UFC 171: Carlos Condit still open to Nick Diaz rematch even after Diaz turned it down

While Nick Diaz enjoys his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA), the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight division is moving forward. In fact, a new division kingpin will be crowned on March 15, 2014, in Dallas, Texas, as Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler fight for the vacant strap.

But when Diaz decides to return to the Octagon, he won't have a shortage of opponents eager to welcome him back.

Among them is Carlos Condit, a man who already has a win over the former Strikeforce champion, defeating him at UFC 143 in 2012 for the interim 170-pound title (highlights).

That is of course, if Diaz doesn't turn down the fight ... again.

"The Natural Born Killer" talked about a potential second fight against Diaz during Thursday's (March 15, 2014) media conference call (replay):

"Yeah, the fight was offered to me. I agreed. I thought the first fight, there was a lot of controversy after the fact. It's probably a rematch a lot of people want to see. A lot of hype, a lot of buzz; it's a type of fight I want to be in. I pretty much agreed right off the bat. Nick, for whatever reason, I'm sure he's got his reason, didn't take the fight. So, yeah, in the future, I would be interested in the fight. I think rematches are always intriguing, especially when they are close like that."

It's a fight Condit would love to win a bit more convincingly than the first to erase any and all doubt as to who the best welterweight between the two is. Diaz, however, has his eyes on a much bigger prize as he wants an immediate title shot upon his return.

While that's highly unlikely to happen -- according to this guy -- a fight, and more importantly, a win over Condit could be Nick's one-way ticket to his much-desired championship match.

For now, Condit will focus all his attention on Tyron Woodley as he battles the Strikeforce import in the co-main event of UFC 171.

As for Diaz, well, no one knows what exactly his next move is.