Nate Diaz is among the UFC stars looking primed for another stunning MMA return next year.

It has been more than two years since Nate Diaz tasted a victory in the UFC. Nevertheless, he remains one of the biggest names in the famed MMA promotion. And as the year ends, Diaz has been vocal about his plans to step inside the octagon once again as early as January.

Win or lose, one thing certain about a Nate Diaz UFC fight is that it's always entertaining. Ahead of his nearing octagon return, he has already engaged in a war of words with a wide array of worthy possible opponents.

Jorge Masvidal

Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal made history in New York at UFC 244 in November of 2019. The two colossal welterweight fighters fought for the promotion's first ever “BMF” belt, a one-and-done title given to the “Baddest Mother F–ker” in MMA.

Unfortunately for Diaz, Masvidal scored a doctor's stoppage win. More than two years after their epic showdown, the pair has begun trading insults on social media, seemingly rekindling their rivalry.

Jake Paul

Throughout his celebrated MMA career, Diaz has been lauded for his exceptional boxing skills. However, it is more likely that his looming January return will be an MMA match. Nevertheless, his name is still being linked to YouTuber-turned-pro boxer Jake Paul.

At the moment, Jake Paul is set to take on former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in a highly-anticipated boxing rematch on Saturday. Despite being focused on the fight, Paul addressed the Diaz link-up and reckoned that it will be “a missive fight.”

“There’s a lot of shit talk going back and forth, and I would love to make that fight happen, if it’s even possible,” Paul said of Diaz at Wednesday’s open workouts via MMAFighting. “I know he’s with the UFC, so whatever happens will happen.”

“But that’s a massive fight, and I think the people need to see that one,” he continued. “I’ve got to get through Tyron, maybe Tommy [Fury]. Who knows? Maybe Nate Diaz, maybe Conor McGregor. The road path is massive right now.”

Dustin Poirier

While a UFC title fight in either the lightweight and the welterweight division is evidently far-fetched for now. Diaz may have just taken a step closer to it by calling out lightweight title contender Dustin Poirier.

Looking at Diaz's recent tweets, it is safe to say that Poirier is the fighter who is on his radar at the moment. The pair has verbally agreed to take on each other in January, having had their UFC showdown cancelled in 2019. However, UFC president Dana White has yet to comment on the matter.

“I’ll fight Dp in January, don’t be a scared lil b***c this time, now or never,” Diaz wrote, referencing the his cancelled 2019 fight against Poirier.

“I’ll fight you this month,” Poirier replied.

Some believed that the pair's agreement will stay at it is but based on Poirier's recent claim, it seems like he had really reached out to the UFC about it, via MMA Junkie.

“Maybe UFC 271 they couldn’t make it happen on 270. I said yes,” Poirier wrote on Twitter.

“The ufc don’t wanna pay for u dp [Poirier] sorry u suck. Loser,” Diaz responded.

Conor McGregor

While it is true that career-wise, Diaz should really pursue a fight with a top contender such as Poirier. However, nobody can deny that a trilogy fight with former UFC two-division king Conor McGregor is still an interesting fight.

Rumor has it that Diaz is set for a contract extension with the UFC. And apparently, the trajectory of the said decision is leading towards a potential third fight with McGregor, per Ariel Helwani via his substack.

“Sounds like the UFC is moving on from Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nathan Diaz fight and, as a result, have extended Diaz’s contract,” Helwani said. “I think they knew that would happen and were hoping to buy time for when Conor McGregor is ready to return later this year.”

“[Nate] Diaz hasn’t signed any new deal yet, so that, too, is a fascinating story to watch next year,” he added.

As for McGregor's team, the level of interest about the fight remains as it is. In fact, McGregor's longtime coach John Kavanagh even admitted that the last Diaz fight has been giving him “nightmares.”

“I’ll be honest, the Nate Diaz trilogy is very, very tempting,” Kavanagh admitted. “It’s a fight that gives me nightmares. The man doesn’t stop coming forward. Whether it’s three rounds or five rounds. But it’s an intriguing fight. So, that one is definitely very interesting.”

However, a Diaz vs. McGregor 3 is unlikely to happen soon given “The Notorious” is still recovering from his leg injury.