Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/via Getty Images To understand the enigmatic Nate Diaz, you must first understand where he came from. Anyone can argue that he couldn't have done so without McGregor, but that's missing the point. The stories are fascinating.īecause no matter what happens at UFC 202, Diaz is worth listening to at the moment. Even if he is, you tell him to keep going. He'll get so lost in telling stories he'll ask more than once if he's rambling. "Conor is a guy who is training to take me out," Diaz said.ĭrop the McGregor topic, however, and Diaz will talk. Over the course of a three-hour conversation, Diaz essentially said the same thing every time about his upcoming opponent. If you want to make Diaz quiet, ask him about fighting McGregor for a second time. Diaz stepped in on 11 days' notice and submitted McGregor in the second round. McGregor (19-3), the sport's biggest star, lost his original opponent, Rafael dos Anjos, to injury weeks before the pay-per-view event. It's a rematch of a last-minute welterweight bout at UFC 196 in March. On Saturday, Diaz (19-10) will fight Conor McGregor at UFC 202 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. You might disappoint a lot of people you're trying to impress." It's not like, 'Oh, my grandson does MMA.' Don't tell people that. If anybody wants to watch, they can watch but don't get offended when I get ugly. I'm here to get mine, get ahead and do what I've got to do." "I don't ask my mom to watch fights - or my girlfriend, my friends, nobody. You might disappoint a lot of people you're trying to impress. If anybody wants to watch, they can watch, but don't get offended when I get ugly. "I don't ask my mom to watch fights - or my girlfriend, my friends, nobody. These other guys are trying to make this a sport, but I'm just keeping it real with what the hell is going on. And this will remind you of that real quick. "I'm putting my middle finger up, saying, 'F- you,' and they're sitting there like we're not even fighting. "I've been a lot more real than other fighters," Nate Diaz said. Add bells and whistles around it for financial gain, that's great. Nate refers to it as a "kill or be killed" state of mind. His older brother, UFC welterweight Nick Diaz, calls it a curse. But at this point in his life, Diaz is fairly convinced few truly live with this mentality. That might sound like an obvious lesson, one that doesn't necessarily require growing up in Stockton to figure out. If there is a way to summarize the lasting effect Nate Diaz's hometown has had on him, it's that it taught him this: Always be all the way in when it comes to a fight. The win made Diaz famous and saw The ultimate fighter 5 Winners go from cult hero to superstar overnight.ĭiaz returns this Saturday at UFC 279, where he takes on rising welterweight champion Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round non-title fight main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.Editor's note: This was originally published on August 17, 2016. “I thought what’s going on? And he tells me of: ‘What do you want?’ I was like, ‘What the hell do you think I want? More money and more damn better fights than anyone here.’ Because I never got there for a title at the time.”ĭiaz got his wish two years later at UFC 196, coming up short against Conor McGregor and subduing the Irishman with a rear-naked choke in the second round. … Everyone had left the show and then we went to the club when Dana and she had a big after party and then Dana was everything. “It’s been a long time since Gilbert did The ultimate fighter. I was mad at him – I shouldn’t have been mad at him, I get that. “I almost beat up Dana White in a club here once too, you should have seen that,” Diaz said, laughing.
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