In a recent interview, Nick Diaz inadvertently contradicted his longtime coach Cesar Gracie’s claims about when he began heavily drinking. He debunked the narrative that ex-girlfriend and former UFC champion Ronda Rousey introduced him to it.
Gracie had publicly speculated that Rousey influenced Diaz negatively by getting him into it stating: “I think Ronda Rousey got him drinking. You know what I mean? She would come up before she was famous, she’d hang out and everything. But she could drink, it wasn’t her fault, but he couldn’t.”
However, during his conversation, Diaz revealed a timeline that contradicts this assertion. When discussing his early years, the former Strikeforce champion openly acknowledged his history with drinking began long before any association with Rousey.
“I used to hang around with a bunch of kids like they did a bunch of dr**s and that’s just kind of what we did. And then we’d go and shoulder tap people, get them to buy us al**hol, get some try to get some girls” Diaz explained, describing his teenage years in Stockton, California.
The welterweight further clarified that he actually stopped drinking in his early twenties, well before meeting Rousey. “I drank when I was, you know what I mean, until I was 16, 17, 18, I was drinking a little bit. But when I hit like 20, I’d stop drinking. Before, you know, I would get into some bars. By the time I actually was old enough to be in a bar, I wasn’t drinking.”
Diaz explained that his physical response to heavy drinking made it unappealing during his prime years. “When I used to drink, it would always it never ended well. I was always like getting nauseous.”
Diaz added that busy MMA schedule kept him away from drinking for a number of years.
Cesar Gracie’s comments gained traction in MMA circles, particularly following Diaz’s withdrawal from a scheduled UFC 310 bout against Vicente Luque. But this narrative from Diaz completely debunks them.
Despite his advanced age at 42, Diaz isn’t ready to announce his retirement.
“I see myself becoming world champion,” he told interviewers, expressing confidence about his future despite the challenges he has faced.
