Nick Diaz

	Name	Nick Diaz
	Nickname	Diablo
	Association	Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
	Weight Class	Welterweight (170 lbs.)
	Height	6' 0" (183cm)
	Style	Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing
	Birth Date	August 2, 1983
	Fighting Out Of	Stockton, California
	Country	USA
	Nick Diaz Pictures	Diaz's Official Site

Nicholas Robert Diaz is an American mixed martial artist. He is a former WEC and IFC Welterweight champions. He has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), PRIDE Fighting Championships, and Elite Xtreme Combat (EliteXC) before it ceased operations ,he is the current Strikeforce Welterweight champion Diaz was promoted to black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Cesar Gracie on May 8, 2007. Diaz has competed as a Lightweight and Welterweight for most of his career, but has competed at a catchweight as heavy as 179 lbs. against top-tier fighters such as Frank Shamrock and Scott Smith.

He outfought and stopped former PRIDE FC Lightweight champion Takanori Gomi in a fight that was later ruled a no contest due to Diaz failing a post-fight drug test (marijuana).

Nick's younger brother Nate Diaz won The Ultimate Fighter 5 competition and currently competes in the UFC.

Professional Record

Record	26 - 9 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) (1 NC)
Wins	13 (T)KOs 8 Submissions 5 Decisions
Losses	2 (T)KOs 0 Submissions 7 Decisions

Result	Opponent	Method	Event Title	Date	Round	Time	Notes
Loss	Georges St. Pierre	Decision (Unanimous)	UFC 158: St. Pierre vs. Diaz	3/16/2013	5	5:00	For UFC Welterweight Championship
Loss	Carlos Condit	Decision (Unanimous)	UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit	2/4/2012	5	5:00	For Interim UFC Welterweight Championship (Vacant)
Win	B.J. Penn	Decision (Unanimous)	UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz	10/29/2011	3	5:00	Won Fight of the Night
Win	Paul Daley	TKO (Punches)	Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley	4/09/2011	1	4:57	Defended Strikeforce Welterweight Championship
Win	Evangelista Santos	Submission (Armbar)	Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg	1/29/2011	2	4:50	Defended Strikeforce Welterweight Championship
Win	K.J. Noons	Decision (Unanimous)	Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II	10/09/2010	5	5:00	Defended Strikeforce Welterweight Championship
Win	Hayato Sakurai	Submission (Armbar)	DREAM 14	5/29/2010	1	3:54
Win	Marius Zaromskis	TKO (Punches)	Strikeforce: Miami	1/30/2010	1	4:38	Won first-ever Strikeforce Welterweight Championship
Win	Scott Smith	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields	6/06/2009	3	1:41	Catchweight bout (179 lbs.)
Win	Frank Shamrock	TKO (Punches)	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz	4/11/2009	2	3:57	Catchweight bout (179 lbs.)
Win	Thomas Denny	TKO (Punches)	EliteXC: Unfinished Business	7/26/2008	2	0:30
Win	Muhsin Corbbrey	TKO (Punches)	EliteXC: The Return of the King	6/14/2008	3	3:59	Diaz failed to make weight, as he was 9 lbs. over
Win	Katsuya Inoue	TKO (Corner Stoppage)	DREAM 3: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Quarterfinals	5/11/2008	1	6:45	DREAM Welterweight Championship eliminator
Loss	Karl James Noons	TKO (Cuts)	EliteXC: Renegade	11/10/2007	1	5:00	For vacant EliteXC Lightweight (160 lbs.) Championship
Win	Mike Aina	Decision (Split)	EliteXC: Uprising	9/15/2007	3	5:00	EliteXC debut
NC	Takanori Gomi	No Contest (Overturned by NSAC)	PRIDE 33: Second Coming	2/24/2007	2	1:46	Originally a win via submission (Gogoplata); Overturned after Diaz tests positive for marijuana in post-fight drug test. Non-title bout. Fight was at 160 lb. catchweight
Win	Gleison Tibau	TKO (Punches)	UFC 65: Bad Intentions	11/18/2006	2	2:27
Win	Josh Neer	Submission (Kimura)	UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral	8/26/2006	3	1:42
Win	Ray Steinbeiss	Decision	ICFO 1: Stockton	5/13/2006	3	N/A
Loss	Sean Sherk	Decision (Unanimous)	UFC 59: Reality Check	4/15/2006	3	5:00
Loss	Joe Riggs	Decision (Unanimous)	UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3	2/04/2006	3	5:00
Loss	Diego Sanchez	Decision (Unanimous)	The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale	11/05/2005	3	5:00
Win	Koji Oishi	KO (Punches)	UFC 53: Heavy Hitters	6/04/2005	1	1:24
Win	Drew Fickett	TKO (Punches)	UFC 51: Super Saturday	2/05/2005	1	4:40
Loss	Karo Parisyan	Decision (Split)	UFC 49: Unfinished Business	8/21/2004	3	5:00
Win	Robbie Lawler	KO (Punches)	UFC 47: It's On	4/02/2004	2	1:31
Win	Jeremy Jackson	Submission (Armbar)	UFC 44: Undisputed	9/26/2003	3	2:04	UFC debut
Win	Jeremy Jackson	TKO	IFC WC 18: Big Valley Brawl	7/19/2003	1	4:17	Defended IFC United States Welterweight Championship; Avenged first career loss
Win	Joe Hurley	Submission (Kimura)	WEC 6: Return of a Legend	3/27/2003	1	1:55	Became First WEC Welterweight Champion
Loss	Kuniyoshi Hironaka	Decision (Split)	Shooto: Year End Show 2002	12/14/2002	3	5:00
Win	Harris Sarmiento	TKO (Corner Stoppage)	Warriors Quest 8: Young Guns	10/24/2002	2	1:47
Loss	Jeremy Jackson	TKO (Punches)	UA 4: King of the Mountain	9/28/2002	1	0:49
Win	Adam Lynn	Submission (Armbar)	UA 4: King of the Mountain	9/28/2002	1	2:51
Win	Blaine Tyler	TKO (Punches)	UA 4: King of the Mountain	9/28/2002	2	2:01
Win	Chris Lytle	Decision	IFC WC 17: Warriors Challenge 17	7/12/2002	3	5:00	Won IFC United States Welterweight Championship
Win	Mike Wick	Submission (Triangle Choke)	IFC WC 15: Warriors Challenge 15	8/31/2001	1	3:43

Biography

Diaz was born in Stockton, California and went to Tokay High School in Lodi for one year before dropping out. While a freshman, he was a member of the swimming team. Diaz has stated in the past that he is thankful his mother got him into swimming classes because swimming is one of the main reasons why his cardio is so impressive during his fights. Diaz has also said on multiple occasions that he had a hard childhood and grew up without his biological father.

Diaz originally started training in martial arts because he was being bullied by other teenagers who were bigger than he was. He then watched the UFC for the first time and soon wanted to be able to fight in the organization. He has a younger brother named Nathan Diaz, who is also a professional MMA fighter and the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5. Nick also regularly competes in triathlons as part of his training.

Mixed Martial Arts Career

Early Career

After years of practicing various combats sports and martial arts, Diaz became a professional mixed martial arts fighter in 2001 just after his 18th birthday and won his first fight, submitting Mike Wick with a triangle choke at IFC Warriors Challenge 15. Diaz would become a champion in just his second professional fight, taking Chris Lytle to a decision for the IFC United States Welterweight title in July 2002 at IFC Warriors Challenge 17.

Diaz was then invited to participate in Ultimate Athlete's King of the Mountain, a single-night tournament that took place two months later. He won his first two fights but eventually lost in the finals to Jeremy Jackson by TKO. Diaz would fight in Warriors Quest and Shooto against Harris Sarmiento and Kuniyoshi Hironaka respectively before winning the WEC's Welterweight Title in 2003 at WEC 6: Return of a Legend, submitting Joe Hurley with a kimura. Interestingly, the event was named for the returning Frank Shamrock, who Diaz would fight much later on in his career.

Diaz returned to defend his IFC Welterweight belt against the man that defeated him one year earlier, Jeremy Jackson at IFC Warriors Challenge 18. This time around it was Diaz who was able to get the win, winning by TKO in the first round. Taking notice of his success, the UFC signed Diaz over the summer and he made his debut at UFC 44: Undisputed, completing the trilogy against Jeremy Jackson and submitting him with an armbar in the last round of the back and forth fight that Diaz appeared to be winning on the scorecards.

Becoming a Star

Diaz returned to the Octagon at UFC 47: It's On, set to take on highly-touted Welterweight, and future EliteXC Middleweight Champion, Robbie Lawler. Lawler was a heavy favorite coming into the fight but it was Diaz who took the offensive, chasing Lawler around the cage for the majority of the bout. It was in the second round where Diaz taunted Lawler in an attempt to get him to come after him. The move worked as Lawler swung wildly at him and missed, allowing Diaz to connect with a right hook that knocked Lawler out.

Diaz was then matched up with Karo Parisyan at UFC 49: Unfinished Business, but ended up losing a hard-fought split decision. He rebounded with wins over Drew Fickett at UFC 51: Super Saturday and Koji Oishi at UFC 53 before losing for the second time in the UFC at the hands of The Ultimate Fighter Middleweight winner Diego Sanchez at The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale.

The two came into the fight with a good amount of bad blood between them. They reportedly exchanged heated e-mails before and after the official signing of the fight, which was spurred on by Diaz's public opinion that Sanchez and the rest of The Ultimate Fighter participants were being given an easier path to the top compared to the rest of the fighters in the UFC.

Things went to another level in the locker room before the fight when Diaz taunted Sanchez and threw a shoe at him. Diaz was obviously confident coming into the bout but was unable to achieve success in the match, ultimately losing to Sanchez by unanimous decision. Diaz complained of a "greasy substance" on Diego's arms that impeded Diaz's takedowns. While no illegal lubricant was ever investigated, Sanchez's hair was considerably wet-looking throughout the fight, suggesting that his hair product may have leaked onto his shoulders. During the televised post-fight interview in the ring, Diaz continued the controversy by declaring that he respected Sanchez fighting ability but did not think he deserved to be there, despite Sanchez's win.

Fighting Inside and Outside the Octagon

Diaz's next fight was against Joe Riggs at UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture. Similar to his treatment of Sanchez, Diaz made sure that he taunted his opponent plenty before their fight starting at the official press conference at the event in which Diaz confronted Riggs and the two exchanged words. They continued their conversation at the official weigh-ins in which both fighters had to be separated by UFC president Dana White and other officials present.

Riggs prevailed in a hard-fought battle, winning by unanimous decision and giving Diaz his second straight loss. After the fight, the two were taken to the hospital for observation and post-fight tests. It was there that Diaz confronted Riggs and proceeded to punch him in the face, knocking Riggs to his knees. Riggs then tackled Diaz into a wall and started to knee him when the police arrived and quickly rushed in to separate the two. Neither party, nor the police, decided to press charges.

Diaz lost his third consecutive match in a unanimous decision to Sean Sherk at UFC 59: Reality Check. The UFC subsequently terminated his contract and released him during the spring of 2006.

Return to the UFC

Diaz returned to his hometown of Stockton and participated in the International Cage Fighting Organization's inaugural event, defeating Ray Steinbess by unanimous decision. Diaz was slated to fight in his hometown again against John Alessio when he received an unexpected call the night before the fight from the UFC asking to fill in for an ill Thiago Alves at UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral.

After Alessio pulled out, Diaz took advantage of the opportunity, submitting Josh Neer in the third round. Seemingly back in the UFC, Diaz stopped newcomer Gleison Tibau with strikes in his next fight at UFC 65: Bad Intentions. However even after the win and the reassurance that the UFC would give him another fight, Diaz decided to sign with the Gracie Fighting Championships and leave the UFC. GFC had Diaz scheduled to fight Thomas Denny in January 2007, but due to poor ticket sales was ultimately canceled.

Pride FC

Diaz was signed to a two-fight deal with PRIDE Fighting Championships with the first scheduled to be against current Lightweight champion Takanori Gomi in a non-title fight on February 24 in Las Vegas. Pride 33 was Diaz's first fight in the Pride organization and at the weight of 160 lb. While Gomi started the fight strong, once knocking Diaz to the ground, and twice ending up in his guard, the Californian dominated the standup battle with his unorthodox style, picking his opponent apart with quick and accurate jabs and looping punches. At the end of the first round, apparently due to poor cardio on Gomi's part, the Japanese fighter was clearly stunned, throwing much wilder punches and barely maintaining his defense. The second stanza saw a continuation of this, with Gomi eventually taking the fight to the ground and opening himself up for a Gogoplata submission by Diaz and tapping at 1:46 of the round. This was the second successful Gogoplata attempt in Pride's history (the first performed by Shinya Aoki on Joachim Hansen less than two months earlier at Pride's New Year's event).

On April 10, 2007, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced that Diaz failed the drug test that was taken shortly before his win over Takanori Gomi, testing positive for marijuana. The NSAC has declared the fight a "No Contest" and has suspended him for 6 months with a fine of 20% of his earnings ($3,000) won from the fight against Gomi. The Commission felt that the result of Diaz's THC test, an enormous 175, was a contributing factor in his performance during the fight. Commission Chairman Dr. Tony Alamo said that while a result of 15 is considered positive, the NSAC has a threshold of 50 for athletes. He also believes they “feel very comfortable that everyone that tests positive in Nevada is truly positive.”

Dr. Alamo went on to say, “Mr. Diaz was 175. This creates a unique situation. I was there at this fight and believe that you were intoxicated and… that it made you numb to the pain. Did it help you win? I think it did.” Despite Diaz being surrounded by other athletes and video cameras for several hours before the fight, Alamo gave no explanation for when he believed Diaz could have used marijuana in the hours preceding the event. Diaz himself dismissed the accusation.

EliteXC

Diaz made his debut for EliteXC in Hawaii on September 15, 2007 on Showtime. He won a hard fought split decision over his opponent Mike Aina.

MMA Weekly reported that Nick Diaz signed a two year deal with EliteXC, and most fought KJ Noons for the vacant 160 pound title. Diaz lost via doctor stoppage due to multiple cuts on his forehead. A disappointed Diaz left the arena immediately and on his way out he flipped off the doctor from the arena entrance and shoved the camera out of his face. Ironically, he stated in pre-fight interviews that the only way he was going to lose this fight was from a cut above his eye.

Following a tough win over opponent Muhsin Corbbrey at EliteXC: Return of the King in Honolulu, Hawaii, an altercation between Nick and his brother Nate broke out with KJ Noons and his corner. EliteXC executives asked Diaz to come to the ring and make a statement about a possible title rematch with Noons. Noons, a Native of Hawaii, asked the crowd their opinion, resulting in an echo of boos for Diaz. After Nick spoke over the microphone to Noons, saying, "don't be scared homey," Carl Noons, KJ's father, lunged at him prompting Nate Diaz to throw a water bottle at the elder Noons. The Diaz brothers were quickly escorted out of the cage by a group of security staff. During interviews the next day Nick claimed Carl was intoxicated and overreacting. Meanwhile Carl claimed his incident was prompted by the thrown bottle. Video replay of the event showed Nate throwing the bottle after Carl jumped at Nick. No one was injured as the Diaz brothers left the arena entrance "throwing the bird" to the fans and Noons' corner.

Nick went on to face well-traveled veteran Thomas Denny at the EliteXC: Unfinished Business in Nick's hometown of Stockton , CA. After a sluggish start to the fight, Diaz found his range and punished Denny during the latter half of the First Round. Diaz continued to keep the fight standing and maintained a high-paced tempo for the remainder of the fight, earning an impressive TKO victory over the veteran Denny 0:30 into Round Two.

Diaz was rumored to have a rematch against the then-current EliteXC Lightweight Champion KJ Noons, airing on CBS October 4th 2008. However, KJ Noons and his camp refused to accept the match. Mark Dion, KJ's manager was quoted as saying "As far as Nick Diaz, he's not the No. 1 contender out there.".

Diaz was scheduled to face Eddie Alvarez for the EliteXC 160 pound title, after Noons was stripped of the title for not accepting to fight who the promotion deemed the number one contender, on November 8, 2008 before the company ceased operations.

Dream

Diaz was victorious in DREAM 3: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Second Round, defeating Katsuya Inoue by corner stoppage (TKO) in the first round.

Strikeforce

With Strikeforce's acquisition of ProElite's assets, CEO Scott Coker announced that Nick would face off against MMA legend Frank Shamrock at a catchweight of 179lbs, at their upcoming event Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz in San Jose on April, 11th at the HP Pavilion.

It was somewhat of a grudge match, as Shamrock has previously defeated Diaz's mentor and trainer Cesar Gracie. Diaz defeated "The Legend" via TKO (Punches) in the second round, avenging his mentor. According to Frank Shamrock, in an interview by FIGHT! Magazine, "the nicest thing I have ever heard in the cage was when Nick Diaz reached down to help me up after kicking my ass and said, 'you gotta get up; you're a legend.'"

Only two months after his successful Strikeforce debut, Diaz would return to compete against Scott Smith at a catchweight of 179 lbs. on June 6, 2009 at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields. Smith fought on the same card, two months prior, defeating Benji Radach.

There had been a lot of speculation about what weight class Diaz would compete in after his fight with Smith; whether he should move up to Middleweight or return to Welterweight or Lightweight. According to his mentor and manager, Cesar Gracie, via GracieFighter.com:

“With a title fight against Cung Le nowhere on the horizon Nick will probably be going back down to the 170 lb. division. I know there’s been speculation about a rematch with Robbie Lawler, but Diaz will be dropping weight as he picks up his running and cardio training. As far as a return to lightweight is concerned, forget it…. It just isn’t healthy. He was having terrible performances against B-level fighters. The weight drop was causing lots of health related problems and he wasn’t performing to his ability…. After this fight we’ll have Nick drop back down to 170 lbs. and probably stay there unless Strikeforce has something interesting for him.”

Once again, Diaz showed that size makes no difference by defeating Scott Smith in the third round with a Rear Naked Choke.

It was then announced that Diaz would fight his long time rival, Joe Riggs in a welterweight bout at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg on August 15, 2009. Later it was learned that the bout would be for Strikeforce's newly created Welterweight title. Unfortunately, the fight was cancelled, as Riggs suffered a bad reaction to an as of yet undisclosed drug, forcing him off the card, as he would be hospitalized. With Affliction ceasing operations, Jay Hieron, the former IFL Welterweight Champion, signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce and he is scheduled to replace Riggs for the Welterweight title fight. This fight has since been canceled due to Diaz's failure to attain his license after not attending a pre-fight drug test. Jesse Taylor would replace Diaz and the title is no longer on the line.

At the end of November 2009, it was learned that the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) had made a formal stance on marijuana use.

“The California State Athletic Commission's position is that Marijuana is a banned substance pursuant to Rule 303 and that any positive drug test may result in discipline,” read the statement.

Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, said later that his fighter would continue to fight in the Golden State, though perhaps not as often. He stated that Diaz would just have to stop smoking once he got licensed.

“What can you do, man?” Gracie said of the CSAC policy. “Rosa Parks wasn’t supposed to ride in the front of the bus. She was supposed to be in the back of that bus." He added with a laugh, “Nick is the Rosa Parks of MMA."

In December of 2009 it was announced that Diaz would return to action January 30, 2010, at the Strikeforce event that will take place in Sunrise, Florida, titled Strikeforce: Miami. A few days later it was announced that Diaz would be competing for Strikeforce's vacant Welterweight title against current DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis. The bout was Diaz's first fight as a Welterweight (170 lbs.) since a 2008 fight against Katsuya Inoue, as his last four bouts have been fought ranging from 160 lbs to 180 lbs. The Cesar Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt utilized a stand-up strategy en route to capturing Strikeforce's vacant welterweight title. Though Zaromskis did knock Diaz down, Diaz recovered fast, returning the bout to the feet, and ending the fight at 4:38 of the first round by TKO (Punches).

In a press conference in February 2010, Scott Coker, President of Strikeforce, stated that Nick would most likely move around weight classes, moving up in weight, but also defending his Welterweight title.

Diaz finally returned to action at DREAM 14, as part of Strikeforce and DREAM's partnership, where he faced off against Japanese legend Hayato Sakurai. Sakurai looked effective early while remaining active from his back in an early takedown and quickly working back to his feet. A right hand then scored for Sakurai, but it would one of his final highlights. After Diaz began to open up on the feet, Sakurai shot in for a successful takedown but immediately found himself trapped in a fight-ending Armbar that gave Diaz the win at 3:54 of the first round.

It was announced in August 2010 that Diaz would next defend his Welterweight title against K.J. Noons in a re-match of their 2007 fight. Though K.J. has been competing at Lightweight (155 lbs.), the fight would be taking place at 170 lbs. The fight took place at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II on October 9, 2010. In the end, Diaz walked away the victor, avenging his loss, by simply out-boxing his opponent, and winning by Decision (Unanimous) with scores of 48-47, 49-47 and 49-46 for his first successful Strikeforce title defense.

Strikeforce: Nashville Brawl

During the post fight interview after Jake Shields victory over Dan Henderson, at Strikeforce: Nashville, Jason Miller somehow gained access to the cage and interrupted Shields, asking "Where's my rematch, buddy?". After both Gilbert Melendez and Jake Shields pushed Miller away, Diaz would then throw the initial punch to start a brawl. Members of the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu camp, including Diaz, his brother Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez attacked Miller, while Miller was restrained on the canvas by members of Diaz's camp. The fight was then broken up by referees, members of Dan Henderson's corner and members of security.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Diaz is currently a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Cesar Gracie whom he has been training with since he was a teenager. He is accomplished in both gi and no-gi jiu-jitsu. Some of the major titles he has won include the US Purple Belt Open in 2004 and a Pan American Brown Belt Medium Weight Division title in 2005. He also owns a victory over renowned grappler Jorge Patino in competition via kneebar.

He is known for having a very modified sport BJJ style that suits his MMA career very well. Diaz lists his favorite submission as the kimura. He is widely known for his impressive upsidedown guard which he frequently uses in his fights. Diaz currently teaches jiu-jitsu at Pacific Coast Martial Arts in Stockton, California.

Boxing

Diaz is also a professional boxer and fights in the Super Middleweight weight class. He made his professional debut in April 2005 against Alfonso Rocha at the Radisson Hotel in Sacramento, California. Diaz was victorious, winning by unanimous decision after four rounds. He has not fought since.

To add to Nick and his brother Nathan's striking skills, they are now being trained by former WBA and WBC World Champion, Luisito Espinosa. Nick has also recently been training with Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist Andre Ward.

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