Here’s What Nick Diaz Has Achieved Before Coming to the UFC

Nick Diaz is one of the most followed fighters to be a part of MMA. The veteran fighter has had an amazing MMA career and currently has a record of (26-9). Diaz last competed in an MMA fight back in 2015. The fighter had faced Anderson Silva at the UFC 183 event. Following that fight, the fighter was suspended for 5 years and was fined $165,000 as he tested positive for marijuana.

Following that loss, many people believed that Diaz would retire from MMA. However, now Diaz is all set to make his comeback almost 6 years later. The fighter will be competing against Robbie Lawler at the UFC 266 event. As the veteran fighter is preparing to make his comeback, we decided to take a look at various aspects of his career.

Therefore, we decided to take a look at Nick Diaz’s career outside the UFC. Because although the fighter gained much popularity through the UFC, Diaz had an incredible career in many other promotions. Diaz has competed in UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, EliteXC, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), DREAM, and Shooto.

The fighter is also a former welterweight champion in Strikeforce, WEC, and IFC.

Early Career of Nick Diaz

Diaz made his professional MMA debut back in 2001. The fighter faced Mike Wick at the IFC Warriors Challenge 15 event and won the fight via a 1st round submission. In his very next fight, Nick Diaz became a champion as he defeated Chris Lytle via unanimous decision to become the IFC United States Welterweight champion.

Following that victory, Diaz was invited to take part in the Ultimate Athlete’s King of the Mountain tournament. Diaz performed considerably well in the tournament and won his first two fights. However, the fighter lost in the finals to Jeremy Jackson via a TKO.

In his following two fights, Diaz faced Harris Sarmiento and Kuniyoshi Hironaka at the Warriors Quest 8 and the Shooto Year End Show 2002. Diaz then went on to compete at the WEC 6 event for the WEC Welterweight championship. He faced Joe Hurley at the event and defeated him via a 1st round submission to win the title.

Diaz vacated his WEC title and then defended his IFC title against Jeremy Jackson at the IFC Warriors Challenge 18 event. This time around, Diaz got the better of Jackson as he defeated him via a 1st round TKO and defended his title.

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Following his impressive performance, Diaz was signed by the UFC, where he would spend the next 3 years of his life. Interestingly, in his first UFC fight, Diaz faced Jackson in the much-anticipated trilogy fight and won via a 3rd round submission.

Nick Diaz in PRIDE FC and EliteXC

Diaz signed a 2-year deal with PRIDE FC and competed in his 1st fight at the PRIDE 33 event. The fighter faced Takanori Gomi at the event and had defeated him via a 2nd round submission. However, later the victory was overturned as Diaz was tested positive for marijuana.

Following that incident, Diaz made his EliteXC debut at the EliteXC: Uprising event on September 15, 2007. The fighter faced and defeated Mike Ania via a split decision to win the fight. Diaz then faced KJ Noons for the EliteXC welterweight championship.

People from all around the world were very excited to witness this fight as Noons and Diaz were amongst the best welterweight fighters in the world. The fight, however, ended in an anti-climactic fashion as Diaz lost the fight via a doctor’s stoppage due to a cut.

This affected Diaz so much that he then had surgery done and had the bone filled down on his eyebrows to prevent any bad cuts in the future.

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The fighter competed in 2 more fights in EliteXC as he faced and defeated Muhsin Corbbrey and Thomas Denny via 3 and 2 round TKO, respectively. The company ceased operations sometime after that and Diaz went on to other things.

Nick Diaz’s career in Strikeforce and DREAM

Diaz made his much anticipated Strikeforce debut against Frank Shamrock at the Strikeforce: Shamrock vs Diaz event in April 2009. Diaz performed admirably in that fight and won via a 2nd round TKO. Following that fight, Diaz went ahead with great momentum and won every fight convincingly.

Diaz faced Scott Smith next and defeated him via a 3rd round submission. Following this victory, the fighter competed for the inaugural Strikeforce welterweight title. Diaz fought and defeated Marius Zaromskis via a 1st round TKO to win the title.

The fighter then went on to defend the title for a then-record 3 times. Diaz defeated KJ Noons, Evangelista Santos, and Paul Daley to defend his title. The fighter remained undefeated throughout his Strikeforce career.

Diaz also competed twice in DREAM. His first fight came at the DREAM 3: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Second Round event. The fighter won that fight via a 1st round TKO. Diaz again competed in DREAM in 2010 as he faced Hayato Sakurai at the DREAM 14 event. The fighter won this fight as well as he defeated Sakurai via a 1st round submission.

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Nick Diaz has had an incredible MMA career and now as he prepares to make his UFC comeback. Fans from all over the world are very excited to see him fight.