Edson Barboza wants Nate Diaz fight, won't rule out drop to featherweight

Now that Tim Means has stepped in to fill the void left behind by Nate Diaz, who was expected to face Matt Brown at UFC 189 on July 11, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Edson Barboza is hoping to capitalize on the opportunity by asking for a "good fight" against the former top contender.

And Diaz won't have to feel "strong armed" this time around, as Edson tells MMA Junkie that if the Stockton slugger is up for the challenge, he is willing to fight The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 champ as soon as possible.

"Oooh, that, I like it. I think that's a good fight. Oh yeah, man. I've got a big smile here right now. Right now, I need to fight. It doesn't matter who my opponent is, or their rank. I need to fight, because I lost my last fight. My focus is to come back stronger and win - that's it. Just for the fight. I never think about money; I just think about the fight. He's really good. I think that's a good fight."

Last December, Edson's manager, Alex Davis, revealed that Diaz turned down a previous offer to face the Brazilian for undisclosed reasons.

After dropping his previous fight against Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 61 (highlights), Edson is ready to rumble as quickly as possible and is open to giving Nate another chance at accepting the scrap.

Barboza also revealed that a future drop down to featherweight is not out of the question, as he says making the cut down to 145 pounds won't be too difficult for him.

"I know most guys are bigger than me at 155 (pounds). I'm very light at 155. Today, I weighed 176, 177 - very light. I think if they gave me a good opportunity at 145, I would drop, no problem, because 155 is so easy for me."

He also declared that once his mixed martial arts (MMA) days are over, he would contemplate trying his hand at kickboxing.

And judging by this highlight-reel knockout, The scrappy Brazilian would do fairly well.