Nate Diaz to return for Dec. 13 fight against Rafael dos Anjos

UFC lightweight Nate Diaz will return from a self-imposed one-year hiatus to fight Rafael dos Anjos at a UFC on Fox event on Dec. 13, ESPN's Brett Okamoto reports. The bout will co-headline the event, at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix.

Diaz has not fought since Nov. 30 - when he scored a first-round TKO over Gray Maynard - due to a contract dispute, and in the meantime has engaged in a war of words with the UFC, its fighters, and president Dana White. Back in February, he asked, via Twitter, to be released from his contract. He wasn't. 

Diaz was UFC's fifth-ranked lightweight at the time. 

"Nate wants to fight," UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told ESPN. "He's ready to fight and he wants to fight the best competition he possibly can."

Dos Anjos, meanwhile is coming off a first-round KO over former lightweight champ Ben Henderson at a UFC Fight Night on Aug. 23. It was his second consecutive win by knockout.