Arrogant, cocky, annoying, funny or downright mean.
Those are the words often used in reference to the attitude of Nick Diaz.
But most recently, it’s his brother Nate who has stolen the show.
And while Nate is two years younger than his brother, he’s beginning to live up to the same characteristics.
However, Nate Diaz doesn’t care, as he’s quickly evolved into a legitimate lightweight contender overnight after his recent victory over Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 on Friday.
Many believe Diaz’s choice to leave the welterweight division ultimately saved his career as he had lost two consecutive fights and appeared to be on the down slope of his career.
But the weight drop proved to be a relighting of his fire as he’s now won two straight bouts that have earned him Fight and Submission of the Night honors.
Diaz’s dominating performance over Cerrone had many fans comparing his style to that of his older brother’s in his recent victory over B.J. Penn at UFC 137.
Diaz picked apart Cerrone at will by landing combination after combination.
It wasn’t necessarily the power of Diaz’s punches but the accuracy as he rarely missed a strike all evening long.
While Diaz has certainly evolved into a spectacular boxer, his ground and submission game was shown in his win as well.
Without evening having to take the fight the ground, fans and those in attendance saw Cerrone decline the opportunity of battling it out on the ground as Diaz is a product of Cesar Gracie.
While Diaz may have to square off once more before he can find himself in the No. 1 contender spot, he’ll have no problem weeding out his next opponent if he displays similar skills of that used in his performance over Cerrone.
A combination of Diaz’s boxing, submission and exceptional conditioning could lead him to UFC gold as soon as the midpoint of 2012.
For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com