Nate Diaz: His Life Journey (From Childhood to 2024)

In the world of martial arts, one of the most well-known figures is Nate Diaz. Renowned for being the winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Diaz remained an important part of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) for over 15 years.

During his ownership in UFC, Nate Diaz bagged over 16 trophies and is titled the third fighter with the most bonus awards.

Additionally, Diaz participated in multiple other championships like World Extreme Cagefighting, Pancrase, and Strikeforce throughout his career.

Name	*Nate Diaz*
Birthplace	Stockton, California, U.S
Age	39 (Born on April 16, 1985)
Nationality	American
Wife	Misty Brown
Children	2
Profession	Mixed Martial Arts Fighter, Boxer, businessman
Net Worth	$8 million, Acc to sportskeeda & celebritynetworth
Years Active	2004 to Present
Total Fights in Martial Arts	34 (21 won)
Total Fights in Boxing	1 (0 won)
Notable Relative	Nick Diaz
Rank	Third-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Trainer	Richard Perez
Team	Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Categories	155 lbs and 170 lbs
Stance	Southpaw

Source: Wikipedia

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Nate Diaz | Background

Nate Diaz was born on April 16, 1985, in Stockton, California, USA, to parents with mixed heritage, i.e., Anglo and Mexican. Diaz grew up in Lodi, California, in a family of five, where he got his early education from Tokay High School.

Nate Diaz developed a passion for martial arts quite early. Owing to his determination, he started training in martial arts beside his brother Nick at 11. Diaza rose to prominence when he participated in a bare-knuckle MMA fight at 17 against Robert Limon.

Soon after, he joined MMA, from where his martial arts career took off significantly. Throughout his tenure in MMA, Nate primarily competed in big leagues like World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC).

One of the prominent events was when Diaz participated in the WEC Lightweight Championship in 2006 and secured second place by submission during the last round. It was the last time that WEC was conducted, as after that, Zuffa, LLC– the parent company of UFC, acquired it officially.

Nate Diaz | Journey with UFC | From 2008-2022 |

2008 to 2009

Nate Diaz has a long-going history with UFC, which spans over 15 years. Though he gained recognition through MMA fights, it was UFC that proved a milestone in his career. Initially, Diaz participated in The Ultimate Fighter 5, where he competed against big names like Rob Emerson, Corey Hill, and Gary Maynard.

After defeating all these competitors, Nate made it to the finals, where he fought against his teammate Manvel Gamburyan. Finally, beating him by a submission, Nate became the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5, after which he became a household name in the UFC.

Gradually, Diaz shifted towards competing with more challenging opponents and participated in championships like UFC Fight Night 13 and UFC Fight Night 15. Diaz faced his first defeat in UFC when Clay Guida – the former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion, made him lose by a split decision.

Luck was hard on Diaz, as he faced a continuous defeat in The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale by his fellow Ultimate Fighter winner, Joe Stevenson. After losing two fights by decisions, Diaz was pitted against Melvin Guillard in UFC Fight Night 19. Finally, thanks to his determination, Diaz won the competition by a submission.

2010 to 2015

In 2010, Diaz again faced Gary Maynard at UFC Fight Night 20. But he couldn’t win against them, and after suffering three losses in the previous four matches, Diaz officially moved up to the category of 170 lbs.

Even with changing classes, Diaz was defeated in the first match, after which he announced that he would play in both 155lbs and 170lbs classes, and not just one.

During 2011, Diaz participated in multiple championships of different classes. He lost the first two games. But soon, he regained momentum and won the later two fights via submission and a unanimous decision.

His fight against Donald Cerrone is quite memorable, as it gained him one of the best performances of his career. Though Diaz was knocked off multiple times during the competition, he managed to defeat Cerrone by submission. The performances were so competitive and exceptional that both participants were awarded Fight of the Night honours.

In 2012, Nate Diaz received his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt from Cesar Gracie after completing several years of martial arts training. Soon after, Diaz fought against another black-belt recipient, Jim Miller, and defeated him by a submission.

Owing to his outstanding performance, Nate Diaz won his fifth bonus award, Submission of the Night.

2013 was not a fantastic year, starting with his defeat to Josh Thomson. After that, Diaz was also suspended for 90 days from UFC on May 16 as he had violated a code of conduct with a homophobic slur he used on his official Twitter page. However, by the end of the year, he resumed his career and won the first round of The Ultimate Fighter Finale 18, which earned him his first-ever Knock of the Night award.

After being inactive for a prolonged period, Nate Diaz was removed by UFC from the lightweight categories. However, finally, after a year-long self-taken hiatus, he returned to UFC and fought against Rafael dos Anjos. But being unmotivated and unserious, he got defeated and was also fined 20% of his purse, as he was overweight.

Nate Diaz didn’t do much for the following year. After a long break, he faced Micheal Johnson on December 15, 2015. Fortunately, he won the fight. But this competition is primarily remembered for one of the most controversial interviews by Diaz, where he called out Conor McGregor for hampering his career.

2016 to 2020

In 2016, Nate Diaz finally got a chance to combat his long-going opponent, Conor McGregor. Due to his huge passion, Diaz won the competition by submission just in the second round. After this fight, Nate Diaz went on to become the second fighter with the most wins after Royce Gracie in UFC.

However, despite breaking several records and having an outshining career, Nate Diaz again went on hiatus for over two years.

Finally, in November 2018, it was announced that Nate was making a return against Dustin Poirier in a lightweight competition. But shortly after, came the news that Dustin Poiriergot injured and the match was cancelled.

In August 2017, Diaz made a solid comeback at UFC 241 and defeated Anthony Pettis in a lightweight battle by unanimous decision. Diaz bagged another victory at UFC 244, where he fought against Jorge Masvidal.

2021 to 2022

In 2021, Nate Diaz faced Leon Edwards at UFC 263. But due to being slightly injured, Diaz lost the match to Edwards. 2022 was the final year of Diaz’s contract with UFC. His last UFC fight was against Khamzat Chimaev on September 10, 2022, in UFC 279.

Due to being underweight, Khamzat Chimaev was pulled out of the match. In his replacement, Diaz fought against Tony Ferguson and won the match by submission in the fourth round. He even received his second Performance of the Night bonus award.

Though UFC offered Diaz to extend his contract, he chose not to do it. Therefore, after his match with Chimaev, Nate Diaz became a free agent.

Nate Diaz | Boxing Career

Besides his UFC career, Nate Diaz shortly tried his luck in the boxing field. After his contract ended with UFC, Diaz’s management announced that he would be making a debut in boxing against Jake Paul.

The bout was held on August 5, 2023, in Dallas, Texas. However, despite training hard, Paul defeated Diaz by a unanimous decision. Since then, Nate has not tried his luck further in boxing so far.

Nate Diaz | Businesses

Nate Diaz’s brother, Nick Diaz, is also a professional MMA fighter. Diaz strongly advocates cannabis and even has a marijuana line by California Forest. Besides, both brothers run a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school named “Nike Diaz Academy” in their hometown Stockton, California.

Diaz also revealed his political stance when he publicly endorsed his former UFC fellow BJ Penn, who was running for governorship in Hawaii at that time. In September 2022, Nate also announced that he was about to launch his combat sports promotion company under the name Real Fight Inc.

Nate Diaz | Net Worth 2024

According to the official reports of Sportskeeda, Nate Diaz’s net worth in 2024 is around 8 million USD. His earnings are mainly from his mixed martial arts career, school, winery, and the cannabis business.

Nate Diaz net worth is primarily high because of his contract with UFC. MMA also got him a ton of wealth and fame, but UFC was a prominent career landmark for Nate Diaz.

Nate Diaz | Personal Life

Nate Diaz is married to his long-term girlfriend, Misty Brown. At first, it was unclear whether Nate Diaz was married or not. But later, he confirmed his marriage himself.

He has two children- the elder one is four years old (In 2024) and is named Nikayla Diaz. He had his second child in 2022, whose name and gender have not been revealed publicly yet.

Nate Diaz | Controversies

In 2022, Nate Diaz got into a brawl at the backstage of Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva. Owing to the violation, Diaz was immediately removed from the event. Recently, in 2023, Diaz also got involved in an altercation on the street where he choked a man.

As a result, a warrant was issued against him for second-degree battery charges. Diaz surrendered to the charges and turned himself into the New Orleans Police Department. Nate Diaz’s lawyer argued that Diaz’s actions were a consequence of self-defence, after which he was bailed out on a $10,000 bond. Months later, a video came on the Internet, which shows to be true Diaz was innocent.

Conclusion:

Nate Diaz is a famous American mixed martial artist and boxer with years of experience in the field. From non-main championships to big leagues like UFC and MMA, Diaz has played them all and won many championships and awards. He is also a businessman with a marijuana line and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school.

The article details his career highlights, including his win over Conor McGregor and his recent departure from UFC as a free agent. It also touches on his short-lived boxing career and his various business ventures. The writing concludes with his net worth and some controversies surrounding him.

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Nate Diaz: His Life Journey (From Childhood to 2024)

Nate Diaz | Background