fight. I think for Nick, though, he has to be really locked in if he wants to go out there and not embarrass himself.”
Diaz’s last victory came against BJ Penn at UFC 137. After the win, he lost back-to-back UFC title fights to Carlos Condit and Georges St-Pierre.
