UFC 241 is here, and a Diaz brother is finally back in the fold.
Nate Diaz hasn’t fought in three years. And yet, he’s never really left the conversation when it comes to MMA. Like his brother, Nick, Nate finds a way to stay relevant even when he’s far, far away from the action.
Much of that owes to the two middle fingers he and his brother extend to the world. Whether it’s their opponents, bad decisions, fake personalities, or the sport’s pomp and circumstance, the younger Diaz keeps it real.
Opposite the increasingly manicured image of a UFC athlete, Diaz, who on Saturday fights ex-champ Anthony Pettis, is the anti-hero no one can ignore. He fights with a total lack of respect, and the fans love him all the more for it.
Here are 11 times Nate Diaz’s lack of giving a (expletive) made him a UFC star.
Do you know who I am, bro?
You don’t crowd Nate Diaz. UFC welterweight veteran Karo Parisyan found this out the hard way when he got a little too rough on the set of “The Ultimate Fighter 5” and nearly wound up in a fistfight. That was the first time many fans saw that trademark Diaz scowl.
Locked in, flipping the bird
After winning “TUF 5,” Diaz went on a shopping spree for necks, tapping out four consecutive opponents. The last of them, Kurt Pellegrino, had repeatedly won takedowns and opened a cut on Diaz with ground-and-pound. Diaz looked like he was toast on his back – and then he threw up a triangle choke. Unlike so many tries at the same attempt, there was no mighty struggle for position. When Diaz got it, he knew it, and out those middle fingers went.
Poking the bull
A killer inside the octagon, Donald Cerrone had never had a real grudge match outside it until he ran into Diaz, who wrote the playbook for taking “Cowboy” out of his game. A flip of the hat at weigh-ins ahead of UFC 141, plenty of trash talk, and Cerrone was completely off his game on fight night.
‘Don’t be scared, homie’
You don’t mess with Nate Diaz’s friends or family. He had his brother’s back when a brawl nearly broke out between K.J. Noons and Nick Diaz at an EliteXC event.
Behold, the birth of “Don’t be scared, homie.”
These things happen
A post-fight interview is a sacred thing to the Diaz brothers. You don’t try to interrupt it, and those who do will be dealt with accordingly.
Jason “Mayhem” Miller made this mistake when he crashed Jake Shields’ post-fight interview at “Strikeforce: Nashville,” and the ensuing brawl resulted in suspensions and fines for multiple fighters and the end of MMA on network TV.
Messing with Khabib and his entourage
On two occasions, the Diaz brothers have clashed with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and his entourage. The first one got the brothers banned from WSOF events. The second, just this past month at UFC 239, was intercepted by security before anything could pop off.
Now that he’s back in the UFC, Diaz is popping off more than ever about the champ. Whether it leads to a fight is another matter.
Censors beware
After a year-long break and a run of losses, Diaz was ready to vent to the world. An expletive-laden post-fight speech following a win over Michael Johnson got the attention of Conor McGregor, and it laid the foundation for a last-minute replacement that would lead him to stardom.
‘I’m not surprised, motherf*****s’
On pay-per-view, we could hear the full glory of Diaz when he declared “I’m not surprised, motherf*****s” after trouncing McGregor at UFC 196. It was the perfect cap to a come-from-behind victory immortalized on the streets of Stockton.
Slap happy
Yeah sure, this was a setup to get everybody back to the table for McGregor vs. Diaz 2. It reportedly was UFC president Dana White’s idea to give Diaz a free shot after battling on a new contract. Diaz didn’t go full power on the boss. But he got multiple takes, so by default, he’s slapped Dana more than any other fighter on the roster.
Clay Guida also found out what happens when you get too close.
Blaze it up
Everyone knows Nate Diaz loves weed. And by now you know that he simply doesn’t give a (expletive). So it should’ve come as no surprise that Diaz would show up to his UFC 241 open workout and spark up a blunt on stage then pass it to the crowd.
An all-time Diaz moment indeed.
