Nick Diaz Says He Injured His Arm in the Lead-Up to UFC 183

Nick Diaz reportedly entered his fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 183 on Saturday night with an injury in his left arm.

When speaking with MMAFighting.com's Marc Raimondi, the former Strikeforce welterweight champ revealed that he had received a cortisone shot leading up to the fight and was told by a UFC doctor the injury could require surgery.

According to the report, X-rays showed Diaz could have bone spurs or bone fragments in his elbow. While Diaz wouldn’t go as far as blaming his loss on the injured elbow, he did reveal that he had problems with his elbow locking up on him when throwing punches in training leading up to the fight:

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[The doctor] said we can go in there and have surgery and take something out of there. Something like that. But I haven’t really looked into it too much, I’m not really into having surgeries. I don’t know. We’ll have to see about that. If I’m not punching anybody, why do I need surgery?

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Diaz is currently unsure about his MMA future after losing for a third straight time.

He immediately announced his retirement after each of his last two losses (to Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit). There weren’t any formal goodbyes Saturday night. Instead, fans were left with a bunch of question marks lingering around one of the most fascinating athletes in MMA history.

Diaz has turned down opportunities in the past to return and compete against the new crop of welterweight contenders. It’s not easy to get Diaz’s attention unless he’s being offered a UFC title shot or a high-profile superfight. If you aren’t paying, Diaz isn’t fighting, to put it in simpler terms.

It’s hard to believe the UFC will stop paying for what the people want to see, and more of Nick Diaz is never a bad thing. While Diaz has yet to make an official decision on his MMA future, he seemed open to continue fighting as long as people still want to see him compete.

“Sometimes I’m like, man, I wish I’d just fall off, so people stop talking about me,” said Diaz. “I feel like that’s just not happening. That’s how it seems from my end.”

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon and FanRag Sports.