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The Diaz brothers, Nick and Nate Diaz are among the most polarising stars in UFC history, with seemingly as many fans disliking them as worshipping them. Nick and Nate Diaz are seen as two of the UFC’s biggest stars, but is the promotion better or worse for their presence? It’s actually a fair question.
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However, for as much as the Diaz brothers tend to annoy some parts of the UFC fanbase, it’s hard to argue the idea that the UFC would be better off without them.
On that note, here are five reasons why the UFC is better with the Diaz brothers in it.
#5 Nick and Nate Diaz are massive drawing cards for the UFC
From the UFC’s point of view, the biggest reason why they love to keep Nick and Nate Diaz around is that they’re both massive pay-per-view drawing cards.
The UFC has always relied on creating big stars to drive their business, and naturally, creating stars is somewhat of a cyclical business, with fighters rising to fame and then invariably falling once they begin to lose their lustre.
Major draws of the past like Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey are now long gone, while newer stars like Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman are beginning to rise in fame.
However, only a handful of fighters have proven to be draws whether they win or lose. Conor McGregor is obviously the greatest example, but the same can also be said for Nick and Nate Diaz.
Nate Diaz’s drawing power obviously increased dramatically when his two fights with McGregor in 2016 both drew over a million buys on pay-per-view.
He has only fought three times since then, but his presence clearly increased interest in the shows he starred in – even if buyrates for them have not been disclosed.
Nick Diaz, meanwhile, returned to the UFC with much fanfare in 2011. All four of his fights since returning were pay-per-view main events, and he drew more than a million buys alongside Georges St. Pierre at UFC 158.
His upcoming return fight against Robbie Lawler is not a main event. But it has been positioned like one, as it’s been booked for five rounds – showing that the UFC recognise Nick Diaz’s worth.
Essentially, in an era of few true stars, the UFC needs all the drawing power they can find – and the Diaz brothers draw.
#4 Nick and Nate Diaz always ensure an intriguing build to their fights
Despite the trash-talking reputation of fighters like Conor McGregor and Colby Covington, the truth is that outside of the octagon, most of the UFC’s top stars are actually mild-mannered athletes.
The likes of Justin Gaethje, Stipe Miocic and Jan Blachowicz might be stone-cold killers inside the octagon, but when they’re not fighting, they seem like nice guys. And while that’s all well and good, it can also mean that the build to their fights isn’t always intriguing.
The same cannot be said for Nick and Nate Diaz. While they often come across as perfectly decent when they’re away from the UFC, as soon as they have a fight signed, they go into war mode and can turn any fight into a personal rivalry.
Even the UFC’s most renowned ‘nice guys’ – fighters like Donald Cerrone and Georges St. Pierre – were drawn into bitter personal feuds when they were matched with one of the Diaz brothers, with Nick and Nate Diaz seemingly determined to mean-mug their opponent regardless of the circumstances.
This kind of attitude is surprisingly rare in the UFC these days. But what it does mean is that any fight involving either Nick or Nate Diaz instantly garners much more intrigue going in.
Whether their approach is designed to throw their opponents off their gameplan – or whether it’s something inbuilt to them – is unknown. But either way, it’s an approach that guarantees an interesting build to any fight.
#3 Nick and Nate Diaz know their worth and aren’t afraid to defy Dana White
The subject of UFC fighter pay is always a tetchy one, and any mention of the UFC’s stars being underpaid is almost guaranteed to irk UFC President Dana White into a nasty rebuke.
The argument can be seen from either side. But the truth is that if the UFC’s fighters want better pay, they’ve got to prove their worth and then be willing to do whatever it takes to force the UFC’s hand. And there’s no denying that Nick and Nate Diaz have learned how to do that perfectly.
Even before they became big superstars, the Diaz brothers seemingly decided exactly what they were worth, and they clearly weren’t willing to compromise on that.
It’s why Nick Diaz departed the UFC in 2006 – and fleetingly started his own MMA promotion – and it’s why both Diaz brothers have sat out and refused to take fights over lengthy periods of time.
Other fighters would probably have been cut loose by the UFC for this kind of behaviour. But the Diaz brothers clearly understand that the UFC might need them more than they need the promotion – and they’re willing to risk everything to get what they want.
So how does this make the UFC better for their presence? From the promotion’s point of view, it doesn’t – the UFC doesn’t want its fighters forcing their hand. But from a fighter’s point of view, it’s brilliant.
In fact, it could be argued that the likes of Jorge Masvidal and Dustin Poirier – who have both forced the UFC’s hand when it comes to pay in recent years – were inspired by Nick and Nate Diaz. And that’s not a bad thing at all.
#2 Nick and Nate Diaz are a breath of fresh air in a world of fakes
The modern world is often full of frauds and fakes, with social media peopled with wannabe ‘influencers’ who live plastic lives, peddling products and posing.
Unfortunately, this kind of behaviour even permeates the world of the UFC at points, with a number of fighters seemingly playing Conor McGregor-inspired characters in an attempt to push their brand and make themselves into stars.
That’s why the attitude of Nick and Nate Diaz is such a breath of fresh air. There’s literally nothing fake about them, even when they’re talking serious trash to their opponents. When it comes to the Diaz brothers, what you see is what you get.
When Nick Diaz goaded the usually mild-mannered Georges St. Pierre into a bitter feud – and then accused the UFC of overplaying the feud, 'selling wolf tickets' in his words – it came across as confusing. But that’s because the Diaz brothers don’t see what they do as part of the ‘fight business’ – it’s just who they are.
And in a way, that’s probably why Nick and Nate Diaz remain so popular with UFC fans. The fans know that neither man is playing a character, and that makes them stand out as very different on a roster of wannabe McGregors. And in turn, that makes the UFC better for their presence.
#1 Nick and Nate Diaz always bring excitement inside the octagon
Of course, if Nick and Nate Diaz weren’t able to fight inside the octagon, all of the other reasons on this list would be moot points. Thankfully, though, the Diaz brothers are not just tremendous fighters, they’re also incredibly exciting.
Essentially, neither Nick nor Nate Diaz seems to know how to be involved in a dull fight. Whether that means a stand-up war or a more grappling-based match filled with scrambles, the Diaz brothers bring excitement every time they step into the octagon.
Sure, it’s possible to stifle them, as fighters such as Georges St. Pierre, Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida have done over the years. But even then, the sheer aggression the Diaz brothers bring tends to make even a slower fight exciting.
Nick Diaz’s fights with Diego Sanchez, Karo Parisyan and BJ Penn have entered UFC folklore, and the same can be said for Nate Diaz’s clashes with Conor McGregor, Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller.
When you’re capable of putting on insanely exciting fights like Nick and Nate Diaz do, then of course the UFC is better off with them involved.
