Professional MMA fighter Nate Diaz has a contract with the UFC. A total of $8,000,000 is Nate Diaz’s wealth. He won Season 5 of “The Ultimate Fighter” after a career that included bouts in World Extreme Cagefighting, Pancrase, and Strikeforce. Younger brother of current UFC fighter and former welterweight champion Nick Diaz.
Conor McGregor Fight Earnings
For coming up to the Conor McGregor fight, Nate reportedly received $2 million. He made $500,000 total ($250,000 from a Reebok sponsorship, $50,000 for the bout of the night bonus, and $150,000 for simply attending the after party). More importantly, he received a percentage of the pay-per-view earnings. At the end of the PPV, he took home $10.5 million. Once the numbers are added up, Nate made a cool $13 million that night. Conor’s salary was $15,000,000.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Nate Diaz was born to Mexican parents in 1985 in Stockton, California. His older brother, Nick, is a martial arts instructor, and he began studying with him when he was 11 years old. Tokay High School in Lodi, California is where Diaz spent his high school years.
Diaz began his MMA career mostly with bouts in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion. He defeated Alejandro Garcia in his debut bout in 2004. When he challenged Hermes França for the WEC Lightweight Championship two years later, he was knocked out in the second round. Diaz has competed in several organisations than WEC, including Pancrase and Strikeforce.
“The Ultimate Fighter 5”
During the fifth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which aired in 2007, Diaz made his MMA debut. For this season, only lightweights competed, and Diaz joined Jens Pulver’s side to do battle. Diaz eliminated Rob Emerson in the first round and Gray Maynard in the quarterfinals. In the championship match, he faced Manvel Gamburyan and won via submission when Gamburyan was injured and had to tap out.
Start of UFC Career
The Ultimate Fighter winner Diaz quickly found success in the UFC, defeating notable opponents like Alvin Robinson and Junior Assunço. However, he insisted on facing tougher competition, and so at UFC Fight Night 13, he met Kurt Pellegrino. Diaz submitted his opponent with a triangle choke in the deciding round. At UFC Fight Night 15, he met Josh Neer again, and this time he came out on top.
At UFC 94 in 2009, Diaz suffered his first defeat at the hands of Clay Guida. Headlining UFC Fight Night 19, he won by guillotine choke submission over Melvin Guillard. After suffering three consecutive defeats in 2010, Diaz made the bold decision to compete at a higher weight class. At UFC 111, he made his welterweight debut against Rory Markham; however, after the weigh-ins, the bout was switched to a catchweight match.
In the end, Diaz won the fight through technical knockout in the first round. As a result, he made up his mind to fight in both categories. It was at UFC 118 that he submitted Marcus Davis with a guillotine choke, earning him the victory in their welterweight bout.
Further UFC Career
Diaz lost matches to Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald at the beginning of 2011. However, he got back on track later in the year and won the UFC 135 Lightweight Championship by defeating PRIDE Champion Takanori Gomi. At UFC 141, he defeated Donald Cerrone in one of the best performances of his career to earn another victory. At UFC on Fox 3, Diaz defeated Jim Miller via rolling guillotine choke in another great fight.
Diaz’s status as a lightweight contender in the UFC was terminated in May of 2014 due to his inactivity. In a bout against Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC on Fox 13 in December 2014, Diaz made his ring return. Unfortunately for Diaz, he failed to make weight and was forced to pay a 20% fine, which went to Anjos. After a year hiatus,
Diaz returned to the ring in December 2015 to face Michael Johnson, whom he defeated via unanimous decision. During UFC 196 the next year, Diaz faced and defeated Conor McGregor. This was Diaz’s tenth submission victory in the UFC, tying him for second all-time.
Controversies
For all of his UFC career, Diaz has been in the spotlight for his provocative comments and actions. Due to his use of a homophobic term on Twitter in 2013, he was suspended for 90 days and fined $20,000. In 2015, he gained notoriety for a vulgar post-fight interview in which he challenged fellow fighter Conor McGregor on live television.
Diaz smoked a CBD vape pen less than four hours after his fight in 2016, which is against USADA policy. But since cannabidiol (CBD) is not in the same category as other drugs that boost performance, he avoided punishment. Substance was later removed from the USADA’s list of prohibited substances.
Good luck to the homie @Showtimepettis kiickass tomorrow at @PFLMMA 💯👊🏼💯 pic.twitter.com/ntxQJZ6cl8
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) August 5, 2022
Honors and Distinctions
Diaz has won multiple Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses, among other professional accolades. He has also won the Knockout of the Night and Performance of the Night awards. During his battle with Conor McGregor in 2016, Diaz won the World MMA Award for Submission of the Year. Diaz’s seven submission victories in the UFC Lightweight division are tied for the most all-time with Jim Miller. Further, his eight Fight of the Night bonuses are tied for the most all-time with Frankie Edgar.
