Nick Diaz

At 40 years old, Nick Diaz has this physical status:

Nickolas Robert "Nick" Diaz, an American mixed martial artist and promoter who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), was born on August 2, 1983.

Diaz, who is best known for MMA, has competed in UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, EliteXC, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), DREAM, and Shooto since beginning his career in 2001.

He is a former welterweight champion in Strikeforce and WEC, as well as Nate Diaz' older brother.

Personal life

Diaz and his brother Nate are currently teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Lodi, California. Both Diaz brothers are cannabis advocates. They are also long-time vegetarians.

Diaz appears in the film "Fight Life (2013)," which chronicles mixed martial artists outside of the cage; the film was directed by independent filmmaker James Z. Feng and received the Best Documentary Award at the United Film Festival.

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Mixed martial arts career

Diaz became a professional mixed martial arts fighter in 2001 just after his 18th birthday and winning his first bout, submitting Mike Wick with a triangle choke at IFC Warriors Challenge 15. Diaz won his second professional match, defeating Chris Lytle in the IFC World Wrestling Championship in July 2002 at IFC Warriors Challenge 17.

Diaz was then invited to compete in Ultimate Athlete's King of the Mountains, a single-night tournament that took place two months later. He won his first two fights, but he lost in the finals to Jeremy Jackson by TKO. Diaz competed in Warriors Quest and Shooto against Harris "Hitman" Sarmiento and Kuniyoshi Hironaka respectively before winning the WEC Welterweight Championship and presenting Joe Hurley with a kimura.

Diaz returned to defend his IFC Welterweight Championship against Jeremy Jackson, who beat him a year ago at the IFC Warriors Challenge 18. This bout was for Diaz' IFC United States Welterweight Championship, Jackson's IFC Americas Welterweight Championship, and the vacant ISKA-MMA Americas Welterweight Championship. Diaz won the first round of the rematch via TKO. The UFC signed Diaz over the summer and made his debut at UFC 44, defeating Jackson and presenting him with an armbar in the last round of a back-and-forth match that Diaz seemed to be winning on the scorecards.

Diaz returned to the Octagon at UFC 47, where he will face Robbie Lawler, the future EliteXC Middleweight Champion. Lawler was a strong favorite going into the fight, but Diaz took the lead, chasing Lawler around the cage for the majority of the contest. Diaz blasted Lawler, who swung wildly and missed, allowing Diaz to connect with a right hook that knocked Lawler out of contention in the second round. Diaz was initially matched up with judoka Karo Parisyan at UFC 49, but ultimately lost in a hard-fought split decision. Drew Fickett at UFC 51 and Koji Oishi at UFC 53 before losing for the second time in the UFC by Diego Sanchez, the Ultimate Fighter Middleweight champion of The Ultimate Fighter Middleweight Championship.

Diaz was positive going into the match but was unable to succeed in the tournament, eventually losing by unanimous vote to Sanchez. Diaz continued the uproar during a live broadcast post-fight interview in the octagon, saying he respected Sanchez's combat skills but did not believe he deserved to be there despite Sanchez's victory. At UFC 57, Diaz's next fight was against Joe Riggs. Diaz vs. Sanchez made sure he taunted his opponent long before he fought Riggs at the official press conference at the event in which Diaz confronted Riggs and the two exchanged terms, similar to his treatment of Sanchez. Both fighters had to be separated by UFC president Dana White and other officials who were present at the official weigh-ins, where they continued their discussions.

Riggs prevailed in a hard fight, winning by a unanimous verdict and losing Diaz his second straight defeat. The two children were admitted to the hospital for observation and post-fight tests, where they had yet another confrontation. In a unanimous decision to future UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk at UFC 59, Diaz lost his third straight match.

Diaz returned to Stockton, Texas, and competed in the inaugural event of the International Cage Fighting Organisation, defeating Ray Steinbeiss by a unanimous decision. Diaz had expected to face Canadian John Alessio in his hometown again on Saturday night when he received an unexpected call from the UFC, asking to fill up for an ill Thiago Alves in UFC 62.

Diaz used the opportunity to welcome veteran Josh Neer in the third round after Alessio's exit. Diaz, a Brazilian newcomer, was defeated with strikes in his next fight at UFC 65, bringing him right back to UFC. However, Diaz opted to sign with the Gracie Fighting Championships and leave the UFC after the win and promise that the UFC would give him another fight. Diaz had been supposed to face Thomas Denny in January 2007, but the competition was eventually called off due to poor ticket sales.

Diaz was signed to a two-fight contract with the PRIDE Fighting Championships, with the first match against Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi on February 24 in Las Vegas. Diaz's first fight in the PRIDE group was against a weight of 160 lb. Although Gomi dominated the stand-up fight with his boxing, with first knocking Diaz to the ground, twice ending up in his guard, and opening up cuts around both of Diaz's eyes. The Japanese fighter was obviously stunned at the end of the first round, throwing more punches and barely maintaining his defense. The match was called off early in the second round to check a cut that was not seen under Diaz' eye. Gomi's wild punches continued in the second round, with Gomi taking the fight to the ground and leaving himself open to a Gogoplata submission by Diaz and tapping at 1:46 of the round. This was the second successful Gogoplata attempt in PRIDE's history (the first was attempted by upcoming DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki on Joachim Hansen less than two months before at PRIDE's New Year's event).

Diaz failed the drug test that was taken shortly before his victory over Gomi on April 10, 2007, testing positive for marijuana. The NSAC declared the contest a "No Contest" and suspended him for six months with a fine of 20% of his money ($3,000) received from the war against Gomi. Diaz' THC test, which was deemed by the Commission as a factor in his victory during the war, was a contributing factor. Although the result of 15 is considered positive, Commission Chairman Dr. Tony Alamo said that the NSAC has a minimum of 50 for athletes. "Anyone who tests positive in Nevada is certainly optimistic," he says. "Mr. Diaz was 175" Dr. Alamo continued on to say. It's a strange situation. I was there during this war and suspect that you were inebriated and, consequently, that it made you numb to the pain.

Did it help you win?

It did, I think it did." Despite Diaz being surrounded by other celebrities and video cameras for several hours before the fight, Alamo gave no reason why he suspected Diaz used marijuana in the hours leading up to the match. Diaz himself denied the assertion that marijuana was a performance enhancer or that he was smoking it before the fight.

Diaz made his EXC debut in Hawaii on September 15, 2007, according to showtime. Mike Aina was voted out of a tight split by him over his rival Mike Aina. Nick Diaz signed a two-year contract with EliteXC and defeated K. J. Noons for the vacant 160 pounds title, according to MMA Weekly. As the game began, the two teams traded fairly evenly on the feet until Noons dropped Diaz with a well timed right counterpunch. Diaz attempted several takedowns, none of which were stuffed by Noons on one occasion, opening up a large gash on Diaz's face, which resulted in a loss due to multiple cuts on his forehead. Diaz was dissatisfied with the arena's entrance and snagged the camera out of his mouth right away.

Diaz had surgery and had the bone file filed down on his eyebrows to avoid future bouts of poor cuts. Diaz competed in EliteXC's "Return of the KING" tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii, against Muhsin Corbbrey 9 pounds over the weight limit. Following Nick and his brother Nate's altercation in the main event, Diaz won by a narrow victory over Corbbrey. Thanks to K. J. Noons and his team's support. EliteXC executives begged Diaz to come to the ring and make a statement about a potential title rematch with the Noons. The crowd listened to Noons' opinion, resulting in an echo of Diaz' boos. "Don't be afraid homie," Nick said on the microphone to Noons, "don't be concerned homie," Karl Noons, K. J. Nate Diaz, Karl's father, lunged at him, causing him to throw a water bottle at him. A team of security forces helped the Diaz brothers get out of the cage quickly. Karl was inebriated and overreacting during interviews the next day. In the meantime, Karl said that the throwing bottle sparked his incident. Nate threw the bottle after Karl yelled at Nick on a replay of the case. No one was hurt as the Diaz brothers stayed at the arena entrance "flipping the bird" to the fans and Noons' corner.

Nick continued to face Thomas Denny. Diaz found his range and crushed Denny in the second half of the first round after a slow start to the match. Diaz continued to fight and maintained a high-speed tempo for the remainder of the fight, winning an impressive knockout victory over veteran Denny 0:30 in round two. Diaz was supposed to face K. J. Noons, the current EliteXC Lightweight Champion, a rematch was expected, and was broadcast on CBS on October 4, 2008. However, Noons and his camp refused to allow the match to be played. "As far as Nick Diaz, he isn't the No. One," Noon's boss was quoted as saying. "There is a 1 contender out of the lot" is out. Diaz was supposed to compete against Eddie Alvarez for the EliteXC 160 pound crown on November 8, 2008, the day before the organization ceased operations.

In the first round, Diaz was victorious in DREAM 3, defeating Katsuya Inoue by TKO. CEO Scott Coker had revealed that Nick would face ProElite's Frank Shamrock at 179 lb in Shamrock's hometown of San Jose on April 11, 2009. Nick was able to win, beating Shamrock by TKO in the second round due to strikes. Diaz was dominant in both directions, starting Frank in the first round and then finishing the fight in the second round with a body shot that crumpled Frank to the mat and follow-up punches before referee John McCarthy called a halt to the contest. "It's impossible to hate the guy," the narrator said, "I've been doing what I've been wanting to do and what I've been waiting for a long time."

Former UFC veteran Scott Smith was caught in a Catchweight of 180 pounds at Strikeforce: Shields Diaz. Though Smith was disqualified once in the first round, Diaz managed the bulk of the game with his superior boxing, stalking jabs, and consistently punishing Smith with hooks to the body, twice dropping him in the second and third rounds. Smith was shot dead in the third round, and Diaz didn't get his back until securing a rear-naked choke to end the match at 1:41.

Diaz will face Joe Riggs at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Liddell 3, the first match between the two fighters that took place in UFC 57: Couture vs. Liddell 3, in which both fighters clashed in the cage and then at the local hospital later in the evening, it was announced that Diaz will face them on August 15. The match would have been for the Strikeforce Welterweight Championship, but Riggs was forced to pull out of the match due to an adverse reaction to a drug. Diaz was then scheduled to face former IFL Welterweight Champion Jay Hieron for the Welterweight Championship. Diaz's inability to obtain his license after failing to appear in a pre-fight drug screening has since been suspended. Jesse Taylor was replaced Diaz, and the title was no longer on the line, so Hieron defeated Taylor by a unanimous decision.

On January 30, 2010, Strikeforce Youngcomer and then-DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius aromskis defeated Diaz to crown the first Strikeforce Welterweight Champion. The 'aromskis' came out strong, and the two guys sparred on the feet until Diaz tied his opponent up in the clinch and landed multiple knees to the aromskis' right leg. Diaz then scored a takedown and averted a guillotine choke, but his rival was soon dismissed by him. Diaz was unorthodox boxing skills until he was rattled by a romskis left hook and falling to his back as the two men began to exchange, with Diaz utilizing his unorthodox boxing skills. Diaz was "turtled" on the ground, allowing him to recover and stand up, while Diaz was able to recover and stand up. Diaz opened up with his boxing skills, tagging aromskis with jangles, hooks, and seamless bodyshots, requiring him to crash his opponent in the first round at 4:38. Diaz was then named the inaugural Strikeforce Welterweight Champion.

In a non-title match at DREAM 14, Diaz defeated former PRIDE veteran Hayato Sakurai by armbar submission. In a rematch of their 2007 match for the Strikeforce World Championship, Diaz defeated K. J. Noons. Diaz won by a unanimous vote (48–47, 49–47, and 49–46). Diaz defeated Brazilian Evangelista Santos who had an 18–13 MMA record going into the match: Diaz vs. Cyborg via armbar in the second round of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg via armbar on January 29, 2011. Diaz defeated English fighter Paul Daley at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley via TKO (punches) at 4:57 of round 1, becoming the first Strikeforce fighter to successfully defend the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion three times in a row.

Dana White, the UFC's president, said that a match between Diaz and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre was a possible option. Diaz and St-Pierre had been rumored to be the next coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 14 reality show, but the show debuted on September 21, 2011 with Michael Bisping and Jason Miller as mentors. Diaz will face St-Pierre at UFC 137 at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 29, 2011. White later announced via Twitter that Diaz would face St-Pierre at UFC 137. Prior to his match with Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz vacated his Strikeforce Welterweight Championship title. Due to Diaz' absence multiple flights for a press conference to promote the fight, Dana White decided against Diaz out of the fight and replace him with former WEC Welterweight Champion and future UFC Interim Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit. Diaz would face B.J. It was confirmed that Diaz would face B.J. UFC 137 is Penn's main event at his original fight card. Diaz was awarded by a unanimous vote. In the post-fight interview, Diaz called out St. Pierre, who had been supposed to fight Condit at the same time but had been forced to withdraw due to a knee injury.

Diaz was supposed to face Georges St-Pierre at UFC 143 during Super Bowl weekend after his strong showing back. Diaz however met Carlos Condit in the main event, with the winner receiving an Interim UFC Welterweight Championship. Diaz was defeated by a majority decision by Condit. Diaz, who was upset with the result of the fight, announced that he was withdrawing from the sport.

After the incident, UFC President Dana White said he was positive that Diaz would fight again. Diaz was briefly linked to a match with Confederation, but when Diaz tested positive for marijuana metabolites in a post-fight drug test, it was quickly dismissed. Following the positive result of the positive examination, the Nevada State Athletic Commission temporarily suspended Diaz shortly after the positive test, pending a complete investigation.

Diaz was suspended for one year, retroactive to February 4, 2012, and fined 30 percent of his fight money earned from the Condit campaign, according to the condit hearing. In February 2013, Diaz was eligible to return to MMA action for the first time.

Diaz battled Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 on March 16, 2013 for the UFC Welterweight Championship. He was disqualified by a majority decision in the fight.

Diaz had dropped out of MMA competition as of July 28, 2013, although Dana White said in interviews that he felt Diaz was simply on hiatus, financially stable from the GSP fight, but that he would return eventually.

Michael Bisping and Nick Diaz' potential Middleweight matchup was briefly discussed, but Diaz soon stopped it. Dana White rematch with Carlos Condit at UFC on Fox 9 in Sacramento, but Diaz turned it down. Diaz appeared at UFC 170 and had told the world that if he would return if he could get a quick title shot, he would return.

Diaz had signed a three-fight contract to return to the UFC on July 24, 2014. Diaz met Anderson Silva at UFC 183 on January 31, 2015. He was disqualified by a majority vote in the fight. Diaz failed his post-fight drug test for marijuana metabolites, only days after the fight, and Silva test positive on January 9 for drostanolone, androstane, oxazepam, and temazepam in pre-fight drug testing. Silva's discipline hearing was held on August 13, following several reschedules, allowing the decision to be determined on the subject. Silva's defense argued that a contaminated sexual enhancement supplement was the cause of the two failed tests for drostanolone and also appealed to NSAC testing procedures' errors, pointing to two drug tests, one on Jan 19 and the other after the war, which Silva failed. The night before the fight as therapy to reduce anxiety and aid him in sleeping, he confessed to using both temazepam and oxazepam, benzodiazepines. In the Jan 9 experiment, Silva's staff was unable to reveal the presence of androsterone. Since the new laws were not in force at the time of the failed tests, the commission denied the defense and suspended him for one year retroactive to the date of the war. Silva was also fined his full win share, as well as 30% of his show money, totaling $380,000. The result of the fight was changed to a no contest. Diaz had won 7 victories, 6 losses, and 1 no contest at that time, with no valid challenges for a title.

Following a failed drug test of marijuana metabolites at UFC 183 on September 14, 2015, the Nevada State Athletic Commission banned Diaz for five years and fined him $165,000. Following his appeal four months later in January 2016, the suspension and fine were reduced to 18 months and $100,000. The suspension was lifted on August 1, 2016. Diaz had to serve a technical suspension for outstanding fines with the NSAC, as stated in his settlement claim. For this reason, he was unable to corner Nate Diaz during UFC 196 and UFC 202. According to reports, Diaz has signed an understanding with the Nevada Athletic Commission, which now allows him to partake in all combat sport-related activities in the state. Diaz received a one-year USADA fine for failing to announce his whereabouts to USADA on three occasions from the third quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017. Diaz will be eligible to compete again on April 9, 2017, retroactive to April 9, 2017, and will be eligible to compete again on April 9, 2018.

Diaz returned to rematch against Robbie Lawler on September 25, 2021 at UFC 266, after a long absence since 2015. The match was fought at middleweight and was a special non-title, non-main event five round bout. Diaz was knocked down with punches in round three, but he was given the opportunity to recover to his feet after a back-and-forth match. Diaz stayed down and verbally delivered a TKO loss, resulting in a TKO loss.

Promoting career

Diaz founded WAR MMA on June 22, 2013. Daniel Roberts, Diaz' teammate, dominated by Diaz's teammate Daniel Roberts against Justin Baesman, the first event was held in Stockton, California, on June 22, 2013.

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