At UFC 135, Nate Diaz looked every bit of the promising lightweight contender he was just a couple of years ago.
After winning the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter, the Stockton native has received many accolades for both his fighting style and submission prowess, which is responsible for victories over the likes of notables Josh Neer, Kurt Pellegrino, Melvin Guillard and now lightweight legend Takanori Gomi.
The former PRIDE champion is known to have perhaps the heaviest hands in the 155-pound class, though Diaz was not afraid to engage Gomi on the feet, knocking down the bruiser with a hook early in the bout.
Eventually, it was the 26-year-old Diaz who was able to dictate the bout with his boxing, which prompted Gomi to take the action to the mat, where the Cesar Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt submitted the Japanese fighter with an armbar, inside of the first round.
It was perhaps Diaz’s most impressive performance to date inside the Octagon, though the lead-up to the match wasn’t without its distractions.
Outside of the recent debacle with the TUF vet’s older brother in Nick Diaz, who was recently removed from a title match with champion Georges St-Pierre, it was another teammate that perhaps needed the most consoling.
Former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields recently lost his manager and father in Jack Shields, who had become a fixture of the team, constantly providing support to the core group of fighters, including the young Diaz.
In their loss, Diaz says he found the motivation to continue fighting through Jake’s determination. A little over two weeks before his last outing with Jake Ellenberger at UFC Fight Night 25—which took place just over a week ago—Shields’s father Jack died in his sleep. The former world champion opted to continue fighting as a means for distraction from the painful passing.
“It sucks, man”, said Diaz of the loss, post-fight at UFC 135.
“Jack Shields was the man. He was a friend of the team too, not just—he was Jake’s dad, but he was always, he was at my last fight, we were hanging out after the fight and he’s a great guy. With their loss, Jake stayed busy. We all got to stay strong and stay busy together. He took the loss and kept training through it pretty well.”
The Strikeforce transplant suffered a knockout loss opposite of Ellenberger, though Diaz praises his teammate for merely stepping into the cage against a top-flight competitor, which speaks volumes of his character, and more for Diaz who remained strong beside his friend during such a tumultuous time.
“Their family is a real tough family,” continued the TUF vet.
“I know them all, his brother Clement and his mom..they’re all just really good people. They are real strong, so I was like ‘alright, you guys aren’t going to let it get you down, then we’re not going to let it block us.’ My man Jake stood strong, he went out there and fought last week.
“He stayed strong, we gotta fight. We gotta fight through life, right? Jake’s a (savage) man, he ain’t going to let it slow him down, so everybody just keeps on.”
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com