Thanks to his innovative attempts to popularize his city of Stockton and mesmerizing MMA fans for more than two decades, Nick Diaz is a household name in MMA.
The former Strikeforce welterweight champion acknowledges that he hasn’t been looking like himself. However, he says that he is not at fault for his current situation.
Ardent fans see Diaz as one of the key figures in modernizing MMA. He was instrumental in incorporating endurance training into a traditional MMA training regimen. Between 2008 and 2011, he had a winning streak of 11.
Nick Diaz’s MMA career hasn’t exactly been easy, and the American has dealt with his fair share of issues away from the ring.
Following his matchup with Anderson Silva at UFC 183, Diaz failed a test for pot. The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended him for five years and penalized him $165,000. Four months after he submitted an appeal, the suspension and fines were reduced to 18 months and $100,000.
The 39-year-old used Instagram to express his annoyance and accuse the UFC of undermining his chances of winning the title. Diaz wrote:
“These motherf**kers are lucky…. I got fu**ked over my whole career. Otherwise, I [would] have had the UFC belt by now, maybe both of them.”
After a protracted break from the sport, Nick Diaz made a comeback for a rematch against Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 on September 25, 2021. He lost the match by TKO.
In October 2011, the former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz made a second run in the UFC and faced MMA icon B.J. Penn. He was defeated in the back-and-forth match as he couldn’t keep up with Diaz’s blows.
The famous line from Diaz’s octagon interview, “Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day” became the intro of the JRE podcast.
Diaz recently went to get his back adjusted and claimed he would be returning to the UFC. In addition to confirming he’s targeting an MMA comeback, Diaz shared who his MMA GOATs are.Â