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If you mention the word “Diaz” most people’s thoughts go directly to Nick, not Nate. Older brother Nick fights in the welterweight division and is more known for his unruly attitude and crazy antics.
These antics saw him dropped from a title shot originally against Georges St. Pierre, who then bowed out from the card with an injury.
That was before he retired, after a loss to Carlos Condit for the interim title.
Little brother Nate (15-7) has constantly been living in Nick’s shadow, however he has taken a different route within the UFC.
He will fight against Jim Miller at this weekend’s UFC on Fox event in New Jersey for the lightweight title contention.
The Stockton native arrived on the scene through The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC’s reality TV show, in the fifth season with true Diaz fashion.
He went on to defeat Manny Gamburyan in the finale to win the show and the elusive UFC contract.
The younger Diaz has enjoyed mixed success within the UFC across two weight divisions, resulting in a record of 9-5 within the promotion.
Yet it has been during his last two fights – where he has returned to lightweight – where we have seen a strong contender come into the spotlight.
A fight against Diaz-foe Takanori Gomi (33-8 (1 NC)) at UFC 135 saw Diaz put on a solid performance, taking control of the stand. He got Gomi on the ground, submitting him with an arm bar, all within round one.
A few month later, Diaz faced Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (17-4 (1 NC)) in December at UFC 141, which saw an intense build up and an even more intense fight.
Diaz came out and put on a career-best performance, dominating the Cowboy in the stand up for three rounds, resulting in a unanimous-decision win. It earned both fighters fight-of-the-night honours.
One hurdle now remains for Nate in his effort to get a title shot. And that is Jim Miller (21-3).
Miller won’t succumb to the intense war of words that is common from the Diaz camp, nor will he be led into playing into Diaz’s strengths.
This will be Nate’s toughest competitor yet and it is expected to be fight of the night.
Diaz has the height and reach advantage over Miller and should be looking to keep the fight in the stand up.
It is here that he has the slight benefit, as taking it to the ground will provide a somewhat-even playing field, with both fighters’ black belts in BJJ.
While Miller is no slouch in the stand up Diaz needs to keep him at a distance which is comfortable. He must also keep Miller at the point where he can wear him down.
This fight should go to a unanimous decision.
With Diaz putting on a similar performance against Miller as he did with Cerrone, there is no doubt he can take the fight.
We could see him in a title fight against either Benson Henderson, Frankie Edgar or Anthony Pettis later on this year.
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