Nick Diaz is currently suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and his manger and trainer Cesar Gracie has announced that the fighter wants to return to the sport.
Diaz retired after his lost to Carlos Condit at UFC 143 and Gracie released a statement on GracieFighter.com that Diaz is ready to come back to the sport.
“This week we had a great talk and he made it clear to me that he is ready to get back to the cage,” Gracie said in the statement. “Nick Diaz will return.”
Diaz is currently suspended till February 4, 2013 and can reapply for a license at that time. Diaz’s legal team is appealing the suspension in court in hopes that the suspension will be reduced.
“To address the NSAC suspension, I will say that we have appealed to the courts and if things go our way, it will be plausible that Nick could return as early as sometime at the end of this year. For too long NSAC bureaucrats have acted with malicious incompetence towards the fighters. We will challenge them in court.”
Also, Gracie stated that Diaz wants fights “that matter” and since Georges St-Pierre has a fight scheduled already, he would like to fight Anderson Silva.
“As far as future opponents, Nick has stated that he would like to take fights that matter. Since GSP will be fighting Condit, he has to look elsewhere. He will respectfully ask for a fight with Anderson Silva, a fighter he respects and would like to challenge.”
Gracie said he will be meeting with UFC President Dana White on August 6th about the future of Diaz, but the UFC will not book the fighter until his suspension with the NSAC is over.