"Nick never had that"- Cesar Gracie reveals path that kept Nate Diaz grounded and why Nick Diaz couldn’t follow it himself

Cesar Gracie provided his opinion on a significant factor that separated Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz.

The Diaz brothers are undoubtedly the most iconic siblings to compete in MMA. Nick's golden years in fighting came before the sport grew massively, leading to Nate reaping the rewards of fame his older brother never quite received.

Over the past few years, the Diaz brothers have gone separate paths inside and outside of fighting. Nate has increased his wealth and started a family, while Nick has been surrounded by controversy.

During a podcast appearance on Legacy TV, Cesar Gracie, the longtime coach of the Diaz brothers, had this to say about their different paths:

"What Nate did is he got married and to someone that kind of keeps him grounded and has a good mentality. Nick never had that. I think sometimes if you marry the right person, I think it helps you."

Check out Cesar Gracie's entire podcast appearance below (33:30):

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Cesar Gracie opens up about Nick Diaz's partying habits

In September 2021, Nick Diaz ended a six-year layoff from the octagon at UFC 266. The now-41-year-old disappointed fans with an uncharacteristic performance that featured him quitting in the third round against Robbie Lawler.

A shirtless Diaz was allegedly seen in a recent video, trying to light a plant on fire. Fans became concerned upon finding the clip and hoped for a positive update, leading to Cesar Gracie saying this during the previously mentioned podcast:

"We speak a lot and everything. I think what happened with Nick is like, how do I explain this, Nick is like a sponge. If he's with this type of person, he's going to absorb that. If he's with the wrong people, he's going to absorb that, he becomes that."

Gracie followed up by saying:

"The same mentality he did for fighting, with him it's like all-or-die, I'm going to go 100%. If he's going to party, he's going to party harder than anybody. He'll leave everybody behind. Nobody can outparty that guy. That's the mentality. When he used it for training and fighting, that guy was the best." [30:45-32:00]

Diaz was scheduled to fight Vicente Luque twice in 2024. The matchup was initially pulled from their August date due to "travel issues." Diaz later withdrew from the matchup, set to be featured on this Saturday's UFC 310.