Nickolas Robert Diaz was born on August 2,1983 and is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
78 Facts About Nick Diaz
2.
Nick Diaz notably competed in PRIDE, EliteXC, DREAM, and Shooto.
3.
Nick Diaz has a younger brother, Nate and a younger sister Nina who were mostly raised by their mother Melissa as their father was not around much.
4.
Nick Diaz began training in karate and aikido from a young age and participated in wrestling tournaments during his teenage years.
5.
Nick Diaz attended Tokay High School in Lodi, California, for a year before dropping out.
6.
Nick Diaz started training in sambo at the age of 16 under Bulgarian National Sambo Champion Valeri Ignatov.
7.
Nick Diaz was promoted to black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by Cesar Gracie on May 8,2007.
8.
Nick Diaz became a professional mixed martial arts fighter in 2001 just after his 18th birthday and won his first fight, submitting Mike Wick with a triangle choke at IFC Warriors Challenge 15.
9.
Nick Diaz became a champion in his second professional fight, defeating Chris Lytle for the IFC Welterweight Championship in July 2002 at IFC Warriors Challenge 17.
10.
Nick Diaz was then invited to participate in Ultimate Athlete's King of the Mountain, a single-night tournament that took place two months later.
11.
Nick Diaz won his first two fights but eventually lost in the finals to Jeremy Jackson by TKO.
12.
Nick Diaz fought in Warriors Quest and Shooto against Harris "Hitman" Sarmiento and Kuniyoshi Hironaka respectively before defending his IFC Welterweight Championship and winning the WEC Welterweight Championship in 2003 at WEC 6, submitting Joe Hurley with a kimura.
13.
Nick Diaz returned to defend his IFC Welterweight Championship against the man who defeated him one year earlier, Jeremy Jackson at IFC Warriors Challenge 18.
14.
Nick Diaz returned to the Octagon at UFC 47, set to take on future EliteXC Middleweight Champion Robbie Lawler.
15.
Lawler was a heavy favorite coming into the fight but it was Nick Diaz who took the offensive, chasing Lawler around the cage for the majority of the bout.
16.
Nick Diaz was then matched up with judoka Karo Parisyan at UFC 49, but ended up losing a hard-fought split decision.
17.
Nick Diaz rebounded with wins over submission specialist Drew Fickett at UFC 51 and Koji Oishi at UFC 53 before losing for the second time in the UFC at the hands of The Ultimate Fighter Middleweight winner Diego Sanchez at The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale.
18.
Nick Diaz was confident coming into the bout but was unable to achieve success in the match, ultimately losing to Sanchez by unanimous decision.
19.
Similar to his treatment of Sanchez, Nick Diaz made sure that he taunted his opponent plenty before their fight starting at the official press conference at the event in which Nick Diaz confronted Riggs and the two exchanged words.
20.
Nick Diaz lost his third consecutive match in a unanimous decision to future UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk at UFC 59.
21.
Nick Diaz returned to his hometown of Stockton and participated in the International Cage Fighting Organization's inaugural event, defeating Ray Steinbeiss by unanimous decision.
22.
Nick Diaz was slated to fight in his hometown again against Canadian John Alessio when he received an unexpected call the night before the fight from the UFC asking to fill in for an ill Thiago Alves at UFC 62.
23.
Seemingly back in the UFC, Nick Diaz stopped Brazilian newcomer Gleison Tibau with strikes in his next fight at UFC 65.
24.
However, even after the win and the reassurance that the UFC would give him another fight, Nick Diaz decided to sign with the Gracie Fighting Championships and leave the UFC.
25.
GFC had Nick Diaz scheduled to fight Thomas Denny in January 2007, but due to poor ticket sales the event was ultimately scrapped.
26.
The second round saw a continuation of wild punches by Gomi, then eventually taking the fight to the ground and leaving himself open to a Gogoplata submission by Nick Diaz and tapping at 1:46 of the round.
27.
The Commission felt that the result of Nick Diaz's THC test, an enormous 175, was a contributing factor in his performance during the fight.
28.
Nick Diaz himself dismissed the assertion that marijuana was a Performance-enhancing drug, or that he was smoking it prior to the fight.
29.
Nick Diaz made his debut for EliteXC in Hawaii on September 15,2007 on Showtime.
30.
Nick Diaz won a hard-fought split decision over his opponent Mike Aina.
31.
MMA Weekly reported that Nick Diaz signed a two-year deal with EliteXC and in his next fight, fought K J Noons for the vacant 160 pound title.
32.
Nick Diaz attempted several takedowns, all of which were stuffed by Noons, on one occasion with a swift right knee which opened up a notable gash on Nick Diaz's face, eventually resulting in a loss via doctor stoppage due to multiple cuts on his forehead.
33.
Nick Diaz came into his next fight at EliteXC's "Return of the KING" event in Honolulu, Hawaii against Muhsin Corbbrey 9 pounds over the weight limit.
34.
EliteXC executives asked Nick Diaz to come to the ring and make a statement about a possible title rematch with Noons.
35.
The Nick Diaz brothers were quickly escorted out of the cage by a group of security staff.
36.
Nick Diaz continued to keep the fight standing and maintained a high-paced tempo for the remainder of the fight, earning an impressive knockout victory over the veteran Denny 0:30 into round two.
37.
Nick Diaz was victorious in DREAM 3, defeating Katsuya Inoue by TKO in the first round.
38.
Nick Diaz was successful in the fight, defeating Shamrock via TKO due to strikes in the second round.
39.
At Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields Nick Diaz met former UFC veteran Scott Smith at a Catchweight of 180 pounds.
40.
Nick Diaz was then scheduled to instead face former IFL Welterweight Champion Jay Hieron for the Welterweight Championship.
41.
Nick Diaz faced Strikeforce newcomer and then-DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis to crown the first Strikeforce Welterweight Champion on January 30,2010 at Strikeforce: Miami.
42.
Zaromskis came out aggressively and the two men exchanged on the feet until Nick Diaz tied his opponent up in the clinch and landed numerous knees to Zaromskis' right leg.
43.
Zaromskis landed few effective shots while Nick Diaz was "turtled" on the floor, allowing him to recover and stand back up.
44.
Nick Diaz defeated former PRIDE veteran Hayato Sakurai by armbar submission in a non-title bout at DREAM 14.
45.
Nick Diaz defeated English fighter Paul Daley at Strikeforce: Nick Diaz vs Daley via TKO at 4:57 of round 1, and became the first Strikeforce fighter to successfully defend the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion three consecutive times.
46.
UFC president Dana White stated that a matchup between Nick Diaz and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre was a possible consideration.
47.
Nick Diaz vacated his Strikeforce Welterweight Championship title prior to his bout with Georges St-Pierre.
48.
Nick Diaz called out St-Pierre in the post-fight interview, who was scheduled to fight Condit at the same event but had been forced out of the bout with a knee injury.
49.
However, due to an ACL injury sustained by St-Pierre, Nick Diaz faced Carlos Condit in the main event, with the winner being awarded an Interim UFC Welterweight Championship.
50.
Upset with the result of the fight, Nick Diaz indicated that he was retiring from the sport.
51.
Nick Diaz was briefly linked to a rematch with Condit, but was quickly refuted when Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana metabolites in a post-fight drug test.
52.
Nick Diaz was eligible to return to MMA competition in February 2013.
53.
Nick Diaz faced Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 on March 16,2013 for the UFC Welterweight Championship.
54.
Nick Diaz attended UFC 170 and had told media that he would return if he could get an immediate title shot.
55.
On July 24,2014, it was announced that Nick Diaz had signed a three-fight contract to return to the UFC.
56.
Nick Diaz faced Anderson Silva on January 31,2015 at UFC 183.
57.
Nick Diaz admitted to using both temazepam and oxazepam, benzodiazepines, the night prior to the fight as therapy to control stress and help him sleep.
58.
At that point, Nick Diaz had accumulated a UFC record of 7 wins, 6 losses and 1 no contest, with no successful challenges for a title.
59.
Nick Diaz had served a technical suspension due to outstanding fines with the NSAC as stipulated in his settlement claim.
60.
Nick Diaz, according to sources, has reached an agreement with the Nevada Athletic Commission, which now frees him to participate in all combat sport-related activities in the state .
61.
The sanction is retroactive to April 9,2017, and Nick Diaz would be eligible to compete again on April 9,2018.
62.
Nick Diaz stayed down and verbally submitted resulting in a TKO loss.
63.
Nick Diaz currently teaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu with his brother Nate in Lodi, California.
64.
In 2023, it became known that Nick Diaz starred in the film "Darkness of Man" by Jean-Claude Van Damme.
65.
On June 22,2013 Nick Diaz launched the MMA promotion WAR MMA.
66.
Nick Diaz was set to take on Braulio Estima in a grappling match at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo on May 12,2012.
67.
The day after the event Nick Diaz alleged that Estima failed to make weight within the agreed upon timeframe prior to the fight and alleged that the promoters of the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo failed to make good on their claims of donating proceeds from the fight to charity.
68.
Nick Diaz did actually accept the handshake but shoved Estima away when he attempted to embrace him.
69.
On May 25,2018, it was reported that Nick Diaz had been arrested on May 24 and charged with two counts of domestic battery; a felony for strangulation as well as a misdemeanor battery charge.
70.
Nick Diaz is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Cesar Gracie whom he has been training with since he was a teenager.
71.
Nick Diaz is accomplished in both gi and no-gi jiu-jitsu.
72.
Nick Diaz owns a victory over renowned grappler Jorge Patino in competition via kneebar.
73.
Nick Diaz is known for having a modified BJJ style that suits his MMA career very well.
74.
Nick Diaz is a professional boxer and fights in the Super Middleweight weight class.
75.
Nick Diaz made his professional debut in April 2005 against Alfonso Rocha at the Radisson Hotel in Sacramento, California.
76.
Nick Diaz was victorious, winning by unanimous decision after four rounds.
77.
Nick and Nate Diaz were trained by former WBA and WBC World Champion Luisito Espinosa and trained with Jason "Gumby" Schrumpf.
78.
Nick Diaz is known for talking trash to his opponents during fights, competes in triathlons for recreation and uses his endurance to constantly put pressure on his opponent, as well as pushing the pace of the fight.