Nick Diaz: I Did It My Way

By Jason Kelly, Senior Columnist

Smoking weed, jumping people, and dropping “F” bombs are not the characteristics of your typical disciplined martial artist. Legends of the sport such as Randy Couture would be hard pressed to act in such a fashion, the stoic Fedor Emelianenko would never behave that way, even the outspoken Dana White has voiced his disgusted opinion towards a fighter behaving in that manner. That type of conduct will usually have everyone rooting against you, unless you are Nick Diaz.

Hailing from Stockton, Calif. Diaz entered his first professional MMA bout under the IFC banner where he shared the card with future standout fighters Frank Mir and Scott Smith. Diaz defeated Mike Wick via triangle choke in the first round of that fight; he then followed up with a second victory in the IFC over Chris Lytle to become the youngest champion in IFC history.

A mere nine fights into Diaz’s professional career and the big dogs from the UFC took notice of the Stockton kid. He fought Jeremy Jackson in his first UFC bout where he submitted Jackson, a man who knocked out Diaz in the past, with an armbar in the third round. The submissions Diaz was winning with were not surprising considering he is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under the tutelage of Caesar Gracie. The alarming aspect of Diaz’s game was what was about to come.

Diaz left his submissions at home for a few bouts and he began to knockout his adversaries, his first victim inside the Octagon was hard hitting power striker, Robbie Lawler. Lawler was touted as the next big thing in the UFC due to his heavy hands, and when Diaz chose to stand with Lawler, fans thought Diaz would be the one laid out. Contrary to popular belief, Diaz knocked Lawler into another realm and that was the defining moment that put the Gracie trained fighter on the map.

During Diaz’s stint in the UFC his attitude was apparent, but it was hard to tell if his demeanor was a planned gimmick or real emotions. Diaz where’s his heart on his sleeve which enables him to say what is on his mind and lash out irrationally towards his peers.

The anger pent up inside Diaz rose to the surface after he lost a decision to Joe Riggs. Diaz feels he should have won the fight and that peeved him to the point that Diaz took the fight beyond the cage. Both Diaz and Riggs were sent to the hospital to be treated for injuries sustained during their fight, but BJJ expert had other plans at the hospital. Diaz tracked down Riggs in the hospital and initiated round four of their earlier bout. Diaz approached Riggs and punched him in the face before the two men hit the floor and began to grapple, police separated the two immediately and no criminal charges were pressed by either fighter, or the police.

Diaz was removed from the UFC roster shortly after that incident, although he returned for two more fights later in his career, UFC President Dana White had to release Diaz again citing that Diaz “does not play the game.”

At 23 years old and unemployed, Diaz took his talents to the legendary PrideFC organization. Pride did not give Diaz an easy opponent in Takanori Gomi, but Diaz welcomed the challenge and then he submitted the challenger with one of the slickest submission techniques in the world; a gogoplata. The performance was impressive, the finish was outstanding, but the outcome was bleak as Diaz allegedly tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol, the active agent in marijuana. Though smoking marijuana is the furthest thing from a performance enhancing drug (unless you are in a munchies eating competition), it is against the rules, and therefore Diaz’s submission victory was turned over to a no contest by the Nevada State Athletic Committee.

Since Diaz’s issues involving NSAC he has displayed a more focused and talented fighter. Besides a loss to KJ Noons, which was later avenged, the former UFC fighter has not lost a fight since 2006, and in that time he has knocked out names like Frank Shamrock and Scott Smith, while also submitting Japanese legend Hayaoto Sakuri. But, history repeated itself, and Diaz was the center of more controversy.

After Diaz’s good friend and long time training partner Jake Shields defeated Dan Henderson in Shields’ last Strikeforce bout, Jason “Mayhem” Miller entered the cage to talk some trash to Shields and hype up a fight between the two. Diaz did not appreciate “Mayhem’s” actions, so Diaz took it to him. Nick, along with brother Nate and the rest of the Caesar Gracie camp on hand that night jumped “Mayhem” on live television, which resulted in a three month suspension for the Stockton native.

Diaz currently holds the Strikeforce welterweight belt and he will be the main event on Jan. 29 when he is set to scrap Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, a man who matches Diaz in intimidation. “Cyborg” also owns a black belt in BJJ and his stand up game is serious, Diaz on the other hand can match those attributes and he has the momentum on his side. His win streak, being a title holder and many are mentioning his name as a top five welterweight in the world are all factors to help his confidence thrive.

Nick Diaz has never been one to follow a certain code of conduct; he never wanted to be compared to anyone. He has been punished for the things he did wrong in his career and he stood behind every action he made. He takes pride in his fighting and it shows when he is in the cage or out, Diaz may not be a gentleman like Randy Couture or a disciplined martial artist like Lyoto Machida, but Diaz is setting himself up for legendary status by doing it all his way, and not yours.

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