| Nate Diaz | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nathan Donald Diaz April 16, 1985 Stockton, California, United States |
| Residence | Stockton, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 156 lb (71 kg; 11.1 st) |
| Division | Lightweight Welterweight |
| Reach | 76.0 in (193 cm) |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Fighting out of | Stockton, California |
| Team | Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu El Niño Sports Fairtex Gym |
| Trainer | Cesar Gracie |
| Rank | Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2004-present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 22 |
| Wins | 15 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 10 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 6 |
| Draws | 0 |
| Other information | |
| Notable relatives | Nick Diaz, brother |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Nathan Donald Diaz (born April 16, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent, currently competing for the UFC in the welterweight and lightweight divisions. He is well known as the Ultimate Fighter Season 5 champion and has amassed victories in Strikeforce, Pancrase, and the World Extreme Cagefighting promotions. He holds notable wins over Takanori Gomi, Manny Gamburyan, Melvin Guillard, Marcus Davis, Kurt Pellegrino, Josh Neer and Donald Cerrone.
Diaz is a graduate of Tokay High School in Lodi, California and holds a brown belt in Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. He is the younger brother of former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz.[1] Diaz is affiliated with the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Pleasant Hill, California, where he trains under Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie.[2]
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He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5 show, exclusively featuring lightweights. He fought on Jens Pulver's team. In the preliminary round, Diaz defeated Rob Emerson by submission; in the quarterfinals he defeated fellow Team Pulver teammate Corey Hill via triangle choke in the first round. In the semifinals, he defeated Team Penn member Gray Maynard by submission, advancing to the finals where he faced Manvel Gamburyan.
Though Gamburyan won the first round, he was forced to submit in the second round due to the dislocation of his right shoulder as the result of attempting a takedown.[3] With this, Diaz became the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5.[4]
After defeating Alvin Robinson at UFC Fight Night 12 he demanded tougher fighters. Diaz was given a match with Kurt Pellegrino at UFC Fight Night 13. Diaz defeated Pellegrino via submission (triangle choke) in the second round. During the choke, Diaz had time to flex for the crowd and throw up double middle fingers before putting Pellegrino away.
Diaz defeated Josh Neer by split decision at UFC Fight Night 15.[5]
Diaz then fought Clay Guida at UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn 2, losing via split decision. Guida offered his familiar offense, grappling to take Diaz down multiple times. Diaz flipped Guida several times using judo-esque switches when Guida had his back. These switches failed to improve position for Diaz. In the 2nd round, Guida and Diaz stood and Diaz opened up with his boxing range. After three rounds, the judge awarded Guida the split decision victory, marking Diaz's first loss in the UFC in what was also his PPV ( Pay-per-view ) debut.
Diaz met Joe Stevenson at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. Diaz struggled with Stevenson's wrestling skills, and while active on the ground, was controlled with takedowns and top position throughout the 3 rounds, unable to work significant submission offense or stand on his feet. He lost by unanimous decision.
After two consecutive losses by decision, he was billed to headline UFC Fight Night 19 opposite Melvin Guillard. Diaz was knocked down by a right hook seconds into the fight but recovered quickly, scoring two trip takedowns after being flipped once by Guillard executing a judo throw (harai goshi). He displayed fortitude throughout the rest of the fight, maintaining composure when hit flush several times, becoming more accurate and effective with his boxing in the second stanza, and after backing up Guillard with a left and right jab combo, his opponent backed up until he bounced off the side of the cage, missed with a swing and looked to take Diaz down. At this moment Diaz locked in a modified guillotine choke or a half Peruvian neck-tie, using his right leg to keep Melvin in position. He seemed to acknowledge the crowd in attendance before Guillard tapped and Diaz won at 2:30 of round 2.
Diaz faced Gray Maynard on January 11, 2010 in the main event at UFC Fight Night 20, a rematch from when the two met in the semi-finals of the TUF 5 lightweight tournament, where Diaz won. Diaz lost in a controversial decision to Maynard, as the former TUF winner was given the nod in the FightMetric reports, winning rounds two and three.[6]
After three losses in four fights, Nate considered making a permanent move up in weight to the 170 lb. weight class, stating "I don't make enough money to have to drop this much weight so I'd like to fight at 170 and only go to [155] every once in awhile."[7]
He then entered into talks to make his welterweight debut at UFC 111. A fight against Rory Markham was later confirmed.[8] At the weigh-ins, Markham weighed in at 177, whereas Diaz weighed in at the welterweight limit of 171 and the fight was changed to a catchweight fight. Diaz went on to win the fight by TKO in the first round.
After the win over Markham, Diaz stated he would compete in both weight classes. His next fight was again at welterweight against Marcus Davis on August 28, 2010 at UFC 118. Nate Diaz won the fight by using his reach advantage to great effect, peppering Davis with punches that caused considerable damage over time. Diaz finished Davis via guillotine choke in the final round; the bout earned Fight of the Night honors.[9]
Diaz lost by unanimous decision to Dong Hyun Kim, on January 1, 2011 at UFC 125.[10] Diaz was taken down and controlled by Kim for the first two rounds. While Nate won the final round by pushing the action against a fading Kim, it was too late. Diaz lost the fight 29-28 on all judges' score cards.
Diaz fought Rory MacDonald on April 30, 2011 at UFC 129.[11] Diaz was unable to mount much significant offense, failing at takedowns, and was largely controlled by MacDonald, losing via unanimous decision. Following the loss, Diaz stated that he would be moving back down to the Lightweight division.
Diaz defeated Takanori Gomi on September 24, 2011 at UFC 135 via armbar in the first round. During the fight, Diaz showed improved boxing, rocking Gomi on several occasions and also showed good ground skills, transitioning perfectly from the triangle to the armbar.[12]
Diaz defeated Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 by unanimous decision after dominating most of the first and third round.[13]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 22 matches | 15 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 0 |
| By submission | 10 | 1 |
| By decision | 2 | 6 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 15–7 | Donald Cerrone | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 141 | December 30, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 14–7 | Takanori Gomi | Submission (armbar) | UFC 135 | September 24, 2011 | 1 | 4:27 | Denver, Colorado, United States | Return to Lightweight, Submission of the Night. |
| Loss | 13–7 | Rory MacDonald | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 129 | April 30, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Toronto, Ontario | |
| Loss | 13–6 | Kim Dong-Hyun | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 125 | January 1, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 13–5 | Marcus Davis | Technical submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 118 | August 28, 2010 | 3 | 4:02 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 12–5 | Rory Markham | TKO (punches) | UFC 111 | March 27, 2010 | 1 | 2:47 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | Markham weighed in at 177lb; changed to a Catchweight. |
| Loss | 11–5 | Gray Maynard | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz | January 11, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Fairfax, Virginia, United States | |
| Win | 11–4 | Melvin Guillard | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard | September 16, 2009 | 2 | 2:13 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States | Submission of the Night |
| Loss | 10–4 | Joe Stevenson | Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale | June 20, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night |
| Loss | 10–3 | Clay Guida | Decision (split) | UFC 94 | January 31, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night |
| Win | 10–2 | Josh Neer | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs Neer | September 17, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Omaha, Nebraska, United States | Fight of the Night |
| Win | 9–2 | Kurt Pellegrino | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Lauzon | April 2, 2008 | 2 | 3:06 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | Submission of the Night |
| Win | 8–2 | Alvin Robinson | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: Swick vs Burkman | January 23, 2008 | 1 | 3:39 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 7–2 | Junior Assunção | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Thomas vs Florian | September 19, 2007 | 1 | 4:10 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6–2 | Manvel Gamburyan | Submission (injury) | The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale | June 23, 2007 | 2 | 0:20 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Won The Ultimate Fighter 5 |
| Loss | 5–2 | Hermes França | Submission (armbar) | WEC 24 | October 12, 2006 | 2 | 2:46 | Lemoore, California, United States | For WEC Lightweight Championship |
| Win | 5–1 | Dennis Davis | Submission (keylock) | Warrior Cup | August 12, 2006 | 1 | 2:00 | Stockton, California, United States | |
| Win | 4–1 | Joe Hurley | Submission (triangle choke) | WEC 21 | June 15, 2006 | 2 | 2:03 | Highland, California, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Gil Rael | TKO (punches) | WEC 20 | May 5, 2006 | 1 | 3:35 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
| Win | 2–1 | Tony Juares | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie | March 10, 2006 | 1 | 3:23 | San Jose, California, United States | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Koji Oishi | Decision (unanimous) | Pancrase 2005 Neo Blood Tournament Finals | August 27, 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 1–0 | Alex Gracia | Submission (triangle choke) | WEC 12 | October 21, 2004 | 3 | 2:17 | Lemoore, California, United States |
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