Nate Diaz Is Fighting to Keep the Diaz Era Alive

Being a fan of Nick and Nate Diaz isn't always easy. For every wild win, unforgettable in-cage taunt, or endlessly quotable sound bite that the Stockton-based brothers provide, there's a temporary retirement, contract dispute, or marijuana-related suspension to keep them on the shelf for months, if not years at a time.

Nick Diaz, for example, is currently tied up with a highly publicized and universally abhorred suspension after testing positive for marijuana in a January bout with Anderson Silva. Depending on the outcome of his current settlement negotiations with Nevada State Athletic Commission, that suspension could last up to 5 years—effectively ending his career. And while Nick's younger brother Nate currently enjoys a comparatively clean slate, he has been far from the picture of frequent activity. It's now been more than a year since he stepped onto the canvas.

We last saw Nate in action on December 13, 2014 in a fight that marked his return after an even longer hiatus. Unfortunately, that comeback did not go as planned, as he found himself on the receiving end of the beatdown that would earn Rafael Dos Anjos a UFC lightweight title shot, and eventually, the division's crown.

Thankfully, whether its because his ego has recovered from his loss to Dos Anjos, or because his bank account is taking a beating of its own, we're now just days away from another Nate Diaz comeback. This time, he'll be taking on the surging Michael Johnson on the main card of UFC on Fox 17, which will emanate from Orlando's Amway Center this Saturday night. The card is headlined by his recent foil Dos Anjos and lightweight title challenger, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone—a man Diaz dominated in late 2011.

It's going to be great to have Nate Diaz back, because really, any Diaz fight is a cause for celebration. Love 'em or hate 'em, the famous brothers simply never fail to entertain. That said, Nate is going to have his hands full on Saturday night.

In Michael Johnson, Diaz will be facing an established top-10 fighter who, were it not for a debatable split decision loss to Beneil Dariush in his last outing, would be riding a 5-fight streak. The focused and ferocious Blackzilians staple has all the tools to make it a rough night for the younger Diaz brother. The odds, which have Diaz pegged as a sizeable +400 underdog, reflect this possibility.

Of course, the odds only mean so much. Though it's very possible that Diaz will leave Orlando with a new and ugly loss, it would also not be shocking to see him produce a win. He's delivered as an underdog before—perhaps most notably when he beat the brakes off Cowboy—and could certainly do so again. This possibility seems even more likely, considering he looks like he's in the shape of his life.

At the end of the day, of course, it's impossible to know how this fight will pan out until it actually happens. Diaz could crumble like he did against Dos Anjos, or dazzle like he did against Cowboy, but without a crystal ball, it all remains hypothetical till fight night. The one thing that does seem clear, however, is what a loss or win might mean for Diaz.

Should he come up short, as the odds suggest, he would enter a two-fight losing streak, and assume a tough record of 1-4 in his last 5 fights. Such a juncture would be demoralizing for any fighter. For a fighter as passionate and competitive as Nate Diaz, it could spell another year-long, contemplative stretch on the bench, or worse, a permanent retirement from mixed martial arts altogether. Given his older brother's lengthy suspension and resulting disillusionment with the sport as a whole, this could mean the end of the decade-plus stretch throughout which the Diaz bros have resided amongst the game's most popular and engaging figures.

There's no sense in reading their career eulogy just yet, however. If Nate does pull off a win this Saturday, he'll bound into 2016 as a top-10 lightweight, keeping the bird-flipping, body-shot-ripping, nunchuk-swinging era of the Diaz brothers very much alive in the process.