Nate Diaz is one of the most beloved and notorious figures in combat sports. The MMA star from Stockton, CA might be widely known for his trash talk, but he is also an incredibly skilled fighter. Now a second degree black belt under Cesar Gracie, Diaz is an excellent submission artist and grappler overall. On Saturday, at UFC 263, Diaz will square off with top welterweight contender Leon Edwards. To prepare for that bout, let’s look back at Diaz as a brown belt competing at the IBJJF no-gi Worlds.
Despite the outcome of the match, what we see above is a skilled brown belt. Diaz is an aggressive grappler, constantly looking for Ezekiel chokes from his back, inverting to attack legs, or getting on a hip to set up a triangle choke. We also see a Diaz that, while he’s comfortable on his feet, isn’t a real takedown threat, outside of the occasional foot sweep attempt.
Diaz comes into his fight against Edwards at UFC 263 coming off a 19-month layoff. In his last bout, Diaz suffered a defeat by doctor stoppage at the hands of Jorge Masvidal. Prior to that, he defeated former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, and split a pair of fights with Conor McGregor.
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