Presented by UFC 241 on ESPN+
Nate Diaz says what we’re all thinking.
He’s a warrior who can’t be censored and won’t be muzzled. He’s defiant in the face of authority, which is exactly how he’s become the biggest cult figure in MMA. Well, the win over Conor McGregor probably helped as well.
Regardless, Nate Diaz, the one and only, is finally returning to the Octagon after a three-year layoff, and the world is ready to fire up the ESPN+ app to catch his highly anticipated fight against Anthony “Showtime” Pettis on the UFC 241 Pay Per View main card.
It’s legitimately a huge deal, not only in mixed martial arts and combat sports but in sports and pop culture in general. They just don’t make them like Nate Diaz anymore.
Set for the UFC 241 co-main event on August 17, Diaz is in yet another grudge match. Honestly, it’s not like he has a longstanding feud with Anthony Pettis, but Diaz has got a chip on his shoulder the size of Sisyphus’ boulder and finds a way to unleash immense anger onto his opponents, if anything just to frustrate them with constant trash talk, while he batters them with slaps just for the sake of embarrassment.
Known for his front footed boxing stance and slick-as-lube Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Diaz is also synonymous with toughness and an iron chin. Sure, he’s lost nine times in the Octagon, but he’s only been knocked out once and provided some of MMA’s all-time highlights.
Diaz has also delivered some of the most memorable soundbites in mixed martial arts history, many of them too raw and real for network television. Good thing the UFC 241 PPV main card is on a streaming platform like ESPN+, where he runs no risk of being censored, like he was following his unanimous decision win over Michael Johnson in December 2015.
So self aware is Diaz that he’s always used his mouth as a weapon to make his opponents unravel. His famous “I’m not surprised” line after his win over McGregor has become a pop culture meme, and he’s developed a knack for saying the darndest things, in particular when he claimed “everybody’s on steroids,” in the lead up to UFC 202.
Diaz is also a big fan of the middle finger. It’s his second most powerful psychological tool.
Once throwing up a pair of double birds mid triangle choke, Diaz also masterfully flipped off Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone prior to their fight at UFC 141. There’s just something about that middle finger that brings out the anger, and no one would be surprised if Diaz busts out the third digit more than once during UFC 241 fight week.
With his popularity reaching an apex following his win over Conor McGregor, Diaz was soon rubbing shoulders with major celebrities like Snoop Dogg. And while his post fight comments and signature “Stockton slap” strike helped propel Diaz into the mainstream, many forget about how legit his MMA resume was before he headlined the two highest-selling UFC pay per views up until that point.
Very few people remember the trio of submissions he pulled en route to winning the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Many also forget his submissions over Jim Miller and Takanori Gomi on the way to his first and only UFC title shot.
Losses aside, Diaz has one of the most impressive resumes in all of mixed martial arts, earning 15 fight night bonuses, including eight Fight of the Night awards. In other words, there’s never a boring Nate Diaz fight. He always delivers for the fans, and there’s no reason to think he won’t when he faces Anthony Pettis in the UFC 241 co-main event on ESPN+.
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So enjoy these highlights. They should provide reason enough to reserve August 17 for a night of fights. And if you still need some convincing, there’s plenty of visual evidence floating around the internet of Nate Diaz busting skulls and choking fools out.
And while some people may want to hold out for Diaz’ trilogy fight against Conor McGregor, don’t be so foolish to think that this fight against Pettis will be anything less than fireworks. This is a perfect stylistic matchup between guys who have complete MMA games and are equally adept in the striking and grappling departments. There will be action, there will be blood, and there might be a finish. But then again, but Diaz and Pettis are so damn tough, it’s hard to guarantee a stoppage between such battle tested warriors.
UFC 241 Pay Per View Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. PST / 10 p.m. EST)*
Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic (Main Event)
Anthony Pettis vs. Nate Diaz (Co-Main Event)
Yoel Romero vs. Paulo Costa
Gabriel Benitez vs. Sodiq Yusuff
Derek Brunson vs. Ian Heinisch
UFC 241 Prelims*
Raphael Assuncao vs. Cory Sandhagen
Drakkar Klose vs. Christos Giagos
Manny Bermudez vs. Casey Kenney
Devonte Smith vs. John Makdessi
Kyung Ho Kang vs. Brandon Davis
Sabina Mazo vs. Shana Dobson
Hannah Cifers vs. Jodie Esquibel
*Bout Order Subject to Change
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