Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz – MMA Profile

Hailing from Stockton, California, 23-year-old Nate Diaz uses a fighting technique that mixes Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing. He fights in the UFC, competing in the lightweight division and has earned a record of 10 wins and 2 losses. His success in the cage comes despite his admission that he doesn’t have a favored fighting style. That said, due to his dedication to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, most of his victories come by submissions.

Besides competing in the UFC, Diaz has also battled in World Extreme Cagefighting and Strikeforce tournaments. While other fighters have said that they were inspired to compete in the UFC after watching high-profile matches or MMA legends (like Royce Gracie), Diaz admits that he began training simply because he “didn’t have much else to do.” He would tag along to the gym with his brother Nick, a veteran UFC fighter. Before long, Diaz also began climbing into the cage.

Though he began his fighting career without the inspiration that other fighters have described, it hasn’t stopped him from delivering an impressive performance. He has participated in professional MMA bouts since 2004 and has defeated tough opponents such as Manvel Gamburyan, Kurt Pellegrino, and most recently, Josh Neer. After dominating a series of fighters that included Alvin Robinson during UFC Fight Night 12, Diaz asked to be paired up with more formidable opponents.

In 2007, Diaz became a member of the cast for Season 5 of the popular reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. Training and fighting under the radar, he surprised other cast members by eventually advancing to the finals and defeating Gamburyan, securing a UFC contract in the process.

His rise in the UFC hasn’t been undeterred. He has suffered 2 losses since 2004. He was defeated by Koji Oishi in the third round of his bout in the Pancrase 2005 Neo Blood Tournament Finals. In 2006, Diaz was beaten by Hermes Franca in an armbar submission during WEC 24. Despite – or perhaps because of – those humbling experiences, Diaz continues to train relentlessly, driven by a passion to defeat his opponents. His current record is evidence that a lack of distractions may be a winning formula for an up and coming MMA fighter.