Nate Diaz is arguably one of the most popular figures in UFC history. His ruthless attitude and hardcore fighting style attract a lot of audiences, who eventually end up becoming Diaz fans. His older brother, Nick Diaz, also made his name for the same reasons. Any time a Diaz brother enters to fight in the Octagon, it turns out to be a guaranteed show for the fans.
Diaz is known for putting a constant pace on his opponents and loves to scrap. He has a diehard attitude and does not back down as he constantly maintains the pressure throughout the fight. Who trains Nate Diaz to fight like this?
Does Nate Diaz train in his brother’s gym? All about his coach
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Boxing coach Richard Perez trains Nate Diaz. Perez is a long-time boxing coach of the Diaz brothers and runs his boxing academy at Manteca California. He started training Nick Diaz back in 2004 before his bout against Robbie Lawler at UFC 47. Soon after, the younger brother followed and started his boxing training with Perez. Since then, Richard Perez has been the man responsible for training the Diaz brothers.
Being a mixed martial artist requires mastering different fighting disciplines as the fight could go both on and off the ground. Therefore Nate Diaz also trains in Jiu-Jitsu to work on his ground game. Now, he trains at his brother’s academy known as the Nick Diaz Academy in Stockton California.
Diaz trains with almost everyone in the academy but loves to work with his long-time training partner Gilbert Melendez. Melendez is an MMA veteran and has battled top talents from across the world. He is also a former Strikeforce and WEC Lightweight champion. Both Melendez and Diaz are Jiu-Jitsu practitioners and have worked before at the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy.
Now, as the elder Diaz gets ready to fight Vicente Luque at UFC on ABC: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov, the fighter is expected to train at his academy. But where did the two train in their early days? Let’s find out.
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Where did the Diaz brothers train earlier?
Jiu-Jitsu teaches the skill of ground control where a fighter secures a position to apply a submission to his opponent. It is one of the most effective combat techniques used in the world of mixed martial arts. And who else to train with if not the best of the best? The Diaz brothers trained under the BJJ specialist, Cesar Gracie, at Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy.
This is a major reason for Nate Diaz’s nine submission wins in the UFC. This technique was introduced in front of the entire world when Royce Gracie graced the Octagon at UFC 1. Since then, a lot of fighters started to train in Jiu-Jitsu, more specifically Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu one of them being Nate Diaz.
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Diaz used to train twice a day, with not too heavy weights. He focuses on functionality and movement, which explains his agility inside the MMA cage. He always says, “I train to k*ll.” Coming back into the UFC following a long hiatus, Diaz is indeed ready to dominate the Octagon, don’t you think?
Will Diaz’s training partners and methods help him get another curtail win over Vicente Luque? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.