Nate Diaz To Make Comeback At UFC 230 Against Dustin Poirier

Nate Diaz is set to make his return to the octagon after over two years as multiple reporters have confirmed it will take place at UFC 230 against Dustin Poirier.

Diaz last fought at UFC 202 in August 2016 where he and Conor McGregor fought in a pulsating rematch that would go on to become the UFC's most successful pay-per-view with 1.6 million buys. Diaz would lose by majority decision after winning their first meeting at UFC 196 via submission.

Since then, he has claimed he will not return again unless he's given a big payday or a trilogy fight with McGregor, but according to the Los Angeles Times' Lance Pugmire, he will be returning for the 230 card which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 3.

Pugmire adds that the fight with Poirier will serve as the co-main event of the show, although there is no current main event scheduled as of now, and that it will be formally announced at a UFC press conference which takes place at the at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles on Friday.

His report has since been backed by ESPN's Ariel Helwani and Brett Okamoto.

In addition, the official UFC account would go on to tweet a GIF of Diaz entering the octagon following the reports.

As for Poirier, he will get a big name to compete against, having been on a recent tear in the lightweight division. He most recently knocked out Eddie Alvarez at UFC Calgary on Saturday night, which took his lightweight run to eight wins in his last 10 fights, with notable wins against Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Jim Miller.

Coincidentally, "The Diamond" called for a fight with Diaz in February last year following his win over Miller at UFC 208.

Diaz, meanwhile, will have a chance to prove he can be a draw without McGregor, with his two fights against the former lightweight champion generating a combined 2.9 million pay-per-view buys.

Meanwhile, it had been reported that former middleweight champions Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman will also feature on the 230 card in a highly-anticipated rematch. According to Pugmire, that bout will also be made official at the press conference that takes place Friday.

The press conference is being called the "25th anniversary seasonal press conference" and will feature over a dozen fighters, according to MMA Fighting, who understand that UFC 228 headliners Tyron Woodley and Darren Till will be in attendance.

There is also speculation that the press conference could be where McGregor's official return to the UFC will be announced as rumors continue to heat up that he will face lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, which takes place in Las Vegas on Oct. 6.

The Irishman recently revealed his comeback was close and that a likely destination for his next fight was Las Vegas. He has also been tweeting pictures of himself in UFC gear in recent times, hinting that he will be competing soon.