Nate Diaz (10-3) will fight Joe Stevenson (29-10) at The Ultimate Fighter season nine finale on June 20th according to the UFC.

Nate Diaz, brother of UFC veteran and current Strikeforce fighter, Nick Diaz, is the winner of the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Diaz was undefeated in the UFC on a five fight win streak until he met Clay Guida at UFC 94 in January.

Joe Stevenson has lost three of his last four bouts and desperately needs a win to stay alive in the UFC’s lightweight division. In fact, it is quite possible Stevenson’s job could be on the line in this fight. Although his recent losses have been against top lightweights Sanchez, Florian, and Penn, it is rare the UFC will keep a fighter with three losses in a row.

Stevenson won the second season of The Ultimate Fighter’s welterweight division and holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Robert Drysdale. Diaz holds a brown belt under Cesar Gracie. Diaz will have the height, reach, and most likely striking advantage, whereas, Stevenson should have a strength and wrestling edge.

Other bouts tentively set for the TUF 9 Finale include the season nine lightweight finals, the welterweight finals, Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida. Anthony Johnson vs. Matt Brown, Brad Blackburn vs. Edgar Garcia, and Kevin Burns vs. Chris Lytle.

By:  Jack Bratcher

Leave a Reply