Nate Diaz is known as the one of the most dangerous fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship but there are times where he finds himself in a tough situation.
For instance, Diaz will be taking a big acid test on his career as he is set to face Jorge Masvidal in an intriguing welterweight battle this Saturday to determine the ‘baddest motherf***er in the UFC.
Masvidal is no ordinary opponent.
His last two fights were a testament that he’s got the knockout power.
After putting Darren Till to sleep at UFC London, Masvidal shattered the history books after recording the fastest finish in the UFC with a five-second knockout of Ben Askren.
Despite this accolade, Diaz remains unfazed with his next opponent.
In fact, the Stockton slugger has had a huge victory of his own, surpassing USADA’s recent anti-doping violation allegations.
He is also coming off a one-sided win against Anthony Pettis in his MMA return from a three-year hiatus.
Toughest Battle
Masvidal would be surely a tough nut to crack but so far, Diaz’s toughest battle happened way back 2008.
In a recent appearance at the Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Diaz revealed the hardest fight in his MMA career to date and it’s not one of his clashed with ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor.
“Josh Neer – he’s not in the UFC anymore – I fought him. He was the hardest fight I had,” Diaz declared, per MMA Junkie.
Neer, who also tussled with his older brother, Nick, was determined to win, according to Nate, as he was seeking for revenge.
“He fought my brother two, three rounds, and they were just (expletive) squabbing. That’s another guy in the category, too, and I knew fighting him that he was the man.”
“He fought my bro, he was mad that Nick beat him, so he probably wanted to beat my (expletive) all over the place.”
Real Good Fight
Though Diaz had the upperhand in terms of skills, Nate said both of them were serious and were going for the jugular.
“That was the hardest fight because I’m like, ‘This fool’s crazy, and he’s not going to try and hold me.’”
“I just tapped out four black belts or something, and in the UFC – like, good black belts. I was a purple belt.”
“I was like, ‘These fools are getting easier and easier.’ I was like, ‘This guy is probably a white belt. He’s not even ranked in jiu-jitsu.’”
“And back then, I was trying to get a black belt, so I knew. I was like, ‘Man, this guy isn’t even ranked – he’s going to be hard and crazy, but at least he’s probably just a white belt.’”
“And I fought him and he was the hardest fight I had. Those black belts were easy compared to him.”
“And it was a real good fight if you ever look back at that fight. It was a serious fight. We were fighting. I was going for the kill, he was going for the finish.”
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz)