Nate Diaz to Return at UFC Fight Night 11

Nate Diaz (6-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), fresh off his win over Manny Gamburyan at The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale, will put his recently won UFC contract to good use at UFC Fight Night 11 on Sept. 19. His opponent has not yet been named.

The original announcement of the fight came from GracieFighter.com. Diaz trains under Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at his academy in Pleasant Hill, Calif.

The 22-year-old Diaz, the younger brother of UFC veteran Nick Diaz, was selected for The Ultimate Fighter 5‘s lightweight cast after solid performances in the WEC, Strikeforce and other organizations. He entered this past season of the Spike TV reality series as one of the early favorites.

After wins over Rob Emerson, Corey Hill and Gray Maynard, Diaz was pitted against fellow finalist Gamburyan at The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale last month. Although he lost the first round, Diaz experienced some major luck in the second. Early in the round, Gamburyan shot for a takedown but dislocated his shoulder in the process. He was forced to submit from the injury, and Diaz was awarded the six-figure UFC contract and an assortment of prizes.

UFC Fight Night 11 takes place at The Palms Las Vegas and airs on Spike TV. It will likely serve as the lead-in for the upcoming welterweights-only season of The Ultimate Fighter. This sixth installment of the reality series will feature current UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra and former champ Matt Hughes as coaches.

I just think it looked to me Manny was real tired coming out for the second round and it was only a matter of time until Diaz submitted him!