UFC’s Misunderstood Gangster: Nick Diaz
[Music] Everyone thinks you’re the most notorious bad boy in MMA history. He’s very disrespectful. Don’t be scared. That’s what you get, you stupid [ __ ] Flight breaks out next to the Diaz brothers. What do you think’s going to happen? To this day, I think he’s one of the best fighters that’s ever done it. Nobody in this mother’s class, okay? There’s elbows involved. He is not a speaker. He is not a poster boy. He just likes to fight. But what if everyone is wrong about you? People want to take that how they see me and then they think they know me. I think you’re one of the most misunderstood guys out there. Do you think that you’re misunderstood? He’s not misunderstood at all. People are portraying Nick as what they see on TV. How many of your best friends been shot through the chest with a 45? They’ve been did everything they could to keep me from proving to the world that I’m the best fighter in the world. Wait a minute. This guy was suspended for 5 years and got $150,000 fine. This isn’t a joke. I’m not staging act. This is not for fun. This is fighting. By the end of this video, I don’t care if you like Nick Diaz. Nick was going through real [ __ ] He’s had everything that the world can throw at him. When he got word of it, she was still out there on the freeway. And when she had died, I didn’t know how much it affected him. I don’t get to go home to my nice wife and nice life. All I want is for you to understand him. You fight because you want to or because you have to or because life chose you to. Uh, I didn’t really have much of a choice once I started fighting. I was into fighting, you know, before it was important to me. I fought him when he was young. Who the hell is that? All right, whatever. I a 20-year-old kid. I’ll fight him in the last like two minutes. Nick hits me and cuts me and I pull guard and he he ends the fight, you know, punch him and wins a split decision. Two to one, it is Nick. Nick, I was about to quit the sport. I was like, I just got I’m a UFC veteran. I just got beat by this guy who’s never done anything. At just 18 years old and in just his second pro fight, Nick Diaz defeated MMA veteran Chris Lidle to win the IFC welterweight title. This kid could scrap, but it begs the question, why? I came from a really, you know, hard town. when I went to high school was really was really bad. Yeah. A lot of gang banging going on and you don’t know if you’re going to get shot or stabbed or jumped at school because that’s what happens to everybody else. It’s not like I’m, you know, oh, I’m just paranoid or something. I’m not paranoid. I’m not stupid. I was getting into fights over the the the girl. He had really hot girlfriend in high school and I get into fights over that. People got into gang fighting and doing all that and I was in the middle of it. I was going to fight with this kid and all his friends were like, “You can’t fight Justin. He’s going to whoop your ass.” I’m like, “Really?” Well, tell him I said, “Fuck you.” And then next thing you know, I got problems with this dude. I got problems with this dude. High school was hard time. High school was hard times. Cuz it’s either you or me. I’ll tell you right now, I’m only going out one way. They consider me dangerous. They’re like, “You’ve you’ve hit this guy and you drew blood from him and you’ve cut him and you are dangerous and we can’t have you on campus.” And I’m like, “I was attacked.” And like I didn’t even start this. the gangs were trying to recruit him because he had a reputation of being tough and the gangs wanted to have him join up. As far as falling off and joining the whole dope game and the gangster scene and all that, I just knew better. You know what? I mean, growing up in the Stockton Loi area was very rough for Nick Diaz. But there are a few key takeaways here. Number one, Nick didn’t want to fight. He was just a product of his environment. Number two, when Nick did fight, it was really just to protect the girlfriend he referenced, who I promise we will get to later. And number three, the story of Nick Diaz often leads with the rough stuff, but the rough stuff hardly ever communicates who he actually is. My mom is a a waitress working 8-hour days at a restaurant for 30 years. And she had three kids and we all lived in like a two-bedroom house. I was insecure. I didn’t have I was broke. I was unwill. I was getting dropped off from the corner. My mom dropped me off down the street. She’s driving a shitty car and I wouldn’t go to school unless like my clothes looked right or something. Single mom. Single mom. Where was your dad? My dad wasn’t around like that. So, it sounded like I had guidance. Growing up poor and without a father figure posed an immediate uphill battle for Nick Diaz. And as we would find out later, Nick had more struggles than met the eye. This is 21 years ago when I had Nick in my class. Nick was Nick and Nick was going to do what he was going to do and if he felt like doing that at that moment, that’s what he was going to do. I didn’t do well in school. I didn’t like not having the best attention span for like, you know, copying off the board. I was in second grade. I just didn’t really understand how the fire alarm worked, you know, cuz I would kind of mess with it. And then I think I kind of started I just I didn’t mean to pull the fire alarm, but I was screwing with it too much. It didn’t surprise me. Like, oh, Nick, I definitely stood out. It’s not like I had to be a center of attention. That’s not what at all. He doesn’t make eye contact. Talks very slow and deliberate. Takes a breath between words. I would have liked to bring my mom home, something that I did that was finished or I did good on this, but that it just wasn’t going to happen. You know, we now know that Nick Diaz has ADD and suffers from a lot of anxiety. But being from a poor school, he didn’t have the resources to help him. So, as he got older, he kept getting harassed, kept getting into fights, and kept getting isolated. They put me on some half day thing where they’re like, “Okay, you can’t you’re dangerous. you’re you’re on a half day and we want you to make perfect attendance before you can come back to a full day and we’re going to escort you from class to class. I’m like, I’m already embarrassed and insecure enough to be in school. I wasn’t having good attendance anyways cuz I didn’t want to show up at school and end up having to blast somebody. So, I just basically just had no shot at at doing well in school. So, I dropped out sophomore year and started competing in jiu-jitsu. When I first met Nick, he was a guy that, you know, he was hanging out with the wrong crowd. I was like, “Are you supposed to be in school?” He’s like, “I’m not going to school. I’m training.” Why don’t you do your homework? I’m like, you know, I don’t want to. I I couldn’t figure out why. I just can tell you right now, I don’t want to. So, I’m not going to. And then when I found out what I wanted to do was I wanted to train jiu-jitsu. That’s what I want to do. I want to tap people out and train jiu-jitsu. Jiu-jitsu offered him an avenue to look at the world in a different way. Nick started getting a reputation. We had all these big bodybuilder guys coming in and Nick would cut their strings like a puppet. Not only did Nick find community with martial arts, but he was damn good at it. So good in fact that he very quickly became the US Open jiu-jitsu champion and he won grapplers quest. So the logical next step was fighting in MMA tournaments. Well, right off the bat we started putting him in fights. He represents the Caesar Gracie Fighting. He fights and trains in Stockton, California. Nick and with martial arts, it was something that he could do his way. That’s why I fight. I want to do what I want to do. You know, I want to fight. There it is. Nick progresses to the uh the semi-finals. He was always told he wasn’t good enough. He’s not going to make it. You don’t belong here and you’re not one of these rich kids. You know, when he fights, I think he does bring some of that back. And unfortunately for his adversary, that’s where that energy goes. Armar, very nice, quick. He started to get some national recognition from people in the know. any type of recognition was going so far with me because that’s what I was looking for. Nick Diaz was not only good at something, but it was something he could be proud of. I mean, he was decimating the competition. Those last two fights in the tournament took less than 5 minutes combined. So now it was time to close out the show in the finals. You have to fight several times that night to win it. And Jeremy Jackson was on that card. Jeremy the Scorpion Jackson. So I’m kind of like I’ve been fighting all night. And then he’s like, “Oh yeah, another Oh, that’s Jeremy was just clocking him. He needs to be stopped. He stopped fight on me. I’m like, I’m not unconscious, but I’m like, whoa, I’m [ __ ] [ __ ] up.” So Nick suffered his first loss. Nick Diaz suffered his first loss in just his fifth pro fight. Never a good feeling. But Nick quickly bounced back. Although there’s no footage of it, he returned a month later and got a TKO over Harris Sarmto. However, 2 months after that, he competed in Shuto opposite Kunioshi Hiaka, where he lost yet again. This time via split decision. Suffering two losses so close together can sometimes make or break a fighter. But Nick was fighting for so much more than just himself. The bullying, the picking. Did that happen to you as a kid? And is that why you don’t tolerate it? Uh, okay. Hell no. You never That never happened to you? No. I have a big brother, man. Nate’s biggest influence in his life was his brother Nick. And Nick, more than anything else, was somewhat of a father figure for Nate. My brother was getting into gang fights and fights on the street. I got stabbed. Remember I got into a fight. And he had went there cuz he heard I was fighting. He was like, “Let’s go to the gym.” And I was like, “I’m a chill.” And he’s like, he’s like, “You better come to the gym with me after that per four minutes you put on earlier at the park.” I was like, “Man, I got to I got to go to the gym and work out.” I was embarrassed. Now, when he brought me to train with him, I never stopped from that day. And it’s a good thing I hopped on the tracks and followed his lead because there wasn’t much going on for me. We understand each other and what we what we need. And it’s another thing when you care about each other and and you already know that nobody’s going to screw each other over. We had a different relationship than most brothers have. Nick has always been the older brother leader that that took Nate on this this path on this journey that they’re on. Nate jumped in head first to that journey. He said, “That’s what my brother’s doing and that’s what I’m going to do.” Nick’s been my fearless leader, man. Like, I got a boxing coach and a jiu-jitsu coach, but Nick’s my MMA life coach straight up. That’s a person that I wanted to uh do good for. I go to him for advice on anything. You know, sometimes he don’t even know I’m there for advice. I’m sitting there getting it out of him. He’s uh put me on paths and directions that [Music] I I didn’t even know that he was putting me on. You know, where do you think you would be if you didn’t have Nick to follow or to look up to as an example? In trouble. Despite not particularly enjoying fighting, Nick knew that martial arts was a way for him and his brother to effectively change their destiny. And what better way to test fate than to compete for the first ever WEC Welterweight Championship. All right, in our next fight, it’s a welterweight fight between Joe Hurley taking on Nick Diaz. Usually, I don’t tell myself I can do anything that I haven’t already seen myself do. I don’t really set too high goals for myself. Everything that I that I set out to accomplish is something that I’m being really realistic about. Oh, trying to hold on now. You know, I’m not I’m not a a fake or a front and just what you see is what you get. I’m just uh working hard and uh I’m just trying to take it to the next level. Hurley right now just trying to weather the storm here. Diaz. Oh, he’s got the shot. Hilly’s arm is out of the socket. Nick Diaz. Impressive finish. Looking at the new champ, folks. Nick Diaz became the first WC welterweight champion in just his eighth pro fight. But remember, Nick was still also the IFC welterweight champion. So, he had to defend that belt next. So, a few months later, Nick got booked for a rematch against Jeremy Jackson, the first man to defeat Nick Diaz. And in the buildup, Jeremy was playing some mind games. Jeremy Jackson signed a picture of himself and had it sent to Nick’s room and said to Nick’s mom, “My greatest fan.” That was the worst thing that guy could ever done. From Loi, California. Please welcome Nick. I hope to find a reason why I actually don’t like another fighter. Cuz then I’m going to come on in and have a reason. Don’t give me a reason. Took him to the ground, mounted him, and beat the [ __ ] out of him. [Applause] Hey, it’s nice to meet you, by the way. You know, last time I last time I was a little swirly. I love that Nick could fight a guy two times and after the second fight say it’s nice to meet you. But any who, Nick and Jeremy were now one and one. But the interesting thing was that Jeremy actually had a UFC contract after this fight. But the UFC had a very interesting proposition for these two fighters. the matchmaker. I had the great idea to have Nick and Jeremy fight the rubber match in the UFC and UFC was like, “The winner gets to stay.” Nick Diaz versus Jeremy Jackson 3. This time in the UFC and for all the marbles. Nick doesn’t know it yet, but this fight is going to be the launch pad for a wild, unpredictable, and very painful series of events. But before we can get there, we have to talk about your butt. Specifically, how dude wipes are the upgrade your butt’s been waiting for. Look, we all know that wetter cleans better. You wouldn’t shower with a dry towel, right? So, why wipe with dry paper? These bad boys are extra large, extra wet, and built for dudes who handle business. Bigger, wetter, better. We’re talking no skid marks, no dingleberries, no angry butt syndrome, just clean confidence, pants down. Plus, flavors up formulas like shea butter, mint chill, and even seasonal Dumpkin Spice. 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I want to thank uh Dana White here and UFC for making my dreams come true. You’d think after a third round submission to secure a UFC contract at 20 years old, Nick would be ecstatic, but instead it made him feel trapped, saying, “Man, I got to do this the rest of my life now.” And I don’t think he was too happy about it. This is all happening really, really, really fast. Like, can we like start to put the brakes? Nick, I’m sorry to tell you, but the brakes ain’t getting pumped anytime soon. If you wanted things to slow down, you shouldn’t have done what you did in your very next fight. What was it like fighting Nick Diaz? First of all, I didn’t even know who he was the freaking first time I fought him. Robbie Lawler was this crazy hard hitter. His stand up was phenomenal. Robbie Lawler was this dark destroyer. Everybody was scared of him. He was a spooky dude. He was flatlining people. I’m pretty freaking nervous about it now because I’m a good striker. Robbie looked your skull. I remember looking at him and going, “This guy’s freaking skinny.” Let’s just talk about the art of the KO. I know you’re not a KO guy, but you know, I don’t know. How do you know that? Well, that’s what it says. Maybe maybe you’re going to prove everyone wrong and knock Robbie all flat on his face. And Nick Diaz, not only was he not scared of him, he was talking mad [ __ ] to him. First thing he does, he gets into the octagon. He looks over at Robbie, goes, “Stalk him, [ __ ] Stockton.” And he starts walking around Stockton, mother. And Robbie’s like, “What the is he talking about? What does that even mean?” He’s going to do things to cause a reaction from his opponent. And when it comes to Nick, if you fight him with emotions, you will burn. I was swinging for Frances. I wasn’t refined. And that zaps the energy out of you. the entire time the fight is going on like what [ __ ] what you going to do [ __ ] and he hit him oh [ __ ] I just stung you [ __ ] and Robbie Waller didn’t talk back to him but you could clearly see he’s not he didn’t anticipate that freaking hit me with a freaking one two took it to me and and caught me with some good shots and finished measy and it’s all over Nick Diaz has pulled off the unexpected how many people do you think would have picked you to win by knockout over Robbie Lawler. Nobody. Everybody’s telling me I’m going to get knocked out. He’s my age. He’s not going to beat me. Nobody’s going to beat me that’s my age. Okay, for one. Okay, I’m 20 years old. We’re not going to see no 20-year-old people coming in here whooping my ass. Nick’s popularity skyrocketed after his performance against Robbie Lawler, as it should have. It was an amazing knockout. But this is where we enter a bit of a rocky road in Diaz’s career. I’m going to try to pick Nick Diaz in a way that people will think, wow. I think it’s a kind of a bad matchup for me in a way. You know, you just got to work through it. Do what you got to do. Kyle Nick lost a split decision to Kyle Parisian, which no shame there. Cyro was a good fighter. And Nick actually rebounded with two knockouts over Drew Fickets and Koji Oishi, which earned him very high praise from Dana White. Dick, I think, is one of the best up and coming 170 pounders. Very tough guy, well-rounded. He is one of the guys, like when I talk about uh uh George St. here. I also think of Nick Diaz. However, in Diaz’s next few fights, it became apparent he had two specific weaknesses. Number one, he was far too content with being on his back. And number two, Nick was a phenomenal finisher, but chasing the finish didn’t necessarily mean you won the decision. Is there one point in your career where you feel you were disappointed? I will pass this guard and I will be on top and those elbows will be dropping and bones will be breaking. I fought Diego Sanchez. I lost fair and square on account of going on bottom every round. And I didn’t look at it as control, but I wasn’t fighting for that. I was fighting for a tap out and four damage. I almost got more tap outs and I put more damage in the end. So, he’s more beat up than me. And if you scored them under pride rules, they would have been carded for stalling. And on account of that, I think I would have capitalized on a finish. So, all those fights that I didn’t win, um, I actually think that I won. Diego, toughest guy I fought was obviously Nick. I mean, Nick is Nick is a tough dude. Takes a lot of shots coming forward. Every time I hit him, he said, “That didn’t hurt.” He knocked me down and we were like in a clinch. He goes, “It’s [ __ ] over, Jared from Subway.” Nicks, he’s missing some [ __ ] screws, man. Something’s wrong with that guy. It was a tough fight, but you know, I won hands down. Joe D. I had no idea what the was going to happen after that. Nobody did. You might be asking yourself, what does Joe Riggs mean by that? Both these guys just fought. What could possibly happen afterwards? Well, both these gentlemen went to the same hospital after their fight and uh I’m sitting on a gurnie and getting an IV. He walks in with his brother just talking [ __ ] I’m like, “What the why are you stuck to a damn gurnie?” He’s like, “Well, I I won. I won.” I’m all Look at you. He was on a stretcher and he was just like, I was like, “What the [ __ ] are you doing over here? You want to get your ass?” I hear like the tip clap of feet. Boom. And I cracked him. I yell to his brother, “Dude, get your brother off me.” And then Nate starts hitting me. He’s like, “Get your brother, man. Get your brother. He’s crazy.” We were each other up and not getting paid for it. So that sucked. I just try to keep it real, you know? I’m not going to try to put a fake on for you and put a show and act like I’m somebody who I’m not. As real as it gets, this is all I got to work with. What’s hilarious is that the cops that separated the hospital brawl were big fans of Nick Diaz, who only wanted his autograph after the whole debacle. However, despite Nick not being in trouble with the hospital, Nick was in big trouble with the UFC. He got into a fist fight with the guy that he thought here. It’s just that you can’t do that kind of stuff. The UFC was not too happy about that. And they cut me, you know, you have to follow certain rules and guidelines. Okay, so the UFC was not happy with Nick’s antics, but did they immediately cut him after the hospital brawl? Not exactly. He lost another fight to Shawn Shurk, then went on a threeight win streak over Ray Steinbass, Josh Near, and Glacon Tao. After the T-Bo fight, Diaz and the UFC cut ties, which on its face sounds like bad news until some very interesting opportunities present themselves. People always like to talk about me getting cut from the UFC or something like that. I never got cut from the UFC. I got a call talking about me fighting Taken Origami. That was a fight that a lot of people wouldn’t even take wouldn’t even have took and I was like, of course, I’ll take that fight. You know, this is exactly what I’m looking for. Takeni at the time was like this super stud, super champion, just taking everybody out. I am taking up Mick Sonic Diaz and I’ll do my best. So, please enjoy uh my fight. He was uh ranked number one pound-for-pound at the time at 155 lbs. I consider it a great honor to been selected to fight in the Pride FC. I’m feeling great. I’m ready to fight. Taking on Takenori in Pride at Lightweight at the top of his game was a beautifully unexpected turn in Nick Diaz’s career. But for this fight to make complete sense, you have to know something about Nick Diaz. What’s the first thing you do or think of when you wake up? I don’t know. Maybe hit the weed, get out on a run. I like smoking some weed. Like you like drinking a soda. I’m the number one athletic stoner besides Michael Phelps. On the surface, you might see this as degenerate behavior, but recall that Diaz suffers from ADD and anxiety. So instead of taking pharmaceuticals, Diaz utilized Mary Jane as his way of navigating his mental struggles. I found it to be the right move for me medically or recreationally or whatever you want to call it. Diaz’s relationship with his favorite plant will play a big part in how his career plays out. Starting with his fight against Takorigi. What’s with the glasses there? Oh, I got banged up a little bit. Oh yeah. Yeah. Oh, that’s a nice one. Cracked him and hurt him at one point in time and he got like a big cut over uh one of his cheeks. Oh, stuns Diaz and now trying to finish off the California on the match. Knock you down. I was like, what the the blood started pouring out. But the next round, Takori now he’s breathing heavy. He’s not going to hit you with 100% power. He’s going to hit you with 50%. But he’s going to hit you twice as much and you’re never going to get to breathe. And then once he realizes you’re hurt, then he’s digging to the body. Then he’s putting it on you. Yeah, I expected him to shoot on me. I knew I knew I knew he was going to shoot on me. Goi tried to take him down and Nick put him in a go- go plat. He’s got his shin across the dude’s neck. That is it. Nick Diaz defeated. [Applause] Crazy move to pull off in MMA. Almost never happens. Nick Diaz defeating Takenori via Go Plata after facing early adversity is absolutely iconic. Although when I say he defeated him, well, he tested positive for the GI fight and they said there was so much weed in his system when they tested him that he had to be high when he was fighting. I didn’t know there was anything against it in the rules. I wasn’t looking. I wasn’t asking questions because Nick tested positive for the illegal substance of marijuana. The fight was overturned to a no contest. Nick got suspended for 6 months and he was fined $3,000. If all of that pisses you off, you’re going to have a very hard time making it through this documentary. But moving forward, after the GOI fight, Nick signed with a brand new MMA promotion called Elite XC. Thank you to uh everybody here with Elite XC. I’m here to, you know, do the best I can and and uh I hope I can I can give everybody uh the show that they expect to see uh out of me. I don’t want to brush past Diaz’s first fight in Elite XC. It was a lot of fun. Tons of back and forth exchanges, but ultimately Diaz won in a hard-fought split decision. Nick Diaz. Nick was now on a fiveight unbeaten streak and very popular in the world of MMA. So, it just made sense for Elite XC to offer Nick an inaugural lightweight title shot against KJ Nunes. Big fight coming up November 10th with Nick Diaz. When he fought Nick the first time, KJ had really just started MMA. I’m having a hard time getting motivated to fight this guy. I don’t even know who he is. And even worse is I really don’t want to lose to this guy because he’s not important. It was an honor for KJ to fight him at that time because KJ was up and coming and Nick had a name. Nick did not care at all to fight KJ Nun. But KJ took Nick very seriously. Nobody could have predicted that this fight would birth a violent rivalry. I didn’t feel like this guy belonged in there with me because he didn’t. Just tried to play it to my best advantage. You know, keep it standing and try and not let go to the ground. He’s the great guy on the ground. I was a little too anxious to hurry up and get in there and get the fight started. Got socked in the eye and that time gets the knee. Diaz has got a cut. No, I didn’t talk to the doctor. I didn’t talk to him. He didn’t talk to me. He didn’t He would barely look at me and turn around. He goes and signal somebody and then they go, “Oh, fight’s over.” And I’m going, “What the fuck?” Nick Diaz unable to continue. Nick Diaz not happy with the decision. KJ Nunes is your new Elite XC 160 lb world champion. His face was all cut up and destroyed. I mean, what’s going to happen when your face is already opened up and I keep punching in those cuts? Nick Diaz is storming back to the dressing room. I get kids, like three-year-old kids, you know, putting middle fingers out and I’m going like, man, I it’s not what I was think, you know. Then I get people hating me and I’m like, this really not what I was aiming to do out there. It’s, you know, kind of, you know, I was out there in a fight. I was irritated by the way he celebrated so much after we went in the cut. You won’t ever see me do that. He He don’t know who I am, but I bet he knows who I am every time he looks at himself in the mirror, right? All them scars on his face. Remember that? You remember me now, right? Nick was understandably very upset with how the fight played out as well as KJ celebration of this victory. And on the flip side, KJ along with his family felt that Nick was horribly unprofessional and childish for how he reacted. A grudge match seems like a reasonable solution here. But KJ at Elite XC’s title picture had to move on. So Nick picked himself up and stacked up a few wins. 6 months after the KJ fight, Nick earned a TKO victory over Katsuya Inu and Dream. Oh, there’s the thrown in. It’s over. Nice. So, what do you want to do next or uh who do you want to fight next? I fight everybody in the world who’s considered a better fighter than me. Okay. Who want me? Yeah. They can eat and we can fight. And two months after fighting Inu, Nick returned to Elite XC on the same card as KJ Nunes, very obviously trying to earn his way back to rematching the champion. You know, thinking I’m just a stepping stone to get back in there with KJ. He can’t just walk through. I’m trying to win this fight so that I can have a rematch. You know, I’m going to do anything to get it. And the fight has been stopped. Nick Diaz records the win over Mustin Corporate. After winning this fight, Nick stuck around for KJ’s main event title victory, entered the cage during KJ’s postfight interview, and dropped one of the most iconic lines in MMA history. One comment, man. One comment. No, don’t be scared, homie. Now, look, after this moment, Nick predictably flipped off KJ and his camp, causing both fighters teams to engage in an allout brawl. Chaos is ensuing here in the cage of the Blale Arena. I’m not the one that antagonizes stuff like that. I don’t try to like get in fights on the street. Sometimes it kind of I find my way into these sort of correlations or whatnot. Thankfully, this scuffle was contained pretty quickly, but this interaction really did two things. Number one, it increased the animosity between both fighters and their camps. And number two, it also increased public interest in this potential rematch. There appears to be a marquee match that a lot of people are asking for between Nick Diaz and KJ Nunes, if I’m not mistaken. They want to see the rematch. They want to see Nunes and they want to see Diaz. guy saying you’re ducking Nick and this and that. That’s real bad blood between the Diaz family and the Nunes family. That sounds like a mafia war. Those Diaz brothers are just punks. They got no respect and they’re just punks. I don’t know. Just something about him. He hates me. I hate him. Tell you the truth. My son’s just going to destroy, you know, put put everything to rest. This feud was getting more and more intriguing. But unfortunately, scheduling conflicts and contract disputes complicated things. So instead of waiting around for KJ, Diaz decided to take a fight in his hometown. Nick, this Saturday night you are facing Thomas Wild Man Denny in your backyard, the Stockton Arena. Does this make it any more special for you that you’re fighting in your hometown? Uh I’m just just happy to be fighting here. Stockton doesn’t go on TV. So it’s it’s pretty crazy, but it is cool that uh now that it is, you know, I get to be right there to uh represent. I’m really happy to be, you know, have this job and want to keep it rolling good and uh contribute um to my brother and my family. Being in his hometown for a big fight really grounded Nick Diaz. It had him reflecting on his family, his friends, and a very, very special person from high school. When you’re like dating the hottest girl in high school, to me, it was a big deal. Really hot girlfriend in high school, and I get into fights over that. The girl Nick talks about is Stephanie Weiss, and he loved her, but he often got into fights with her ex-boyfriend and his football friends who felt that Nick didn’t deserve her. I had a really, really nice situation for a little while. I was trying to keep that situation. In order to do that, I had to be winning. I’m trying to hold on to this girl I’m dating. It’s not working out, and I’m becoming stronger and more angrier about that I’m not able to like handle this situation. Stephanie was a bright young girl who had everything going for her. She was going to go to college. And even though Nick didn’t have much going for him, Stephanie believed in Nick’s dream to be a fighter. Even before his first pro fight, she just knew he was going to make it. And trying to just somehow keep what I had in my mind and I just couldn’t. It just slipped like right through my fingers. One night, Stephanie finally tells Nick that she loves him, and they make plans to see each other later at her house. In the meantime, Nick had to go check on some friends of his, so he kissed her goodbye, not knowing it would be for the last time. They were all partying earlier and she got into an argument with somebody and she just jumped on the freeway. when he got word of it, she was still out there on the freeway and he laid down by her and she was laying there and he said he could make a noise. He just tears went down his, you know, his eyes and that was like his first love. Nick says, and I quote, “She had walked and killed herself on the freeway. The girl I loved more than anything had tried to kill herself for the third time and succeeded.” Stephanie when she had died and I didn’t know how much it affected him. I got to sacrifice a lot, you know, and I end up losing a lot in life. I mean, like I put this first, you know, in front of a lot of people and it really takes its toll. People don’t understand like you want to come into this like with a nice wife and a nice life. I’m like, [ __ ] I didn’t get none of that. I don’t get to go home to my nice wife and nice life. And if you’re doing that every day and you’re putting all that effort into your nice wife, I’m putting 100% into what I do. I’m gonna [ __ ] your whole world up right in front of your nice wife and your nice life. Diaz punches and punches out and it’s over and the eruption begins. Nick Diaz. Um, I’d like to dedicate this performance. First off, a special girl, very special girl, uh, in my life, uh, uh, named Stephanie Wise. After every fight, Nick ran seven miles to Stephanie’s grave to promise her he would make it as a fighter because he knows how proud she would be of his success. I can’t imagine the pain of losing someone you love that much in that fashion. Nick is a stronger man than I am. After this fight and Nick’s beautiful tribute to Stephanie, he would have more than earned a title shot to KJ Nunes in Elite XC. But things got a little complicated at the promotion. They’re being investigated by the Florida Athletic Commission. They ought to be investigated right now by the FBI, too. Elite XC went under investigation for allegedly fixing a fight between Seth Petraelli and Kimbo Slice. That’s [ __ ] illegal. Ultimately, Elite XE went under and sold everything, which meant two things. Number one, the rematch with KJ Nunes would no longer be possible, at least not within Elite XC. But more immediately, Nick was now signed to Strikeforce, one of the greatest MMA promotions ever, and ready to make a badass debut. But before we get to Nick’s debut, you have to know what Nick does for fun. So, what does Nick do for fun? He goes and runs a marathon. What does Nick do on his day off? He does a triathlon. Is it true you swam Alcatraz? Yeah. Yeah. No, it’s a I do a lot of triathlon. I usually do like anywhere from uh 8 to 12 races a season since I was 18. This guy swam from Alcatraz to the shore. He swam five times. Swim from Alcatraz in the ocean with the sharks. The swim is a mile and a half and it’s really a lot nicer than you think. You know, it was just an investment I made to keep me in shape year round so that, you know, they call me for a fight, I’m I’m ready to go. I’m like, I’m already in shape. I’m doing this. Nick Diaz’s cardio and conditioning was off the charts. It was one of the most important aspects of his fighting style. I mean, Nick is such a savage. He did a triathlon two weeks before his Strikeforce debut against one of the all-time legends of MMA. Frank was like the original mixed martial artist, original complete mixed martial artist. In terms of Frank Sharmach, do you do you think this 36-year-old man, do you think he has the ability to face an opponent like you? Do you think he has it? He’s number one champion of the world five times or something. that I used to I was a huge Frank Shamrock fan. As long as I, you know, stick to my game and keep tight, you know, I’m going to knock Diaz out. I’m going to smash him. Frank Shamrock was a pancreas champion, UFC light heavyweight champion, WC light heavyweight champion, and former strike force middleweight champion, but Nick Diaz did not care. Nick Diaz, he walks over to Frank, actually pulls his hand out like, “Oh man, he’s going to shake his hand, you know.” And Frank goes for the handshake. Bam. Like right to him in the face. I had people come up to me and try to shake my hand and smile at me and they try to wish me good luck. How do you react when you go up to do a face off with someone and they give you the middle finger? I don’t know. It was different. No one’s ever done that to me before. What are you going to say? Good luck to me. I’m going to come and uh try to wreck you tomorrow, you know, and then you’re going to do me. And it’s just no. I don’t want you to have good luck. I can tell there’s probably millions of people looking at me like, “Oh, you know, no class.” I can hear him talking right now. No class, kid. Just absolutely no class. The thing is is like this is not this is warfare. You know what I mean? You know, Nick, God bless you. Thanks for stepping up when I punch your head through the second row. Hopefully there’ll be someone to catch you. Um, yeah. [ __ ] you. Thank you. Nobody in this mother’s class. Okay. These are all MMA fighters. They fight in a cage. You know what I mean? There’s elbows involved. Why is there a segment of the population that misunderstands you that potentially doesn’t like you? Why do you think that is? Yeah, I think he takes everything personal. But I mean, there is a flip side. You know, I did knock out his coach and his teacher and you know, I mean, that would certainly upset me if someone did that to my coach. they’re going to pass judgment right away and decide that I, you know, that I’m, I guess, not not a good influence or a great role model. But I think a lot of it is that they’re not quite understanding how this sport works. Someone’s going down and it ain’t going to be me. Someone’s getting knocked out and it ain’t going to be me. He’s got no power in his punches. He stands straight up. He leaves his chin available. He has little head movement. His takedown sucks. So, we’re going to do our best to trick the public into thinking that this is sports and we’re all sportsmanlike. I’m not living in fantasy delusion. You know, I don’t walk out there going, “Okay, this is tennis.” It’s kind of hard to come off respectable when you’re dealing with fighting. People are going to say what they will about me, but I kind of got to do what I got to do. See how you do at 179 against Nick Diaz. I hope I don’t get smashed. That would suck, guys. And I think it helps me to not kind of fall into that delusion of that it’s a sport, you know? It’s really it’s really more than that, you know. It’s really a fight like it’s always, you know, and I think I win because I understand that. Nick Dia has changed the game in terms of his elite cardio. Just puts that crazy triathlon pace on you where you just can’t keep up with them. doesn’t give you any break. Nobody can fight like Nick. It’s an iconic kind of style. Daring you to come at him. 50% punches, but constantly have in your face wise talking [ __ ] We going to do [ __ ] What you going to do, [ __ ] Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. And then every now and then, rip one to the body. Rip one to the body. He had no chance. He didn’t present any problems to Nick. That’s how good Nick Diaz was when he was in his prime. Shy in trouble and it’s over. Wow. The end of the fight, he picks Frank up. He’s like, “You’re a legend. Do not sit down there like that. You’re a legend.” A true changing of the guard. Nick Diaz was the [ __ ] man. Nick Diaz completely demolished the legendary Frank Shamrock in a highprofile matchup. Nick’s popularity was only growing and so was his ambition. I’d love to go I’d love to fight in the UFC and go to the UFC to fight George St. Pierre. It might not be good for the UFC. It might not be good for you know I’m sure it wouldn’t be good for George. Despite not being in the same promotion, Nick was eager to fight UFC welterweight champion George St. Pierre. But right now, that’s not even close to possible. So instead, Nick returned two months after the Shamrock fight and submitted Scott Smith. Nick Diaz was really making a name for himself, but it wasn’t just him that was making noise. Who was your favorite fighter today? Uh my brother. My brother, he’s trained up. He’s looking better and better. So just amazing. He’s amazing kid, you know. I just uh really proud of him. We train jiu-jitsu real hard. We go full speed, you know, in jiu-jitsu. I don’t like sparring my brother, you know? I don’t like it. I don’t want to hit my brother. By this time, Nate Diaz had already entered the UFC through the Ultimate Fighter and was stringing together a pretty decent record, which really just validated the fact that Nick put himself and his brother down the right path. He’s been a really big help for me and I really owe him like the whole world. Who’s the better fighter between you guys? That’s a stupid question, dude. We’re both different fighters. We’re different weights, you know, like my brother. Who would win? It’s like, okay, why like that’s stupid, you know? You going to ask me that? I’m real proud of my brother. He’s always, you know, surpris surprises me with something, you know, like I mean, I know he’s going to do well, but still it’s just like it’s still amazing to see. I watched him how he’s just so much better than people and I say, man, that’s just it’s nice, you know, it’s nice to see hard work pay off. Remember that Nick feels heavily responsible for his younger brother. If Nick could lead his brother Nate to success by example, then it would all be worth it for Nick. And what better way to show your brother how it’s done than to become the Strikeforce welterweight champion. You know, I’m curious to know how this guy’s going to beat me if he does. People want to take that how they see me and then they think they know me. Anything can happen. I’d like to really learn something from this fight if I lose. They look at me like I’m some killer, you know, and I’m just like that’s what I need to portray to my my adversary that I’m going to [ __ ] kill you. I consider it a great honor to be fighting against the greatest fighters in the world. I’m here to uphold that image. He’s been the underdog all his life. People wanted to bully him when he was younger. They wanted to portray him as something he’s not. They want to write a script for his life. And that’s not the script he wants. And he’s fighting against that. And I think as fight time approaches, all of that starts to emerge. Down goes Sarovski. He is the strike force welterweight champion. This was a great win for Nick D as your new champion. What’s next? I want to fight George S. Pierre. You know, I don’t that ain’t an option. That’s the only fight I’m talking about. You know what I’m saying? I only fight the people who everybody thinks the best out there cuz they, you know, they don’t seem to notice me. They don’t put me on any magazines. They don’t put my brother on any magazine. Nick Diaz was now the Strike Force welterweight champion and of course immediately called out the UFC’s welterweight champion with what sounds like a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. But we’ll have to put that aside for now because Nick got himself into some trouble. What happened tonight, man? That little [ __ ] boy came in and tried to push my boy right after he’s done fighting. After I fought Dan Henderson, he hopped over the cage and he’s like, “Where’s my rematch? What’s up? Where’s my rematch, buddy? Hey, where’s my rematch?” Running in his, you know, what do you think’s going to happen? Okay, so this is going to need some extra context. That was Jason Mayhem Miller barging in on Jake Shields postfight interview. Shields is of course an MMA legend in his own right, but he was also Nick’s close friend and training partner. So, their training camp took Mayhem’s interruption as massive disrespect. So, you can probably guess what happened immediately afterwards. I just wanted to ask for a rematch. I wasn’t trying to get in a big brawl. Here comes Nick Diaz. And then the fight happens. This is ridiculous. This is ridiculous. Sometimes these things happen in MMA. Fight breaks out next to the Diaz brothers. What do you think’s going to happen? Okay. Anybody is that a shock to anybody? And I was like, what the hell? I was flabbergasted. My friend just fought for 25 minutes. Help me down. I’m not going to help his ass out. I don’t think you did anything to deserve getting jumped though. Gentlemen, we’re on national television. Gentlemen, we’re in national television. That whole scrap pack that they die for each other and you can’t knock friendship like that. Just wanted to ask for my rematch. You know, I I feel really bad that that that whole thing went down like that. So, you got your ass whooped. That’s what you get. You stupid [ __ ] trying to market yourself. I like Nick Diaz very much. And I’ve said this many times. If Nick Diaz would play the game even this much, you know, but but Nick Diaz will refuse to play the game, you know, he’s anti the game. He’s very talented, you know, and and he probably should be in the UFC. The infamous Strikeforce brawl in Nashville didn’t help whatsoever with Nick’s growing reputation as MMA’s bad boy gangster, which of course Nick didn’t particularly like. But instead of crying about it, Nick went right back to work doing a little side quest in Dream where he earned a first round arm bar over Hayato Sakura. Oh, the armbar. The armbar. It’s trouble. It’s good. I Nick Diaz was casually bouncing between promotions, kicking ass, and taking names. But there was one name he seemed particularly fixated on. A good fight for me. George St. Pierre. I I made it to the UFC before him. Um, I was just really young and inexperienced when I got there. By this point, George St. Pierre was the UFC’s dominant welterweight champion. And Nick clearly felt a chip on his shoulder for not only how George was considered the best welterweight ine, but for how George was painted as a much more respectable champion by the media. Unfortunately, that fight is still out of reach for Nick Diaz. But if you recall, there was a certain grudge match that has been in the making for 3 years now. If it’s going to be Nick Diaz, tell him to put his title on mine and uh don’t be scared, homie. Right? Isn’t that his line? Don’t be scared, homie. Let’s do that. I’m better looking than him. I’m better talker than him. I’m a better fighter than him. I’ll beat him at anything. How you feeling coming up in into this rematch? I’m feeling great. I don’t expect it to be easy. I don’t expect any fight to be easy. I I didn’t expect it to be easy the first time we fought. What’s our top next fight? Not much. Going to be the same thing as last time. That’s right. Nick Diaz versus KJ Nunes 2. this time in Strikeforce and with Nick’s welterweight title on the line. And the buildup was just as fun as you’d expect. Nick no showed an important pre-fight conference call. KJ Nunes and his father called Nick an unprofessional pot smoking chump. And Diaz retaliated with calling KJ’s father a drunk. This rivalry needed to get settled. Is he going to stand? No, cuz I’m a better fighter than him. I’m curious. I’m anxious cuz I want to see what’s so special that this guy’s going to do. Is a knockout just as good as submission if it if it happens. Or do you kind of want to punish this guy? I would like to fight a good fight, you know. I don’t I don’t want to punish anybody ever, you know. That’s just not how I am. It’s an interesting conundrum that that Nick is in cuz he truly doesn’t enjoy hurting people. I do better when I have all odds against me. That’s how I got, you know, that’s how it’s my whole life’s been. He doesn’t want to be the guy that’s beating up other people. He doesn’t think it’s fun, but he does know that that’s his job to win fights. I am a slow starter. You know, a lot of times I screwed up a little bit the second round. Nice combination. Left hand upstairs and Diaz is now cut. And he’s cut him right where he cut him last time. Early in round two, KJ caught Nick with a punch that cut him exactly where he cut him last time, which was potentially a nightmare scenario for Diaz. You know, it was a small cut. I had blood in my eye in this fight, blurry side, and I could fight with one eye. I mean, you know, it was the same thing in the last fight. Despite blood pouring from his cut, the referee did not take away Diaz’s opportunity to redeem himself. And so, Diaz just pushed through. Nick, did you make it a point to box with KJ to prove that you had better boxing? Oh, I know. My hand is broke. My jaw is broke. That’s next level boxing that we hadn’t seen in MMA at the time. It was going to have to be that way. You know, he’s going to force me to stand up and throw punches at him. So, that’s what I had to do. You know, still champion Nick. He’s the winner tonight. I didn’t win. So, I guess, you know, he’s the better man. He’s the champ. Nate, your brother fought a hell of a fight tonight. Came out with the victory. Tell me your thoughts on the fight and how the night went. I thought it would have went something like that. If not, I thought he was going to probably finish him, but it went good. Are you happy the KJ Newon saga is over? Uh, yeah. You know, I want to get on to fighting some uh some some more important people. I want to fight George St. Pierre. I think that he’s the best and um I think that uh you know, if you don’t think I’m the best, then let me fight this guy. Nick Diaz finally getting revenge on KJ Nunes to become a defending champion was very satisfying. And as you saw, he wasn’t letting up on his desire to fight a certain Canadian. In fact, all he thought about in the buildup to his next fight was George St. Pierre. The guy at 170 who will give GSP a fight is Nick Diaz. Unfortunately, he fights for a strike for us. Is this a fight that you feel it needs to happen regardless? Can I ask you about your opponent Cyborg? How do you think it’s going to end up on Saturday? Either I win or I go to the hospital. I don’t know, George. What do you say? You know, I’m saying if I was him, I’d stand up and say something. How was your training camp for for this fight? I don’t call it a training camp. I don’t know where this MMA turn term came from. You know, this camp, there was no camp ground. There was no tents. He’s not talking like he wants to fight me, but I’m the only guy, you know, people are talking about for that fight. If this guy stands up in the middle of the cage after he wins the fight and says, “Hey, I want to fight Nick Diaz. I’ll hop the cage and I’ll get up in this face and I say, “What’s up? Let’s do this.” You know what I’m saying? He came out, he took the best that guy had. And he kept walking through stuff. And uh with Nick, you know, he wants to prove a point and that’s just how he is and that’s what makes him so great, I think. the AR. Looks for the armor. It’s over. Diaz retains the Strike Force welterweight title. Most uh successful title defenses. This was your third. Uh you know, you’re on the marquee. A lot of people saying you’re the most dominant fighter in the organization. At this stage in your career, what’s it like getting all this respect from your fellow fighters and the fight community? I feel like I’m getting a little bit more respect than I used to. You know, people aren’t making such a joke out of me anymore. And um feels, you know, feels it feels great. I’ll fight anybody. just let me get paid for that. That’s pro boxing, you know. We want to I hear pro boxers get paid, you know, way more. So, of course, let’s do it. You know, if I could take the belt in in pro boxing and take a belt in MMA fighting, you know, that sounds good, too. I just want to do something extraordinary. You know, I don’t want to be your everyday regular MMA fighter because I’m not. That’s nine wins and two title defenses in a row for Nick Diaz. That’s amazing. Although, he seems to be disgruntled with how little he’s being paid or promoted in the sport. I’ve fought way too much. Um, overt trained, overworked, underpaid for this. And I’m under publicized, too. They don’t give a [ __ ] about me, you know? I’m not putting magazines. They don’t call me for that. That’s frustrating enough. But on top of that, the entire landscape of MMA changed overnight for Nick Diaz. I think you have a very big announcement to make. Um, UFC has purchased Strikeforce. Is that true? That is true. No, I don’t feel like a champion right now that the UFC bought this organization. I don’t understand all that. All those big names, Nick Diaz, Paul Dy, all those guys, they’re going to become UFC fighters starting next month. No, no, no, no, no. Strike Force is going to is going to continue to run. It is literally business as usual. Well, I thought we were competing with the UFC and I thought, you know, my belt might have been just as important uh or potentially just as important as a UFC belt, you know, but now this is all about, you know, going to the UFC, so I don’t care about the Strike Force belt. With the UFC buying strike force, Nick felt like his title was invalidated. It was only a matter of time before the whole promotion was absorbed into the UFC. But Nick was able to channel that aggravated energy to put on perhaps his most memorable Strikeforce performance against Paul Dailyaly. It was real short. Notice I just had all these fights. They fight me too much. You know, uh I’m most over overworked, overtrained, underpaid fighter, you know. That’s why that’s the way I feel. Somebody’s going to be bleeding. Somebody’s going to be limping out of the cage. And uh that’s going to be him cuz I’m taking this title. Nick decides to take him down. He can make it an easy fight. If they stand down and bang, it can be a hell of a war. Paul Daly versus Nick Diaz. You want to see a wild fight? One round of chaos. Just chaos. Daily all over Diaz is jumping on. I was like, “Oh my god, Paul Dy’s going to stop Nick Diaz. This is crazy. How crazy is Nick Diaz?” Nick Diaz forced him into a dog fight. Diaz back downstairs. Daily Daily holding on. This is hands down the greatest MMA one round fight I’ve ever seen in my life. They are banging, folks. This is what the fans anticipated. This is what the fans are getting. It was one of those fights that you know that that electricity and that energy in that ring was unbelievable. DS DS was rocked by that punch and yet is able to recover. Nick didn’t try to take him down. Nick didn’t try to submit him. He just went after him just like come on let’s do this and wore him out. Daily falling into trouble. Diaz going in for the kick out. Hands over. Diaz has made history. Nick Diaz finishing daily. Holy. Holy. When Nick was at the top in Strike Force to this day, I think he’s one of the best fighters that’s ever done it. Nick Diaz versus Paul Daly may just be the best one round fight ever. Aside from the excitement, it solidified Nick Diaz as one of, if not the best welterweights in the world. There was really only one man who could disagree. And now with Strikeforce getting absorbed into the UFC, this fight was finally possible. But before we get to Nick’s return to the UFC, if you got this far, please hit subscribe. It means a lot. And if you want more videos like this, hit the like button and leave me a comment down below. But your comment with homie. That way I know you got this far. Now back to UFC 137. You told us DSGSP, we’re crazy for asking about this fight. A lot of hurdles and things like that. 2 days later, you go on Twitter and you announce that it’s actually happening in October. He says about me that I I didn’t want to fight him. Like I And I’m not a coward, you know? I never docked nobody. Nick Diaz versus George St. Pierre for the undisputed UFC welterweight title. This was perhaps the most highly anticipated fight in the MMA world, but unfortunately it would stay that way. We had a press conference in Toronto for GSP versus Nick Diaz for the welterweight championship. Nick Diaz was a no-show. I haven’t talked to him again. He hasn’t returned my call. You know, at the time when Nick wasn’t showing up for press conferences and stuff, Nick was going through real [ __ ] When I first learned the news, I thought some something bad happened, like maybe someone died or something. For me to not show up at something like this, it would play something very bad. Nick has like anxiety issues and and things like that. So, what he was going through was real. He doesn’t like the pretentiousness of what he has to do in the media and he’d rather not do it. All I ask this kid to do is play the game this much. If you ask me something stupid, then I’m going to answer it with something stupid. And if I hear myself talk something stupid and I’m really pissed off, depressed, and been out of shape about it, I might throw a really serious fit for noing reason. It’s very it’s an act of profession professionalism. You know, they’ll ask him to go do a press conference with his adversary when in his mind, he’s preparing himself to beat the hell out of that guy in the cage. To promote that fight, we need three there there is three partners to promote that fight. The UFC me and then Nick Zas. People are portraying Nick as what they see on TV. An ass kick and crazy, you know, thug like what they But you know what I’m saying? He’s fighting somebody at the time. So what do you want him to do? He’s fighting a guy who wants to take him out. This kid’s not going to show up in Vegas. Didn’t show up in Toronto. What else isn’t he going to show up for? Is he not going to show up for the fight? I mean, this is crazy. This is this is beyond insane to not show up for all these these press tours and and and not to show up for your own press conference for your for your world championship fight. But these cameras on me. I’m sitting here waiting to fight and then I’m I’m back in high school and it’s a mess and you’re like, “Oh, why don’t you camera?” I’m like, “The camera already.” You have to play by some of the rules. I’m not asking you not to be yourself or not to do this or that. I show up to do my job, but Nick ass did not show up to do his job. You know, that’s how I see it. And it’s consequences to to this. You tell me what to do, I’ll do it. You know, nobody’s telling me, hey, show up for this press conference or you’re not fighting. And he did not show up to the press store and stuff like that. So, they just take him out take him out because they were didn’t want to risk the fact that he did not show up. People want to blame me for spoiling that deal, but they spoiled that deal for the fans. I don’t see Nick Diaz calling me up going, “Hey, listen. I’m sorry. Give me the fight back.” It’s just not Nick Diaz. And even if he did, it’s too late now, right? Yeah. It’s definitely too late. What would I have like to fight Nick Diaz? That was a a dream fight for me. Because Nick Diaz missed one too many press conferences, the UFC decided to pull him from the card entirely. Instead, giving Carlos Condit a chance at GSP’s title. Condit was originally on the card to fight BJ Penn, so it just made sense to slip him right in for the main event. Although, this did leave BJ Penn without a dance partner. But hey, the UFC saved the card from the unpredictability of Nick Diaz. Or did they? Well, what happened is that I got hurt at the end of my training camp. kind of fell a little bit awkward. Uh my knee bent and I strained my ligament. Uh the fight was very close. I couldn’t take the fight. Two and a half weeks before the event, George C. Pierre hurt his knee and had to pull out of his title defense against Carlos Condid. So now the UFC completely lost their main event. If only they had, say, two fighters who were originally scheduled to be on that card who were still available to fight each other in the main event. This is a big fight. Obviously Nick Diaz was uh lined up to fight George St. Pierre and now he’s fighting BJ Pence. How do you feel about BJ being your first opponent in the UFC? I wouldn’t have picked that first opponent. That’s um I don’t feel good about it. I mean, it’s not I would have I would have been happy with a different fight and not fighting somebody that I’ve so acquainted with. We train together, we spar together, we grapple together, you know, but fights a fight and that’s two years ago and I don’t know what he’s going to come at me with. On October 29th, I will defeat Nick Diaz. Did you guys have a conversation about that then? No. He sent me a message said, “Uh, sorry about the position you’re in. You really got I like this fight. I I you know, the way that these two both walk into the octagon the way they are when they’re in there and obviously the way they fight, they’re both guys that try to finish and I I think it’s going to be a war. I believe BJ is much more dangerous and a better fighter than GF. Nick, have you noticed um how much more popular you’ve gotten over the past few months?” I don’t really get into the whole everybody paying attention to you thing cuz most time I don’t get recognized. Do you feel that he’s misunderstood or or misrepresented? How do you really feel about how he how people think of him? There were a lot of your fans who are backing you up very strongly and said that the UFC wronged you. Is there anything that you’d like to say to those people who have stood by you? Yeah. Thank you for you know standing by me and um you know I’m going to go out and do my best best I can. Um you know don’t hate BJ Pink. He’s not misunderstood at all. Okay. He’s uh you know the thing is with Nick is it is what it is. It seems to me like part of you is dealing with this struggle like you’re not really sure if you still like doing this and fighting. Is that is that accurate? I never like doing this. Never like doing this mixed martial arts. You know this is uh this is all I could do. You know this is all I know how to do. This all I’m good at. So this is what I do. It could maybe come down to uh who wants it more. And at this point in time that might be my biggest issue. You know cuz I’ve been you know I’ve been doing this for a while. I don’t need this. You know what I Not that I’m trying to advocate um for this, but why don’t you just stop? Why don’t you just try to find something that you love doing and and and not have to go through all this? My brother’s the most important thing to me, probably more important, you know, more important than anything. Do you get nervous when Nick fights? I any of my partners and my brother, I get more nervous for it than myself. A lot of time. It’s why um it’s why, you know, I have to push forward and do so good cuz I can’t, you know, there would have been a lot less pressure on me if I didn’t have a younger brother. And I’m happy I do. I’m happy I do have a younger brother. That’d be great. the 10 years that we’ve all seen BJ Penn perform and fight. You’ve never seen BJ Penn busted up. He got busted up tonight. That’s just not the way it should be. You know, I don’t want to fight people I already know. I don’t think that’s what fighting is all about. So, I didn’t I didn’t want this fight. So, it wasn’t motivating for me to give BJ credit where credit’s due. What a warrior to stand in front of him for three rounds right in the pocket. I honestly didn’t know if BJ was going to answer the bell for the third round. I was supposed to fight George St. Pierre, not BJ Penn. That’s why my face looks banged up right now because it’s discouraging to have your fight cancelled and then back and forth about just everything. Nick Diaz is the real deal. You know, I think people love real fighters and and that kid is definitely a real fighter. Nick, George St. Pierre flipped out tonight after Nick Diaz was in the ring. I I quote, “He’s the most disrespectful human being I’ve ever met. And I’m going to put the worst beaten you’ve ever seen on him in the UFC is what George St. Pierre said.” What’s on your mind right now? I don’t think George is hurt. I think he’s scared. I think he’s scared to fight everybody right now. What’s up? Where you at, George? You know, who knows? Maybe George isn’t really hurt. You know, have any be seen any pictures of surgery? Cuz I haven’t. He doesn’t believe that you’re you’re injured. I don’t know why he does that. I never disrespect him or do nothing to him to be mad at me or do a such thing. Nick needs motivation. He’s got it. He’s going to fight George St. Pierre. I don’t have anything against George St. Pierre. I think he’s a great fighter, great role model. I would love to I would love to be that too if I was in that position. I just unfortunately haven’t ever had the opportunity and the right people behind me to uh push me to be that type of uh you know that type of fighter or that type of role model or what you uh you know what you like to see. I personally don’t think you have to be the bad guy though because you do have so many fans. So why do you feel that people are against you? Because I I feel like a lot of people get in this fight cuz everybody wants to see me take an ass whooping right about now. It’s all right. I’m ready. I’ll take my ass whooping. I already worked for it. I’ll take my ass whooping. I’ll take my money and I’ll go home. This isn’t a joke. I’m not staging act. This is not for fun. This is not a side thing. This is fighting. I got to come off like that just to get a fight. I got to be the bad guy. You going to point the finger, make me the bad guy. I’m the bad guy. Now I get to fight. It worked. Under perhaps the worst set of circumstances he could have possibly asked for in his UFC return, Nick Diaz put on a fantastic performance to defeat BJ Penn and plant his flag in the UFC welterweight title picture. Unfortunately, GSP’s recovery was going to take longer than expected. So instead, the UFC offered Diaz an intram welterweight title shot against fan favorite Savage Carlos Condid. I’m a fighter. I love to fight. You know, Nick Diaz is a fighter. We’re going to step in there and we are going to fight. I’m trying to make it so the ref has to jump in and save your life. What’s the key in your mind to defeating Carlos Condid on Saturday night? I got to do everything right and go out there and fight, make things happen, you know, make things happen for me and and um that’s what I got to do. Nick’s a warrior and uh we’re going to step in there and we’re going to get after it from bell to bell until until one of us doesn’t move anymore. Carlos Khan is a much more dangerous opponent. You know, you have a lot more to be afraid of if you’re standing in front of a guy like that. Carlos Kit has I I believe more power and he has more diversity in his striking. You’re more in danger of losing a a decision to uh George St. Pierre. You’re more in danger of losing your teeth if you’re fighting Cond here. Nick though is more accurate and he’s a kind of guy that control distance very well. You know, half of this show is built up around me fighting George St. Pierre, but I’m fighting Carlos Condit. So, I just uh I don’t like it. I pray every night that Nick Diaz win that fight. I want Nick the ass to win for two reasons. First is the fight that every everybody wanted to see. He’s a champion at Strike Force and I’m champion of UFC back before and I like the format champion versus champion because of his style matchup. The style matchup is going to bring the best out of me. They’re kind of starting to promote that fight, you know, before this one’s even happened and uh looking to mess up the plans and and uh step in there and beat Diaz and and walk away with intern and also everything that you have said questioned my integrity in the sport. They said I was taking stale oil and stuff like that. you know, it’s something to promote a fight, but it’s something else when you you attack someone personally, and I I don’t think it’s the right way to promote a fight. A lot of people are putting a lot of pressure on him to say these sorts of things. It’s not really him. I think you should just stick to what he does and or I mean, I would I guess. You think people are understanding you better, too? Because it seems like when people get to know you a little bit more, they say, “Oh, Nick’s not a bad guy.” Nick is not crazy. Nick is a very, very smart guy. That’s a persona that he has to intimidate people. I think I’m I’m getting a little bit better and more of a chance to explain myself and um you’re hearing a little bit more of of me now instead of what people are saying about me. The way we portray himself sometime doesn’t is not the same as who he truly is. I I don’t believe Nick Diaz is a bad human being. Why do you think people are fascinated with with Diaz? He’s a fascinating guy. I’m fascinated by him. I’ve been in this business forever. Through my eyes, he’s very disrespectful because I’m going to fight him. He has the need to hate his opponent to to fight him. I don’t need to hate my opponent to fight him. If I would go and answer back to Nick’s ass and say f word and this and that, of course, I want to do it. Like I said, I stand for something bigger than than myself. I want to be a good role model, especially for kids that look up to me. I expect a war. You know, honestly, Nick is is probably the toughest dude that I’ve ever fought. This has fight of the night, possibly fight of the year, written all over. Obviously, somewhat controversial main event. Who’ you score it for? Nick won the first two rounds by moving forward and uh being the aggressor. What was he saying to you during the fight? Told me my nose was bleeding. Asked me why my nose was bleeding. And you know, I don’t know. I threw a spinning back fist or something. He told me, “So, we’re we’re throwing spinning now.” I didn’t think the fight was going to be as technical as it was. I thought those two were going to go in there and go toe-to-toe. And I think that’s what Diaz expected, too. Punched him in the face and kicked him in the face and, you know, landed more effective strikes than he did in the fight. And, you know, that’s that’s what it boils down to. I gave the first two rounds to Nick Diaz and I gave the last three rounds to Condal killer Carlos. I think Nick is uh you know Nick’s upset. Nick 100% believes he won the fight. I’m not going to accept the fact that this is a loss. I think I’m done with this MMA. It’s been great out here. I’ve had a good career. Are you really thinking about retiring now? You know, I don’t need this. You know what I mean? I don’t believe I don’t want to play this game no more. After the fight he retired, do you think we’ll ever see him back right now? I don’t think so. I think he’s retired. You know, do you get the sense that his heart is not in it right now? No. I I I I think Nick Diaz’s heart is in it. He’s a fighter. This is who he is. This is what he does. I think he’s just emotional right now. And I think we’ll see him again. Do you think he’ll be back? I would bet that he will. Nick Diaz controversially losing in his intram welterweight title fight to Carlos K and immediately bowing out from the sport was a complete shock and the aftermath of the fight just made things worse. You tested positive for marijuana after the controversial loss to Condid and he received a temporary suspension. Why would marijuana be considered in your opinion a performance-enhancing drug in the first place? It is not like he’s doing steroids. It’s not like he’s doing something that’s making him freakishly fast or ridiculously strong. I think we all feel that you’ve been uh kind of victimized here and made a scapegoat by the NSAC and the other legitimate performance-enhancing drugs that guys have done and their suspensions aren’t nearly as long. Do you feel like you’re being picked on? This guy’s smoking pot. He He’s not He’s not doing mess. They got to use somebody, I think, you know, to uh point the finger at. And right now, it’s it’s been me. So, they you know, it’s it’s easy to make me the guy. For the second time in his career, Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana. and this time he received a 12month suspension. As you can imagine, this just created more of a rift between Diaz and the sport he’s had a lovehate relationship with for so long. At the very least, there was one small silver lining to this. During Nick’s suspension, he got to spend more time with his younger brother, Nate, who had built a threeight win streak to earn a UFC lightweight title shot against Benson Henderson. Nick was able to help his brother prepare for his fight. But unfortunately for the Diaz camp, Nate came up short in his quest for gold. This pseudo retirement/suspension allowed Nick to reflect on the fact that while MMA didn’t love him and he didn’t love it back, he still had much more work to do to get him and his brother where he wanted them to be. So almost exactly one year later, Nick came back and went straight for the top. Long time we were supposed to fight each other. You’ve been calling my name for a long time. I’m more than happy to give him a shot. Champ called him out and wanted to fight him. That’s who he asked us to fight. I don’t believe it for one second. Why is that? I don’t believe that because he never said that. He never said anything to the camera. He never look at a camera. Never said nothing to camera. Never told me nothing. I’ll tell you what, bro. You know, I was out there. I was fighting all the hitters. Bro, you ain’t fought no hitters. Do you really think I’m afraid of you? That’s fine. Okay. No, I don’t. You scared? You think I’m afraid of you, man? Are you crazy in your head, man? I’m not scared of you. You’ll see Saturday if I’m scared of you. I don’t really care what he says. Nick Diaz deserve to be beat down. He starts talking [ __ ] going like, “Okay, Nick Diaz is a bad guy. Nick Diaz deserves to get beat down.” And like I’m like I’m starting to feel some type of way about this now. He deserves to get beat down and all this. You he really thinks that I deserve that. He really wants people to to, you know, believe that I deserve to get my face smashed in. And everybody everybody believes that. Everybody thinks that. You know, it’s upsetting. They like to make me look like the bad guy. George likes to say I remind them of the bullies that picked on him growing up or they had to deal with. Sorry I’m not a good role model for your children. They never gave me the opportunity to be. I think the people in this sport think I’m crazy. I don’t want to be the bad guy. I’m not a bad guy. I like to think it’s not always my fault that I come off uh the way I do. I think he takes it personal. I think he it’s Man, it’s a freaking sport, man. How many How many times you uh had a gun to your head, George? How many of your best friends been shot through the chest with a 45? How many of your best friends been stomped, put to sleep in a into a coma? I didn’t do nothing wrong. And I’m always the bad guy. negative light, dark cloud. You know, it’s hard times for everybody and a lot of times that’s what makes us fighters. If it wasn’t for what I went through, I wouldn’t I who knows if I would have made it in life, who knows I’d be who I am today. It’s the funniest thing, but I, you know, I like to think I’m not a violent person. I’m a martial artist and um I like to be respected. I might not always be able to fight for money or fight for my money, but I’ll always fight for my dignity. So, people are going to have to make do with that. And still the undisputed Nick Diaz said, “I am done. My job is over. I’m out of here.” I said, “Okay, I’m going to have to just kind of figure out whether I want to keep doing this.” I really, to be honest, I don’t really think I got it anymore. I think I’m done with mixed martial arts. Tired of getting banged up like this. I’ve been doing it for a while. Why do you want to retire from from mixed martial arts? I I just feel like I fought everybody that I set out to fight. I’ve taken care of everything that I that I wanted to do in this sport. And uh yeah, I just, you know, this is this is hard stuff. Nick Diaz losing a lopsided decision to George St. Pierre was very hard on the Stockton legend. As we already know, Nick has a hard time accepting any loss, but this one was especially difficult, and I think that his pretty wild accusations are a reflection of that. He said for my fight that I poisoned his IV. They poisoned my IV with some kind of weirdass joke. I slept 14 hours. I’m like, what’d you put in my IV, dude? That I was on steroid. George St. here was on steroids when I fought him, accusing him of being on steroids and having a bottle of urine in his pocket in case he gets tested here. I know that they didn’t test us cuz they was filling up all our piss inside little film containers. I was like, I would have tested for weeds. They did not test him for steroids in that fight. They didn’t test us. That my rap was wrong. And he has something wrong with his wraps. And he said also the way and like I didn’t make weight. He missed weight by 3 lbs or more. That fight shouldn’t have been a title fight and I should have got an immediate rematch. I got to confess, Joe. I got to confess. I was so scared of fighting Nick. So we poisoned his IV but he survived. So I was even more terrified you know. So all the athletic commission was on my payroll. So they tricked the way and then I made it and it went through. So I was even more terrified. So the alien abduct me and put a g they put the g gamma array to increase my strength like the oak and the fight was still happening. So, right before I put some glass and cement in my gloves to make sure and still had a crazy hard fight. To be fair to Nick, there was a controversial last minute change to the weigh-ins for his GSP fight. But overall, this collection of accusations reflected very poorly on Nick. But Nick didn’t really care. He mentally checked out from the sport. After all, he just lost a title fight, and there weren’t any big fights for him on the horizon. At least not for about 2 years. Did you ask for Nick Diaz or did they offer you Nick Diaz? I think the idea is Dana Wise Dia. It’s great idea. I’m very exciting for fight for Nick because Nick have the great fights in UFC. This is a true fantasy matchup that a year ago you probably didn’t expect that that you would ever see. This a fight I’ve been asking for. I’m always asking for the best fight I can get. It doesn’t get better and bigger than Anderson Silva and it’s a great time for him to take this fight. Anderson Silva coming off that injury. That’s right. Nick Diaz returned from his layoff to face former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who himself was gone for over a year after breaking his leg in his title fight opposite Chris Weidman. So, this was potentially a crossroads fight for both men. I’m very exciting for Beck because part my life fight is part my life. Anytime Nick Diaz or Anderson Silva steps in there, it’s fun and exciting. He’s a big popular draw. I’m a big popular draw. We’re the best there is. were the most important people that people want to see. Dana White, was it the most exciting main event UFC history? No, but certainly had the people riveted. Some [ __ ] laid out on the mat. Yeah, he laid down like this. I love it. This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. And then he gets up with his hands down like what, [ __ ] What [ __ ] He humiliated Anderson. Completely with his head inside that cage. That’s what people paid for. Not a whole lot happened. It wasn’t very eventful. It wasn’t a fight that really flowed. It wasn’t Anderson Silva steamrolling Nick Diaz. It wasn’t Nick Diaz knocking out Anderson Silva. It was what it was. It was It was a spectacle. It was interesting for sure. You know, you got kind of a lovehate relationship with this sport. As you sit there right now, do you feel like this is something that you want to do again or you feel like maybe it’s not for you? Thank you everybody for coming out. Hey, I’m I’m going to talk my talk. I’m going to walk my walk though. You feel me? I’m I’m kind of tired of being a loser, you I’m still here, but is it losing all these fights? So, I don’t know what to make of it, right? You know, right now. Nick, what’s next for you? Is this it? I don’t know. We’ll figure it out. You know, I’m always asking myself a few days before these fights, like, what the hell am I doing? Who knows? Who knows what Nick’s going to do? Nick made a lot of money tonight. He might not see him for 3 years this time. After a weird and uneventful loss, Nick was once again completely disillusioned with the sport of MMA. And Dana White hypothesized that Nick may even be gone for 3 years this time. Little did we know, Nick actually wouldn’t have much of a say. Respectfully, I’m not going to answer the question. And the reason why fifth amendment, uh, fifth amendment. It sucks that, you know, Nick is in trouble with this whole marijuana thing. It was the third time he has tested positive in that state for that very same infraction. Do you have reasonable cause to believe that you are going to be subject to criminal prosecution? Third amendment. The Nevada Commission collected three separate samples from him the night that he fought Anderson Silva. Why they did that, I I don’t know. The guy passed two world anti-doping agency tests, two water tests that are blood tests. They’re way more accurate than the urine test that Nevada State Athletic Commission gave them with Quest Diagnostics. And that one test that went to the nonWada accredited laboratory was elevated for THC. The one test, the outlier was the nonacredited lab. Yet that’s the one these guys want to go with. Now, you were aware that if you were going to fight in the state of Nevada that you would have had to provide a clean test, correct? Fifth Amendment. They’ve done everything they can to keep me from being all the way on top where I should be. Do you understand a clean test to require you to be under the acceptable levels for marijuana testing? The Fifth Amendment. They’ve been did everything they could to keep me from proving to the world that I’m the best fighter in the world. Do you read English? Fifth Amendment. Do you understand English? Fifth Amendment. It’s awful and it just shows how bad the Nevada State Athletic Commission is. We have an athlete that may not have full respect in for this commission, its rules, and its regulations. One of the things that I would be supportive of is a lifetime ban for this athlete in the state of Nevada. I would also be supportive of the maximum financial penalty that we can impose upon him. Those people are drunk with power. They’re drunk with power and they felt like they were making made fools of because he’s tested positive before. But he tested positive before under their different thresholds. See, those people are nothing but a bunch of crooks. I want to tell each every one of them that they’re a bunch of dorks. These at the Nevada State Athletic Committee came across with the idea that they had a vendetta for Nick Diaz. Well, five years a lifetime for him. You know, 5 years um may be a lifetime for this athlete. I could be supportive of that. you shouldn’t even get a suspension for using a plant that is, you know, not a performance-enhancer. What are we, the moral police? Seriously, that’s ridiculous. Make a motion for then a 5year suspension of this athlete, 33% um of the purse. The fact that they think it’s okay to take away $165,000 from the guy’s purse and take away his ability to compete and make a living for 5 years in his prime. Yeah, it’s his career. It’s over. Yeah. Five years is a a career killer. Here’s a guy that literally smokes weed to slow down his ADD cuz he doesn’t want to use the pharmaceutical drugs. And it’s crazy that they suspended him for marijuana when Anderson Silva tested positive for steroids in that fight and he got a shorter suspension than Nick. I know all the fighters and they all on steroids. All you [ __ ] are on steroids. All you motherers, all you on steroids. Everybody I’ve ever fought has been on steroids. Everybody. I’m the only person in the sport for the most part that ain’t on steroids. I had to be the example. I guess that’s okay. That’s, you know, that’s um that’s what I was there for. This is one of the worst commission rulings in MMA history. Nick Diaz suspended for 5 years over weed. Unable to make a living in the only thing he knows how to do. And to add insult to injury, this ruling affected his ability to be involved in his brother’s career. My brother’s got a fight coming up. My brother, you mean to tell me I can’t even go and corner my brother? He’s going in there. He’s going in there to fight for his life. I can’t even go stand next to him. my little brother. I can’t even go and help my little brother. And it’s like, you know, I’m like, Nick’s brother, Nate, was rapidly approaching the biggest fight of his career against Conor McGregor. And Nick wouldn’t be able to corner his brother for such a monumental moment. It tore Nick apart. But at the very least, Nick would be able to support his brother by watching from backstage. Oh my goodness. Now he’s got the back. That’s it. He’s got the chia. He has done it. He Diaz beats Conor McGregor. Oh my goodness. I told him two rounds. Two rounds. Two rounds. That’s what I said. Two rounds. As you probably know, Nate’s submission over Connor catapulted him to a level of superstardom, even above his older brother, Nick. Some brothers would be jealous of that, but Nick was just supremely proud of his little brother. All he ever wanted was to pave a path for his younger brother’s success, and he achieved that. Now, as far as Nick’s career goes, he still has a bone to pick with the Athletic Commission. I hope he sues the out of them. I hope he sues the [ __ ] out of him. Nick Diaz is officially the first MMA fighter to ever sue the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The case is actually pretty strong. He’s essentially asking for the suspension to be lifted and for no further disciplinary proceedings. Nick was able to reach a settlement with the Athletic Commission to reduce his suspension to 18 months and lower his fine to $100,000, meaning that Nick could potentially return to fighting much sooner. But things could never be so simple. Nick still had to deal with a whole host of technical suspension issues like fines and paperwork. And then he ran into issues with USADA for failing to report his whereabouts for drug testing. So by the time all of these hurdles were cleared, several years had passed by. So, yes, his suspension was reduced, but it didn’t really resolve anything. Can they give him those years back? No, they can’t. Can they pay him for those years off? They can’t. So, it’s like a like you cheated a man out of the time period of when he would have been the greatest. Nick was robbed of his athletic prime over a substance that got legalized soon after his suspension. This only worsened his lovehate relationship with fighting. But remember, Nick still owes a very pretty penny to the crooks at the Athletic Commission. So, despite having two ruptured discs in his neck, Nick returned to the UFC nearly 6 years later, facing maybe the only man who deserved to be Nick’s final fight. 20 years since you guys fought the first time. Does this even feel like a rematch? I mean, we’re totally different people. I mean, that was a long time ago. I have a lot of respect for Nick and everything he’s accomplished and kind of like who he is. I mean, he kind of marches to the beat of his own drum, which I freaking respect. These people love you. The world loves you. You’re an absolute legend. Why come back and do this now? Why are you here this week? It’s just what I do. I try to get away from it, but really it’s just it’s kind of inevitable. You know, it’s nice to see a lot of support like two weeks leading up to a fight. Um, you know, what about the last 5 years? You know, is kind of how I feel. There’s things I could do, but that’s not going to work out. you know, I might as well just go and and take my punches. I I just hope that he will come back as good as he as he were. If I don’t do this, then I’m I don’t know. I don’t know how how I’m going to feel about myself. I mean, he comes to fight. He’s going through whatever he’s going through, it’s not it is what it is. In a way, I really, you know, I have a lot of resentment towards the sport for um taking so much from me but not giving anything back. History says if you sit out for five years, it is not going to be a good night. Just didn’t necessarily look like he was doing it because he wanted to fight. He was doing it because he probably needed some money. To be honest with you, I really don’t want to do this. Robbie Lawler was pressuring him and he was putting it on him and he was definitely getting the better of the exchanges. Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? He showed that while he still has skills, he’s not the guy that he was before. I love to help people and I love to be, you know, a part of the sport, but I I don’t I don’t love what it’s what it’s done to me. What a fight connection from Leather. That’s it. Diaz does not return to his feet. Robbie Lawler gets the win by TKO. What did you two say to each other after the fight? I just said, “Thank you for uh bringing the best out of me and uh hopefully your life is uh going to get together.” That was a crazy fight, my friend. How are you feeling? I don’t have no excuses. I just, you know, I had a I had a long time off and I knew I had it coming. Nick Diaz is one of the most interesting characters in the history of the sport, as well as one of the most underrated. He was the first WEC and Strikeforce welterweight champion, dominating the promotion and collecting wins over legends. But all the while, Nick was labeled a wild bad boy gangster, a villain. Look, he didn’t have the prettiest or most buttoned up career. But Nick is a talented mixed martial artist, a phenomenal brother, a ride or die friend, a nononsense athlete, and above all else, a man who, despite all of the pain he’s endured, always stayed authentic, true, and real. And if those aren’t the traits of a role model, I don’t know what is. I’ve already accomplished my my goal in life. If I could take a couple titles, if I can take the title, that, you know, that’d be also a dream come true. When Nick was at the top in Strike Force, to this day, I think he’s one of the best fighters that’s ever done it. He’s a very important part of the history of MMA. And if people don’t realize what a big part he is, people really like you. I mean, do you get that? I mean, you’re like a cult hero to a lot of people. What I’ve learned, I think u from MMA just in general, I think is just uh realistics, you know, and people and what’s real and what’s not. I think the people in this sport think I’m crazy. I don’t want to be the bad guy. I’m not a bad guy. And what’s fake or what’s been marketed or advertised and what’s what people are, you know, believe in and what’s real and what’s not. The footage that that you have of me that people have seen, you know, that’s out there, it’s, you know, it’s it’s hardcore. It’s not it’s not a joke. I think that’s the most valuable strength I’ve gained um out of this whole this whole trip. People want to take that how they see me and then they think they know me and I’m always the bad guy. Negative light, dark cloud. Sorry I’m not a good role model for your children. They never gave me the opportunity to be. I think you’re one of the most misunderstood guys out there. Do you think that you’re misunderstood or or or misrepresented at all as a fighter? Yeah, sure. Misrepresented. Yeah. You know, I didn’t mean for all this to happen. you know, I didn’t I didn’t mean to be coming off as not a good uh role model for young kids and all that stuff. Do you have anything to say to the MMA world to say that, you know, you really aren’t such a bad guy after all? I hope to in the future and nowadays come off as the best type role model I can be. Like I said earlier, you know, um as far as proving something to the world, I don’t really have anything to prove. Thank you to my patrons and members. Become one yourself to support the channel. And if you like this video, you will love the others on my channel. So subscribe because when I step into the octagon, it’s a good thing there’s a six foot fence because my opponent will be trying to escape.
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#UFC #UFCdocumentary #NickDiaz
Nick Diaz is one of the most polarizing, beloved, and uncompromising figures in MMA history—equal parts cult icon and warrior. Known for his unfiltered personality, iron chin, relentless pace, and elite jiu-jitsu, Diaz’s career was defined not only by his fights but by his refusal to conform to the sport’s mainstream expectations. He built a legacy on authenticity, volume striking, and a “kill or be killed” mindset that resonated with fans across generations.
Before arriving on the UFC’s biggest stage, Nick Diaz made waves in regional promotions like IFC and WEC. He captured attention early with a triangle choke victory over Jeremy Jackson—whom he would defeat again in the UFC—and a legendary win over Chris Lytle in the WEC. Diaz’s early battles sharpened his jiu-jitsu, refined his volume-based boxing style, and laid the groundwork for a fearless approach against top-tier opposition.
Diaz made his UFC debut at UFC 44 in 2003, defeating Jeremy Jackson via armbar. He followed it with a victory over Drew Fickett but faced a tough setback against Karo Parisyan at UFC 49. Diaz bounced back with a brutal KO of Robbie Lawler at UFC 47, a win that remains one of the most replayed knockouts in UFC history. He then faced rising contenders like Diego Sanchez and Joe Riggs, losing both via decision, but delivering unforgettable performances. His fight with Riggs was so heated that it spilled into a hospital brawl afterward—adding to Diaz’s growing legend.
After a controversial doctor stoppage loss to Sean Sherk and a submission win over Josh Neer, Diaz’s UFC run slowed, and he transitioned to PRIDE and later EliteXC, where he faced Takanori Gomi in one of MMA’s most legendary fights. Though initially ruled a No Contest due to a positive marijuana test, Diaz submitted Gomi via gogoplata in what is widely regarded as one of the most iconic moments in MMA history.
Diaz’s reinvention came during his Strikeforce reign. He claimed the inaugural Strikeforce Welterweight Championship in 2010 by defeating Marius Žaromskis and successfully defended it against the likes of KJ Noons, Evangelista Santos, and Paul Daley. The Daley fight, in particular, was a chaotic one-round war and a defining moment of his career. His dominance in Strikeforce, combined with his growing fan base, demanded a UFC return.
Initially set to face Georges St-Pierre for the title, Diaz missed a press conference and was replaced—then reinstated to face Carlos Condit for the interim title at UFC 143. Despite a razor-close decision loss, Diaz’s performance only heightened his mystique. In 2013, Diaz finally got his shot at GSP for the undisputed UFC welterweight title at UFC 158. While St-Pierre controlled much of the fight with grappling, Diaz’s verbal taunts and defiance made headlines. Following the loss, Diaz took a brief retirement, only to return in 2015 against former middleweight champion Anderson Silva. That fight—marked by Diaz’s infamous mid-fight taunting and clowning—was declared a No Contest after both fighters failed drug tests.
After a six-year hiatus, Diaz returned in 2021 to face Robbie Lawler in a rematch 17 years in the making. Though he ultimately lost via TKO at UFC 266, his willingness to step back into the Octagon and deliver an action-heavy performance showed the grit and authenticity that defined his entire career.
Nick Diaz’s legacy transcends wins and losses. He popularized a unique blend of high-volume striking, elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu (as a Cesar Gracie black belt), and in-your-face psychological warfare. He spoke openly about fighter pay, mental health, and the politics of MMA long before it was commonplace. His rivalry with Georges St-Pierre, his bond with his brother Nate Diaz, and his influence on West Coast fight culture left an indelible mark on the sport.
0:00 – Intro
1:11 – Because life chose you to
6:05 – What I was looking for
8:15 – I had a big brother
11:03 – Nice to meet you
12:17 – Sponsor
13:12 – The brakes
14:12 – Not a KO guy
16:04 – Disappointment
18:07 – Gurney
19:30 – GoGo
23:04 – The Cut
26:00 – Don’t be scared Homie
27:57 – The girl I loved
32:35 – There’s elbows involved
36:24 – Favorite fighter
37:36 – That’s what I portray
38:53 – Where’s my rematch?
41:35 – Hurt
44:34 – Cyborg
46:37 – Absorbed
47:30 – One Round
49:31 – Cameras
53:10 – Bad Guy
58:05 – Done with MMA
1:03:51 – The Role Model
1:07:59 – Spider
1:10:18 – 5th Ammendment
1:13:56 – Little Brother
1:16:41 – Take my punches
1:19:37 – What’s Real?
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