Nick Diaz - 'The Baddest Man on the Planet'?

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If you have heard of Nick Diaz you will know he is famous for three things; being an excellent fighter, smoking a lot of weed and not giving a f*ck.
If you have not heard of Nick Diaz and you want to find out brace yourself, this could be the most compelling character in combat sports since Mike TysonMike Tyson. Only a combat sport could produce such a compelling character. A high school drop out with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), Nick Diaz has enthralled MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fans with a mixture of his fighting prowess and his carefree attitude.
He has fought an opponent in the hospital they were both getting treated at after they just fought, he has been involved in a brawl on live TV and he has also fought to the very peak of his profession, now being widely regarded as one of MMA’s top ten pound-for-pound fighters. He is also not averse to giving a very quotable interview or two, especially given his open love for marijuana, his disdain for most other fighters and also the fact that he swears more than a Quentin TarantinoQuentin Tarantino movie.

Born and raised in the tough city of Stockton, California, Diaz was always in trouble as a youngster and took up MMA because he was being picked on by bigger kids.
Visit the Official UFC collection at Century MMA In terms of Diaz’s ability as a fighter, he is highly skilled. Nick Diaz is the Strikeforce welterweight champion (Strikeforce being widely seen as the second best organisation in MMA after the UFC) and has a record of 24 wins and seven losses. Diaz has defended this title on three occasions and has also lost only one bout in the last five years, which was a technical knock out after Diaz was pulled out of the fight by doctors having suffered a dangerous cut. Fighting out of the fabled Cesar Gracie camp, Diaz is renowned for his excellent ju-jitsu and boxing skills. Diaz regularly trains with the likes of Jake Shields (one of the worlds most decorated grapplers) and Andre Ward (current WBA super-middleweight boxing champion and Olympic Gold medallist). He also is tremendously conditioned, with his stamina being such that he competes in triathlons.

Yet there was a time when people thought he would not live up to his undoubted potential. Having exploded into the world of MMA by becoming an IFC champion in only his second bout against seasoned veteran and current UFC contender Chris Lytle, Diaz was fast-tracked up the rankings. He consequently went on a steep learning curve, which saw him lose six out of 13 fights, although he did win and defend the WEC welterweight title during this period. Four of the losses came in the UFC, which is why he was eventually cut from the organisation, although he did produce some excellent performances under the UFC banner, including what is thought of as the best one punch KO of all time in MMA, when he fought Robbie Lawler.

It was around this period though that the wildness of Diaz’s character came to fruition. He used foul language in interviews (including some that aired on live TV) and complained to anyone that he was underpaid as a fighter. It was in 2006 after his fight against Joe Riggs though that Diaz truly went off the rails.
Having just lost a three round unanimous decision against him, Diaz saw Riggs at the hospital as they both received check ups in neighbouring rooms. Although accounts vary most statements claim Nick Diaz goaded Riggs into facing him before than punching him in the face. Riggs went on to take Diaz down and the two went at it in the middle of the hospital as doctors and nurses tried pulling them apart.

centurymma.com Diaz’s reputation as a wild-man went up another notch after his classic bout with Japanese star Takanori Gomi. Known as ‘The Fireball Kid’ because of his explosive hand power, Gomi came out swinging but Diaz went toe-to-toe with him. After surviving an onslaught Diaz captured Gomi in a submission hold, forcing Gomi to tap-out and quit. The fight went on to become ‘fight of the year’ in 2007.

However, after the fight Diaz failed a drug test, coming out positive for marijuana. While never known as a performance enhancing drug (with most experts feeling it’s effects would be more detrimental than enhancing) the bout was still declared a no-contest, taking a big win of Diaz resume just went it seemed he was looking the type of fighter many thought he would become.
During his subsequent ban from the sport Nick Diaz gave many interviews declaring his endorsement of marijuana, even claiming it aids his training, saying in 2007 “when you’re smoking marijuana it expands your lungs, you know, you’re breathing pretty good”.
Although always arousing interest because of the excitement he brought in and out of the cage, Diaz gained true respect for his prowess having gone on a run of wins which includes a superb TKO of legendary Frank Shamrock. Probably his most famous fight since then again came at a time it should not have, although at least this time it was in a cage.
Diaz’s good friend and teammate Jake Shields fought Dan Henderson in April of 2010. Having won the bout, during his after fight interview Shields was interrupted by a former defeated foe, Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller, who was looking for a rematch with Shields. Enraged at this disrespect, Shields teammates began fighting with Miller, with Nick and his brother Nate particularly getting involved in beating on the solitary Miller.
Diaz was not punished for his heavy involvement in this brawl but the incidents have not yet stopped. After spotting Miller backstage after his last bout, Diaz threw a water bottle which hit Miller in the face, something Miller himself stated. Even in his last bout Diaz got into an altercation with fans which security had to split up.
Currently on a nine fight win streak and looking close to unbeatable in Strikeforce, Diaz has recently been stating he would love to fight Georges St Pierre, the most dominant welterweight champion in MMA today and many peoples pound-for-pound number one fighter. For this fight to happen Diaz would have to sign with the UFC and having signed a long-term deal not too long ago with Strikeforce, it seems this may not happen in the near future.



So we may not find out if Diaz is now, at only 27 years of age, the best fighter in the world. But it is clear to see from his colourful history Diaz has a claim to be ‘the baddest man on the planet’.