411 Fighter Profile: Nick & Nate Diaz

Posted by Dustin James on 05.07.2008

Nick & Nate Diaz, the most controversial & entertaining pair of brothers in MMA not named Shamrock. One has already had plenty of chances to become a top dog in MMA. The other...well, he is still working on it. But one thing is for sure, whenever the Diaz brothers are fighting, you are in for a hell of a treat. Come inside as 411's Dustin James tells you all about the hot-headed brothers from Stockton, California.....

Nick Diaz

Nate Diaz

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Nick Diaz
Nickname: "Diablo"
Record: 15-7
Weight: 170
Height: 6'0
Hometown: Stockton, California
Ranking Not ranked
Association: Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Organizations: EliteXC, PRIDE, UFC, ICFO, IFC, WEC, Shooto, UA
Accomplishments: Former WEC welterweight champion, Former IFC welterweight champion

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Nate Diaz
Nickname: ?
Record: 9-2
Weight: 155
Height: 5'8
Hometown: Stockton, California
Ranking Not ranked
Association: Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Organizations: UFC, WEC, WC, Strikeforce, Pancrase
Accomplishments: Winner of season five of "The Ultimate Fighter"

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Introduction

Ahh, the Diaz brothers. Where do we start? Good fighters? Check. Mouthy? Check. Controversial? Check. Entertaining? Check. Whenever you speak of the Diaz brothers you just know that controversy is soon to follow. Whether or not it's flipping the bird to the camera (a Diaz brothers trademark), or getting into a fight at the hospital with a guy you fought earlier in the evening (right Nick?), the Diaz brothers bring controversy, and with controversy.....comes entertainment. You can talk about the Diaz's all day and on different subjects too. You can bitch about how Nick Diaz let his personal demons get in the way of what could have been/still could be a great MMA career. Or you can go on about how Nate Diaz is doing everything Nick didn't do, and may end up being more successful in the UFC because of it. Join me as we look at the careers thus far of the always controversial yet always great Diaz bros.......

Early Life

Nick was born on August 2, 1983. Nate was born on April 16, 1985. Nick attended Tokay High School for one year before he dropped out. Nate is a graduate of Tokay High School. In his one year of high school, Nick Diaz was a member of the school's swimming team. Nick attributes swimming as one of the main reasons his cardio is so impressive. Nick decided to start training for MMA due to his fascination with the UFC and the fact that bigger kids were bullying him. Just after his 18th birthday, he competed as a professional fighter for the first time at IFC Warriors Challenge 15 and earned a submission victory over Mike Wick which he won with a triangle choke. Nate was turned onto MMA by his older brother Nick, and made his professional debut at WEC 12, where he defeated Alex Garcia with...yep, you guessed it, a triangle choke.

MMA Career

Nick Diaz

Win, Mike Wick, Submission (triangle choke), Round 1, 3:43,
IFC: Warriors Challenge 15, Oroville, California - August 31, 2001
-Nick makes his pro debut with, surprise, a triangle choke victory.

Win, Chris Lytle, Decision, IFC United States Welterweight Title
IFC: Warriors Challenge 17, Porterville, California - July 12, 2002
-Nick won his first title here. He defeated Lytle for the IFC United States welterweight title.

Win, Blaine Tyler, TKO, Round 2
UA: King of the Mountain, Auberry, California - September 28, 2002

Win, Adam Lynn, Submission (armbar), Round 1
UA: King of the Mountain, Auberry, California - September 28, 2002

Loss, Jeremy Jackson, TKO, Round 1, 0:49
UA: King of the Mountain, Auberry, California - September 28, 2002
-Nick comes up just short in his first single night tournament, losing in the finals to Jackson.

Win, Harris Sarmiento, TKO, Round 2, 1:47
Warriors Quest 8: Young Guns, Honolulu, Hawaii, October 24, 2002

Loss, Kuniyoshi Hironaka, Decision (split)
Shooto: 2002 Year End Show, Tokyo, Japan - December 14, 2002



Win, Joe Hurley, Submission (kimura), Round 1, 1:55, WEC Welterweight Title
WEC 6: Return of a Legend, Lemoore, California - March 27, 2003
-Nick would win the WEC welterweight title here in his WEC debut.

Win, Jeremy Jackson, TKO, Round 1, 4:17, IFC Welterweight Title
IFC: Warriors Challenge 18, Lakeport California - July 19, 2003
-Nick was able to avenge his first MMA career loss here when he successfully defended his IFC welterweight title against Jackson. This was also the fight that put Nick Diaz's name on the UFC's radar.

Win, Jeremy Jackson, Submission (armbar), Round 3, 2:04
UFC 44: Undisputed, Las Vegas, Nevada - September 26, 2003
-Nick makes his UFC debut by completing the trilogy against Jackson and earning the win.

Win, Robbie Lawler, KO, Round 2, 1:31
UFC 47: It's On, Las Vegas, Nevada - April 2, 2004
-Lawler was a heavy favorite going into this fight. However, Nick worked the offensive for most of the fight and in the second round taunted Lawler to move in. It worked. Lawler then swung wildly and whiffed causing Diaz to connect with a wicked right hook.



Loss, Karo Parisyan, Decision (split)
UFC 49: Unfinished Business, Las Vegas, Nevada - August 21, 2004



Win, Drew Fickett, TKO, Round 1, 4:40
UFC 51: Super Saturday, Las Vegas, Nevada - February 5, 2005

Win, Koji Oishi, KO, Round 1, 1:24
UFC 53: Heavy Hitters, Atlantic City, New Jersey - June 4, 2005

Loss, Diego Sanchez, Decision (unanimous)
UFC: Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale, Las Vegas, Nevada - November 5, 2005
-There was plenty of tension between Diego and Nick. Nick went public about how he thought the Ultimate Fighter guys were giving an easier path to the UFC than the other fighters. In the locker room before the fight, Diaz reportedly taunted Sanchez and even threw a shoe at him.

Loss, Joe Riggs, Decision (unanimous)
UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3, Las Vegas, Nevada - February 4, 2006
-Once again, Diaz caused some bad blood between him and his opponent. He taunted Riggs on several occasions before the fight and the two even had to be separated at the weigh-ins by Dana White and others. After the fight, the two fighters were taken to a hospital for observations where Diaz reportedly confronted Riggs and proceeded to punch him in the face numerous times. Riggs then tackled Diaz into a wall and started to knee him when the police arrived separating the two.



Loss, Sean Sherk, Decision (unanimous)
UFC 59: Reality Check, Anaheim, California - April 15, 2006
-This was Diaz's third consecutive loss in the UFC. The UFC released Diaz soon after.

Win, Ray Steinbeiss, Decision
ICFO 1, Stockton, California - May 13, 2006

Win, Josh Neer, Submission (kimura), Round 3, 1:42
UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral, Las Vegas, Nevada - August 26, 2006
-Nick was a last minute replacement for the ill Thiago Alves. No doubt he returned to the UFC with a bang.

Win, Gleison Tibau, TKO, Round 2, 2:27
UFC 65: Bad Intentions, Sacramento, California - November 18, 2006
-Nick starts off on a new win streak in the UFC, however his contract comes to an end. He then instead decides to sign with Gracie Fighting Championships. His first fight with GFC was canceled due to poor ticket sales, so Diaz decides to sign a 2 fight contract with PRIDE.

No Contest, Takanori Gomi, No Decision, Round 2, 1:46
PRIDE 33: Second Coming, Las Vegas, Nevada - February 24, 2007
-Diaz makes his PRIDE debut in spectacular fashion, defeating the #1 lightweight in the world with a GOGOPLATA in round 2! However, a few months later it is revealed that Diaz tested positive for marijuana thus causing the NSAC to declare the fight a "No contest". The end result doesn't matter to me, this fight remains one of my personal favorite fights of all-time.



Win, Mike Aina, Decision (split)
EliteXC: Uprising, Honolulu, Hawaii - September 15, 2007
-Nick makes his EliteXC debut in unspectacular fashion. He was a heavy favorite going into the fight, yet struggled against Aina.



Loss, KJ Noons, TKO, Round 1, 5:00, EliteXC Lightweight Title
EliteXC: Renegade, Corpus Christi, Texas - November 10, 2007
-Another fight that Diaz was a heavy favorite in, yet he losses. Not only that but Diaz shows a nice display of sportsmanship by flipping off the doctor, the audience, and shoves a camera out of his face.


Nate Diaz

Win, Alex Garcia, Submission (triangle choke), Round 3, 2:17
WEC 12: Halloween Fury 3, Lenmoore, California - October 21, 2004
-Nate makes his pro debut with, surprise, a triangle choke victory.

Loss, Koji Oishi, Decision (unanimous)
Pancrase: 2005 Neo-Blood Tournament Finals, Tokyo, Japan - August 27, 2005
-Nate's older brother beat Koji at UFC 53, so Nate should be able to....right? Oops.

Win, Tony Juares, TKO, Round 1, 3:23
Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie, San Jose, California - March 10, 2006

Win, Gil Rael, TKO, Round 1, 3:35
WEC 20: Cinco De Mayhem, Lemoore, California - May 5, 2006

Win, Joe Hurley, Submission (triangle choke), Round 2, 2:03
WEC 21: Tapout, Highland, California - June 15, 2006
-Nate's older brother was able to submit Hurley at WEC 6, so Nate should be able to.....right? Hey, look at that! He did!

Win, Dennis Davis, Submission (keylock), Round 1, 2:00
WC: Warrior Cup, Stockton, California - August 12, 2006

Loss, Hermes Franca, Submission (armbar), Round 2, 2:46
WEC 24: Full Force, Lemoore, California - October 12, 2006

Win, Manvel Gamburyan, Submission (shoulder injury), Round 2, 0:20
UFC: Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale, Las Vegas, Nevada - June 23, 2007
-Nate makes his UFC debut by winning the 5th season of "The Ultimate Fighter". He also makes some noise on the show with a heated arguement with Karo Parisyan (Manny's cousin).

Win, Junior Assuncao, Submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 4:10
UFC: Fight Night 11, Las Vegas, Nevada - September 19, 2007



Win, Alvin Robinson, Submission (triangle choke), Round 1, 3:39
UFC: Fight Night 12, Las Vegas, Nevada - January 23, 2008

Win, Kurt Pellegrino, Submission (triangle choke), Round 2, 3:06
UFC: Fight Night 13, Broomfield, Colorado - April 2, 2008

And because they will probably never get a chance to fight each other. Here is the closest thing we will get......

The Future

So, what's next for these two guys? Nate Diaz is currently on 4 fight win/UFC streak and is looking to capitalize on his success thus far in the near future. If Nate can manage to finish off just a few big named guys then there is no doubt that he should be featured in the top 10 lightweights in MMA. The kid is amazing on his back and can throw on a submission faster than you can think of defending it. And just like his older brother, Nate likes to get the shit kicked out of him and then pull out the victory. Nate's future is entirely in his hands. It seems that he's improving at a great pace, and he could be headed for some big things.

Nick's future is a little harder to predict. He was signed by EliteXC to be the main focus of their lightweight division, yet he has looked very unimpressive in his stint with the company. He will be returning to action for EliteXC on June 14th when he faces Muhsin Corbbrey in Hawaii. Nick has a great chance here in the next few months to remind people of why he can be one of most talented fighters in MMA. Let's hope he doesn't slip up and dig an even deeper hole in his career. It would be quite ironic if he was forced to compete on a new comeback season of "The Ultimate Fighter", wouldn't it?

*Thanks to Wikipedia and Sherdog for contributing to this report.