Nate Diaz choked out Tony Ferguson in the main event of UFC 279 to bring the curtain down on his legendary UFC career.
Nate Diaz : New record | vs Ferguson | Contract | Dad
Prior to his official MMA career, Diaz competed in a bare knuckle MMA fight against Robert Limon on July 20th, 2002, at the age of 17.
| Born | Nathan Donald Diaz April 16, 1985 Stockton, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) |
| Division | Lightweight (2004–2010, 2011–2015) Welterweight (2010–2011, 2016–present) |
| Reach | 76 in (193 cm) |
| Stance | Southpaw |
Footage has since emerged of the fight and it is believed to be his first competitive experience.
Upon making his official professional MMA debut, Diaz competed mainly for World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC).
In 2006, at WEC 24, he fought for the WEC Lightweight Championship against then-champion Hermes França, losing by submission in the second round.
This was the last event held by WEC before it was acquired by Zuffa, LLC, then parent company of the UFC.
Diaz was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5, which exclusively featured lightweights, fighting on Jens Pulver’s team.
In the preliminary round, Diaz defeated Rob Emerson by submission; in the quarterfinals he defeated fellow Team Pulver teammate Corey Hill via triangle choke submission in the first round.
Nate Diaz new record
Nate Diaz set a UFC record for the most submission wins from bottom position by choking out Tony Ferguson in his final fight for the promotion.
Diaz, 37, submitted Ferguson with a guillotine choke in the fourth round of their fight at UFC 279.
Two judges had Diaz winning every round before he finished the fight, whilst the other judge had it two rounds to one in favour of Ferguson.
Diaz ended his 15-year stint with the UFC by picking up his first win in over three years, much to the joy of the Las Vegas crowd
The fan favourite overtook light-heavyweight Paul Craig for the most submission wins from a bottom position with six.
Most of Diaz’s submission wins came early on in his UFC career, with the veteran stating there weren’t many fighters as talented as him on the ground in his early UFC days.
Nate Diaz vs Ferguson
The 37-year-old Diaz (21-13) finished his current UFC contract by finishing fellow veteran Ferguson (25-9) in a matchup only made on Friday after Khamzat Chimaev badly missed weight for his main-event bout with Diaz.
Nate Diaz stopped Tony Ferguson with a guillotine choke in the fourth round of the hastily arranged main event of UFC 279 on Saturday night.
Diaz’s desire to fight the vaunted Chimaev seemed foolhardy in a distinctly Diaz way, but the late matchup with Ferguson was much more competitive than the original booking likely would have been.
Ferguson, who only agreed to be on the card three weeks ago, had lost his previous four fights over the past three years, while Diaz was 1-2 in the last six years.
“At the end of the day, I love the UFC,” Diaz said. “I feel like I’ve had the longest career in the UFC, and I’ve had the most successful one out of everybody.”
Contract
Diaz was initially scheduled to fight rising star Khamzat Chimaev, but he failed to make weight on Friday. Chimaev was a massive favorite to beat Diaz, who had one fight remaining on his UFC contract.
After the weight mishap, the UFC was forced to reorganize several fights on the card and finalized a fight between Diaz and Ferguson.
Diaz, who spent the last 15 years with UFC, is now looking to pursue other lucrative options – with boxing his likely destination.
And the biggest fight for him – is a showdown with Youtube star turned boxer, Jake Paul (5-0, 4 KOs).
Paul is scheduled to return to the ring next month, when he faces another UFC legend, Anderson Silva – who some oddsmakers have listed as the favorite in that contest.
Paul already holds stoppage wins over two former UFC fighters, Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.
Diaz had angled for a fight with Paul in the past, but his UFC contract prevented him from pursuing that avenue.
Dad
The son of Melissa (née Womble) and Robert Diaz, he was born of Mexican and Anglo heritage and raised in Stockton, California with his brother Nick and sister Nina.
He attended Tokay High School and, at the age of 11, he began training in martial arts with his brother, Nick.