Nate Diaz is right in the middle of the lightweight title chase

Nate Diaz is a carbon copy of his older brother Nick. He has a very similar skill set, and like his wacky bro, he's a bit off kilter. Thankfully, he's not completely unmanageable like Nick is which means Nate has a real shot to be challenging for the UFC 155-pound title some time in 2012.

Nate's improving maturity was on display at UFC 135. The 26-year-old was facing one of his idols, but never got suckered into fighting recklessly. He methodically broke down Takanori Gomi and thoroughly dominated the Japanese legend in a first round submission victory.

It was a triumphant return to a division, Diaz should've never exited. His experiment at 170 pounds produced so-so results. Now he's back at 155 where his 6-foot frame and style make it rough on a division filled with guys in the 5-7 to 5-9 range. While Diaz was gone, he watched some of his previous victims move into prime positions.

"A lot of the guys I beat are top contenders at 55. Melvin Guillard is about to get a title [shot] and [Clay] Guida, I beat up Guida pretty good," Diaz said. "I can't stay at 70 when all the guys I'm whuppin' are at the top of the [lightweight] division."

Where should Diaz be ranked? Currently, he's not part of the latest USA Today/Bloody Elbow rankings:

1. Frank Edgar

2. Gray Maynard

3. Gilbert Melendez

4. Shinya Aoki

5. Eddie Alvarez

6. Clay Guida

7. Ben Henderson

8. Jim Miller

9. Melvin Guillard

10. Anthony Pettis

11. B.J. Penn

12. Tatsuya Kawajiri

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Nate-Diaz-is-right-in-the-middle-of-the-lightwei?urn=mma-wp7351

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