Drugs, confusion and success: meet Nick Diaz, Anderson Silva's controversial rival

N. Diaz (photo) faces A. Silva in January 2015 Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

On January 31, 2015, in the main fight of UFC 183, Anderson Silva won't be the only big name in MMA to return after a long hiatus in his career. Although for very different reasons, his opponent Nick Diaz will also return to the Octagon on this date after almost two years of voluntary retirement. If your history is taken into account, whether inside or outside the cage, Diaz has everything to guarantee a busy preparation, good sales of pay-per-view and an exciting fight when the gong sounds.

From Stockton, California, with great pride

Certainly, one of the most striking facts about Nick Diaz is its origin. Born and raised in Stockton, in the US state of California, Nick still lives in his hometown and has been involved in major confusion due to his attachment to the place – such as when he refused to attend a recording with the UFC, demanding that the organization's team moved to the west coast.

Nicholas Robert Diaz was born on August 2, 1983 and, as his surname suggests, comes from a family with Mexican origins. During his childhood, young Nick was part of the swimming team at his school. To this day, the fighter thanks his mother for enrolling, as according to him swimming was one of the main factors that gave him the good physical conditioning and resistance he demonstrates in his fights.

A Brazilian master

Cesar Gracie (left) alongside N. Diaz (right) after winning the belt. Photo: Strikeforce/Disclosure

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The story of the beginning of Nick Diaz in martial arts is not the most original: its initiation took place as a form of personal defense against bullying of older boys. But from then on, he followed a very unique path. He started in karate, went on to sambo and became a black belt under the Brazilian Cesar Gracie, having graduated in 2007.

Along with his younger brother Nate, Nick Diaz is one of the pillars of the Cesar Gracie Fight Team, which is based in California. In addition to the Diaz brothers, the team has other renowned athletes, such as: Gilbert Melendez, champion of the extinct Strikeforce and next challenger for the UFC lightweight belt; Jake Shields; former Strikeforce champion and former UFC challenger; Alexis Davis, last opponent of Ronda Rousey; and David Terrel, former UFC fighter and middleweight title challenger in 2005.

Confusion, confusion and more confusion

Directly proportional to the quality of Nick Diaz inside the octagon and his positive history in MMA, it's the chance to see him involved in any kind of trouble. Throughout his 13-year career, Nick has been involved in several controversies, ranging from fights to unexplained disappearances.

In one of the biggest episodes in his history of friction, he and his teammates were involved in a general brawl in the middle of cage of Strikeforce, in 2010. The confusion began after the invasion of the ring by Jason Miller, a former UFC fighter who is also famous for his weakness for confusion, to publicly challenge Jake Shields. In light of the action, Diaz attacked Miller in defense of his teammate.

Just over a year later, back in the UFC, Nick would immediately have the chance to challenge the welterweight champion Georges St Pierre, by whom he was called “the most disrespectful human being in the world”. However, Diaz missed a series of commitments on his official schedule and angered president Dana White, who ended up canceling the fight. As punishment, Nick was assigned to face B.J. Penn at the same event. Despite what happened, he ended up beating the Hawaiian by unanimous decision.

The relationship with marijuana

Lighter and marijuana on Instagram. Photo: Reproduction

In the world of MMA fighters, Nick Diaz perhaps it is one of the main names related to marijuana consumption. The fighter does not hide from anyone that he is a drug user, whether through his statements or publications on social media. It is not uncommon, for example, to find some reference to weed in photos shared by the fighter on social media.

But his marijuana use has already caused him problems in the sport. In 2007, Nick had just left the UFC for PRIDE and in his first fight in the new organization he ended up caught in an anti-doping test – which, although it was not very strict for performance-enhancing substances in the now defunct Japanese event, was absolutely ruthless against recreational drugs. . In 2012, after competing and losing the interim Ultimate belt to Carlos Condit, a new positive test for the herb.

In one of his most reproduced statements on the subject, Nick openly defends the consumption of marijuana, including by high-performance athletes. “I’m not a doctor or a f***ing scientist, but I’ve smoked a lot of weed in my life. And, in my opinion, it’s really good. I think it's the healthiest thing for anyone who just wants to chill out for a while. Not cigarettes, but marijuana expands your lungs, you breathe well,” he once said.

Try as a leader at your own event

Nick appears as a poster boy for his own event. Photo: Reproduction

Soon after his most recent retirement, in March 2013, after the defeat to Georges St Pierre, Nick Diaz decided that he would become a promoter of MMA events and founded his own organization: “WAR MMA”, based in Stockton. The first, and to date only, card promoted by the organization took place on June 23, 2013 – of course, in its hometown.

For the main fight of the night, Diaz called on his “Cesar Gracie Fight Team” partner Daniel Roberts. Even fighting at home, Roberts ended up defeated by Justin Baesman in a split decision by the judges. On the event's official website, there is a call for the second edition of “WAR MMA”, but its promotion never got off the ground.

numbers and statistics

At 30, Nick Diaz has a professional record of 26 wins, nine losses and one fight without result. Among the victories achieved, 13 were by knockout, eight by submission and only five were judge's decisions. Furthermore, the jiu-jitsu black belt and Pan American champion in the gentle art has never been finished in his career.

The American was the first welterweight champion of the now-defunct Strikeforce and held his title between 2010 and 2011, when he ended up vacating it to move to the UFC. Furthermore, Nick was also champion in another organization that would later be acquired by Ultimate: the WEC.

More Nick Diaz It doesn't have good numbers just in the sporting field. The controversial athlete headed alongside Georges St Pierre the third largest package sales pay-per-view in the history of Ultimate, with 1,1 million units sold for UFC 158 – precisely his last appearance in the octagon.