Over the past year-plus, Nick Diaz despite his popularity has stayed out of the public eye.
Outside of the occasional Instagram post, Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) has largely been a ghost. No interviews. No fight talk. But that’s Nick Diaz – the man who never asked for attention, put up on the pedestal by the thousands of fans who (rightfully) love him.
Recently, Diaz ventured back into the spotlight for an alignment session with chiropractic YouTuber Beau Hightower, who frequently features MMA fighters getting their “back-cracks” on his channel.
Perhaps the least Diaz thing Diaz has ever done, his experience was captured on camera, as he answered questions about his iconic quotes and his favorite things. Who knew Nick Diaz was a fan of pandas?
The first question on everyone’s mind when Diaz makes rare public interview appearances is, “When are you coming back?” or “Who do you want to fight next?” This interview, however, was different. Maybe because of that very reason, Diaz seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.
Scroll below to read a myriad of Diaz quotes on random topics – fighting and beyond.
Still 'Joe Rogan by night'?
“Joe Rogan by night,” yeah. I try not to watch too much of that now. I get too amped up in that stuff. … I like all of (the episodes). I used to like all of it. The thing about watching that and the reason why I was so in tune with it was I was actually following a lot of people he would bring onto that show before he had them on that show. I was already versed in a lot of the subjects. I don’t want to go far into it, but a lot of those guys in all aspects with health and fitness or some of the other cool stuff, I was kind of versed in watching and following some of them before he had them on there.”
“I was a real big YouTube guy before there was Instagram and Snapchat. Social media really kind of blew me out of the water, because I was kind of an old-school YouTuber. I used to record all my stuff and put it on YouTube.”
Top 5 favorite movies
“‘True Romance.’ I like ‘Lion Heart’ with Jean Claude Van-Damme. That one and ‘Bloodsport’ and ‘Kickboxer’ got me into fighting. I like ‘Die Hard.’ … I don’t see why it’s not (a Christmas movie). It’s during Christmas, right? I like ‘Terminator,’ (both) 1 and 2.”
Favorite rock band
“Deftones.”
Combat sports inspirations
“Royce Gracie, Rickson Gracie. Bob Shamrock and Frank Shamrock were big. I was a big fan of Frank Shamrock and then I ended up fighting him later.”
'If you could fight one person dead or alive..."
“One person in history? Dead or alive? I never liked picking fights. … I really didn’t like Joe Riggs. I fought him. I beat him up, too, but I lost the fight. Then, we fought in the hospital afterward.”
Wolf tickets – explained
“(It means) you’re selling bullsh*t. … Have you ever heard of, ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’? I’m trying to remember the story of, ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf.’ He was crying about this wolf and then there really was a wolf and then nobody believed him and then the wolf came out and ate him. … You’re talking sh*t. If you’re talking sh*t, the wolf is going to get you.”
Tony Ferguson's fight style
“No, I don’t like it. It’s obnoxious. I can’t stand that type of style. I’m not going to knock it, because it’s what you have to do. In general, it’s like a spastic type of person mixed up with lack of technique with those type of tactics. You have to avoid those type of tactics and it’s really an annoying type of guy to fight. That’s mixed martial arts for you, though. But just because it’s mixed martial arts doesn’t mean that you should depend on these tactics that you’re allowed to do. If you have a strong base and you throw those in, it’s one thing. A lot of times people will make up for the lack of strong base of technique with stuff like what he does.”
Coach Nick Diaz?
“I should (coach). I’m pretty versed in all this stuff. I’m just too competitive and I don’t like to get (involved) if I can’t actually be hands-on when I’m involved.”
Reflection on Anderson Silva fight
“I knew what was happening. I was in for a fight that was like, I was really going to have to take the fight to him. He was going to run away. You really have to put on a show out there or get the guy to come to you. … I knew the judges weren’t going to like me in that fight anyways.”
“… If I had to do it over again, I think I would’ve ran it different. I think I would’ve put more pressure and I could’ve got him out of there.”
Injuries
“Most of these injuries that I have, they’re not from fighting. I fell off a bike and I got in a few street fights and I end up all f*cked up.”
Favorite animal
“I stay away from animals. I like cats and dogs and fish. That’s fine. But wild, exotic animals? Maybe, the panda bear. … They don’t (survive). They’re doing better now, but they couldn’t breed those things.”
Nick Diaz's Mount Rushmore of MMA
“Sakuraba, Genki Sudo, Rickson Gracie, Royce Gracie… Wanderlei Silva.”
Advice to the kids
“Remember to brush your teeth and the back ones get cavities or something like that. Remember to do your pushups. Do 100 pushups. Do a set of 50. Count it. Then, 20. And then, two sets of 10. Five more and you’re done. … Two things will get you in shape: running and sparring. Stay away from women.”
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