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The Diaz Brothers

Nick and Nate are iconically known as the Diaz brothers. They are hands down the most famous pairing in combat sports history. Nate has always said that he became a fighter because of Nick, as he has followed his older brother as an example throughout his career. Also, Diaz never forgets to mention that his older sibling is the best fighter in the world.

Nick Diaz officially returned to UFC in 2021. He is a former Strikeforce welterweight champion, and was involved in big fights with the UFC against B.J. Penn, Carlos Condit, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva from 2011 to 2015.

Controversies

In September 2015, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Diaz for five years after testing positive for marijuana metabolites after his fight against Silva in UFC 183. It was his third marijuana-related offence in the state of Nevada, which led to the harsh punishment.

Ironically, the NSAC voted in 2021 in favour of no longer disciplining combat sports athletes for marijuana use.

Will they face each other?

Diaz joined ‘UFC Tonight’ to answer some fan questions following his thrilling submission victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 196 back in March 2016.

The Stockton slugger, alongside Kenny Florian, Michael Bisping and host Karyn Bryant, fielded a host of questions sent in by fans. And one person decided to ask Nate about taking on his brother Nick inside the Octagon.

UFC fan Luke asked: “Would you ever consider fighting your brother inside the Octagon?” Ex-UFC champion Bisping chimed in eagerly, saying: “Loyalty is most important”, while former UFC title challenger Florian said: “C’mon, man!”

Nate then answered, brilliantly saying: “I wanna fight Luke.”

Nate refusing to fight Nick shouldn’t come as a surprise as they share a special bond.

He spoke emotionally about his brother in 2016: “All the positives that I do, he’s my brother and my training partner and shit, but he’s the guy. He’s my guy!

“I’m Cesar Gracie’s Jiu-Jitsu and Richard Perez’s boxing, but, as a martial artist, I’m a product of Nick Diaz.

“I give all the positives that I do and all the outcome that comes from it, I credit him and am happy that he put me on this journey.”

Ready to face Conor McGregor

According to his long-time coach Cesar Gracie, Nick Diaz is set to fight on, who told fans to expect to see the MMA legend back in action later this year.

The former Strikeforce champion and UFC fan favourite will be back in the Octagon in 2022 – the same year that his younger brother, Nate, could fight Conor McGregor for a third time before exiting the UFC.