What martial arts does Nate Diaz know?

Nate Diaz is one of the most loved MMA fighters of all time and was also the first ever fighter in UFC history to spend over five hours in the cage fighting. It goes without saying that he’s well worthy of his BMF, veteran status.

However, beyond the bravado and gangster persona is a genuinely skilled fighter with a lot of talent. You don’t get to stick around that long in MMA without being talented as a martial artist. This is a man who made his MMA debut aged 19 and was the first ever UFC fighter to stop Conor McGregor too. In this article, we shall go through what martial arts Nate Diaz uses when fighting.

Nate Diaz is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt

One of Nate Diaz’s biggest attributes is his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It’s no secret that he’s a high-level black belt and even beat Ryan Hall as a purple belt in an earlier competition. In fact, throughout his entire career he’s only been tapped once via armbar which was in his earlier days – this shows just how hard he is to tap. This isn’t surprising considering he also trains with Kron Gracie, a world champion BJJ black belt and son of the legendary Rickson Gracie.

Although Diaz has multiple submission victories, his most famous has to be against Conor McGregor. Against the Irishman, he stuffed a takedown, mounted McGregor, and took his back, then choked him with a rear naked choke. This shows positional awareness and a smart maneuver through the positions.

However, Diaz can also attack from his back. Against Kurt Pelligrino in 2008, he famously landed a triangle choke from a full guard position. Before finishing his opponent, he flexed his muscles and flipped the bird, showing great control and also showmanship. Over the years, you could say that the triangle choke is his best submission.

Nate Diaz knows Boxing

Although Diaz has great Jiu Jitsu, his boxing is also very solid as well and is known for his aggressive style. Whilst it may not tactically be the most disciplined, he is known to stalk his opponents whilst in the cage and walk them down, often controlling the middle of the cage in the process. Very rarely will you see Diaz fighting backward which can sometimes be to his detriment.

Having said this, as Diaz has an infamously iron jaw – he can often eat shots without getting rocked. Whereas many fighters may get knocked out by taking a beating, the same cannot be said for Diaz. To date, he has only been knocked out twice in his MMA career which shows this in numbers.

At the same time, Diaz doesn’t really possess what you’d call knockout power either. Although he does have a few stoppages to his name, often he’ll win by either submission or decision. Regardless, many fighters have struggled to stop Diaz. For instance, against Leon Edwards, Diaz took a real beating but almost won the fight in the end due to his relentless boxing style. This is because even if he does keep his chin unguarded, the ability to knock him out is still incredibly difficult. You could even go as far as to claim his style is similar to drunken boxing due to his loose and casual style.

Nate Diaz knows Muay Thai and Wrestling

It goes without saying that Nate Diaz is also well versed in Muay Thai and Wrestling. In fairness, you really can’t make it as an elite MMA fighter without knowing a bit of everything. At the same time, Diaz’s Muay Thai and Wrestling aren’t as good as his boxing or BJJ. Still, as you can imagine they’re pretty good.

Most of the time, Diaz doesn’t offensively wrestle, although he can certainly mix it up. Instead, he uses cage wrestling to control the position and mix it with dirty boxing to sneak strikes in. In other words, you won’t see him shooting for big double-leg takedowns anytime soon. This part of wrestling just isn’t a big part of his game. Overall it makes sense that he’s knowledgeable of wrestling though, considering that he’s trained BJJ for years and wrestling is a big part of no gi grappling.

Speaking of dirty boxing against the cage, Diaz also trains Muay Thai and has been seen training with Joe Schilling at The Yard Muay Thai gym. Here, Diaz would spar Muay Thai and would improve on his kicks and elbows. For someone often involved in clinches and close-distance boxing, learning to defend and throw with the elbows is obviously quite an important skill.

Conclusion

To sum up, Nate Diaz is at his best when he’s using his BJJ on the ground or when he’s using boxing on the feet. These martial arts are where he’s most comfortable but of course, he also knows a bit of everything. In short, you could say that Diaz’s main fighting style is a mixture of boxing and BJJ.

Another thing that needs to be mentioned is his impressive cardio. Although training cardio isn’t a martial art, it certainly compliments fighting as it means you won’t tire or give up easily. Both of the Diaz brothers are known to perform triathlons and are incredibly fit. This means it allows them to fight for almost 30 minutes at times which is obviously a key skill.

In conclusion, Nate Diaz was never a UFC champion but he certainly was a champion in the hearts of the viewers. This was due to his incredibly exciting, gritty style which helped push MMA to new heights.

If you’re a fan of Nate Diaz then check out this awesome tapestry that sums up his MMA career and lifestyle.