Diaz first made waves in the Octagon back in 2007, competing in UFC’s renowned series, The Ultimate Fighter, taking part in season five. During which Diaz defeated Rob Emerson via submission, Corey Hill via triangle choke submission, Gray Maynard via submission also, before entering the Finale against Manny Gamburyan. Nate reigned supreme again after another submission from his opponent in the second round. His standout performances were enough to promote the American MMA fighter to UFC, where he would go on to make quite the name for himself in later years.
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In 2007, Diaz had his first official UFC walkout, taking to the famed Octagon for UFC Fight Night 11 (UFC Fight Night: Thomas vs. Florian), where he fought on his first Main Card in a lightweight bout against Júnior Assunção. And in true Diaz style, he won during the first round via submission. The victory marked the start of a string of wins over the years, winning against Robinson, Pellegrino, and Neer, by submission twice and split decision respectively.
Over the years, Diaz competed in various other bouts, PPV events and Fight Nights. In 2015, Diaz called out Irish MMA star, Conor McGregor, in an infamous post-fight interview. Following this, a bout was scheduled in 2016 where Diaz replaced another fighter to go head-to-head with McGregor in one of the most anticipated and talked about fights in recent years. Diaz claimed victory over McGregor via submission during the second round, earning the ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus and both fighters were awarded the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus too. After which Diaz was quoted saying “I’m not surprised MotherF***ers!”.