Diaz still submitting USADA samples despite being removed from UFC rankings

He might no longer be ranked, but Nate Diaz is still submitting drug samples to USADA.

It’s been so long since Nate Diaz last fought in the UFC that the former lightweight title challenger has been removed from the official UFC rankings.

Diaz, 34, last fought in August, 2016 at UFC 202, where he dropped a majority decision to Conor McGregor in Fight of the Year epic at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

The Stockton slugger was expected to return to the Octagon last year at UFC 230, but opponent Dustin Poirier was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury and Diaz had no interest in accepting a replacement fight.

Well, despite Diaz’ prolonged absence from MMA and subsequent removal from the UFC rankings, the fan favorite is still submitting drug samples to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which means there is still a chance we might see Diaz return to the Octagon in the near-future.

TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter recently reported that Diaz submitted his first sample of 2019, which can be verified on USADA’s official online database.

Despite his recent drug test, Diaz has showed no interest in returning to the UFC. Instead, the Californian teased of a move to the boxing ring, claiming that he should be ‘boxing these guys’ in reference to Canelo Alvarez’ recent victory over Daniel Jacobs in Las Vegas.

“I should be boxing these guys I’m stuck in a cage though,” Diaz posted on Instagram last week.

At this point, it’s unlikely that Diaz will return to MMA for anything less than a trilogy bout with Conor McGregor. Diaz is tied 1-1 with the Irishman, submitting McGregor at UFC 196 but losing via majority decision in the blockbuster rematch at UFC 202. It’s expected that McGregor, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, will return to the Octagon in the summer.