Nick Diaz announcement: Appealing suspension, calls for fight against Anderson Silva

Here's a name you probably weren't thinking of in the Anderson Silva sweepstakes.

Nick Diaz.

That's right, the Stockton chronic enthusiast's manager, Cesar Gracie, teased a major announcement regarding Nick's future today on GracieFighter.com and, wouldn't you know it, he came through with it. Like most "major announcement's" in mixed martial arts (MMA), however, it's not exactly groundbreaking stuff.

The big news is that Diaz will appeal his suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and he would like to fight Anderson Silva.

From the statement:

To address the NSAC suspension, I will say that we have appealed to the courts and if things go our way, it will be plausible that Nick could return as early as sometime at the end of this year. For too long NSAC bureaucrats have acted with malicious incompetence towards the fighters. We will challenge them in court.

As far as future opponents, Nick has stated that he would like to take fights "that matter". Since GSP will be fighting Condit, he has to look elsewhere. He will respectfully ask for a fight with Anderson Silva, a fighter he respects and would like to challenge.

Silva's camp has been speaking of a fight with GSP, possibly even at a catch weight. Nick will take that fight in a minute but has told me that should Silva decide not to drop at all, he will move up to 185lbs to face the Champ.

I'm no lawyer but it would seem unlikely that Diaz could appeal his way out of the suspension he received for failing a second drug test for marijuana in the state of Nevada, the result of which earned him a fine and a year on the sidelines.

Initially, Diaz proclaimed he was going to quit the sport and simply be done with everything. However, the desire to compete -- and make good money doing it -- is simply too strong and now he and his team are angling for the biggest fight possible.

With Georges St. Pierre busy with Carlos Condit and the welterweight division looking increasingly less welcoming of a fighter with Diaz's style, why not try to snake his way into a middleweight superfight against the pound-for-pound best in the game?

The 185-pound weight class is an absolute mess and it's a division Diaz has extensive experience in. Sure, it would take somewhat of a big sell job by the UFC but they could make it work, no problem. Plus, it would give time for the division to sort itself out and come up with a fresh contender or two.

Diaz's suspension is up in February of next year.

Anyone think there's even the slightest chance we see Silva vs. Diaz?