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Nathan Diaz Bio
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 the Ultimate Fighter Season 5 champion and has amassed victories in Strikeforce and World Extreme Cagefighting.
Diaz is a graduate of Tokay High School in Lodi, California and holds a black belt in Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. He is the younger brother of former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz. Diaz is affiliated with the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Lodi, California, where he trains under Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie. Diaz received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on April 6, 2012 from Cesar Gracie. He is currently ranked #7 lightweight fighter in the world.
Mixed martial arts career
The Ultimate Fighter 5
He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5 show, of course 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. With this, Diaz became the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
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.
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.
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."
He then entered into talks to make his welterweight debut at UFC 111. A fight against Rory Markham was later confirmed. 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.
Diaz lost by unanimous decision to Dong Hyun Kim, on January 1, 2011 at UFC 125. 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. 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.
Diaz defeated Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 via unanimous decision, in a performance that earned both participants Fight of the Night honors. Despite being knocked off of his feet multiple times by leg kicks from Cerrone, Diaz had one of the best performances of his career. Diaz set a CompuStrike record, landing 82% of the strikes he threw en route to his victory over Cerrone.
Diaz next faced Jim Miller on May 5, 2012 at UFC on Fox 3. Diaz was dominant on the feet for two rounds, even scoring a knock down in the first round, until Miller applied a takedown, to which Diaz immediately responded with a tight guillotine choke, forcing the tap at 4:09 of the second round. The submission won Diaz his fourth Submission of the Night bonus award. In the post-fight press conference, Dana White confirmed that Diaz had accepted a title shot and will wait to face the winner of the Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar rematch this summer.
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed Martial Arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- The Ultimate Fighter 5 Lightweight Tournament Winner
- Fight Of The Night (Five times)
- Submission of the Night (Four times)
Mixed martial arts record
External links
- Official site of Nathan Diaz
- Professional MMA record for Nathan Diaz from Sherdog
- Official UFC Profile
MMA Shirts
