Nate Diaz

Nathan Donald Diaz, born April 16, 1985, is an American mixed martial artist and professional boxer. He is best known for his career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed for over 15 years after winning The Ultimate Fighter 5 tournament. Throughout his time in the organization, Diaz earned 16 UFC bonus awards, placing him third for the most bonus awards in UFC history, and challenged for the UFC Lightweight Championship in 2012.

Diaz was born to Melissa and Robert Diaz and raised in Stockton, California, alongside his brother Nick and sister Nina. He grew up in Lodi, California, where he attended Tokay High School. Of Mexican and Anglo heritage, Diaz began training in martial arts at the age of 11 with his brother.

Prior to his official professional career, Diaz participated in a bare-knuckle MMA fight against Robert Limon in 2002 at age 17. He made his official professional debut competing primarily for World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), as well as Strikeforce and Pancrase. In 2006, he fought Hermes França for the WEC Lightweight Championship at WEC 24, losing by submission. Shortly after, Diaz entered the UFC as a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5, defeating Rob Emerson, Corey Hill, Gray Maynard, and Manvel Gamburyan to win the tournament.

Following his tournament victory, Diaz fought across the lightweight and welterweight divisions. He secured notable victories over Kurt Pellegrino, Josh Neer, Melvin Guillard, Marcus Davis, Takanori Gomi, and Donald Cerrone, setting a CompuStrike record for strike accuracy against Cerrone. After receiving his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Cesar Gracie in 2012, Diaz defeated Jim Miller to earn his fifth Submission of the Night bonus. Later that year, he challenged Benson Henderson for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC on Fox 5, losing by unanimous decision.

In subsequent years, Diaz remained a prominent figure in the UFC. In 2016, he stepped in on short notice to face Conor McGregor at welterweight at UFC 196, defeating McGregor by submission in the second round before losing a rematch at UFC 202 via majority decision. Diaz later returned in 2019 to defeat Anthony Pettis before facing Jorge Masvidal for a celebratory "BMF" belt at UFC 244. In his final bout under his UFC contract in September 2022, Diaz defeated Tony Ferguson via fourth-round submission, earning a Performance of the Night bonus before becoming a free agent.

After leaving the UFC, Diaz entered professional boxing, making his debut against Jake Paul on August 5, 2023, where he lost by unanimous decision. He was subsequently scheduled for a 10-round light heavyweight boxing match against Jorge Masvidal in June 2024. In March 2026, it was announced that Diaz would return to MMA under Most Valuable Promotions at MVP MMA 1 to face Mike Perry on May 16, 2026, a bout Diaz lost via corner stoppage technical knockout.