Nate Diaz: What We Learned at UFC Fight Night 15

Nate Diaz was never deemed as a less than average fighter. But at UFC Fight Night 15, we learned that he may just have what it takes to be a contender.

Now Josh Neer isn't exactly the cream of the crop at 155 pounds , but he is a very competent and experienced fighter. Neer does train at the Miletich camp with guys like Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, Spencer Fisher, and Tim Silvia. He may not be at their level, but at 25, he may be one day.

Nate Diaz showed us alot in his fight against Neer. He proved that he can win fights that go all the way. He may have only gotten a split decision, but he did get the victory. He proved a point that most already knew, he has very good cardio.

Also, he was relentlessly going from submission attempt to submission attempt, and although he couldn't finish the fight, he earned alot of points from the judges, and alot of "street-cred" in the MMA world.

Another thing that Nate showed, was his personality. Some may call him cocky, I mean we are talking about a guy that hooked in a triangle, and went on to flex his "muscles" to the crowd, before ending the fight.

Beside that, he showed he is not afraid of anyone or anything. He pretty much called out the entire Elite XC locker room at 170, saying he wanted a real fighter to fight his brother.

One last thing we were shown in a rather impressive victory, was Nates terrific and very unorthodox submission defense. Every time it looked as if Josh may have seeled in a winning submission, Nate would get out.

Most notably, the way Nate would step over Neer and pull his arm away any time Josh had one of Nates arms. With that kind of submission defense, I think it might be safe to say that most of the 155 pound fighters won't be submitting Nate any time soon.

But where does this put Nate on the UFC lightweight ladder? I believe that he moves ahead of Mac Danzig being that Danzig looked outclassed in his loss to Clay Guida (by the way I want to see Nate vs. Clay next). I know that Clay is a much more accomplished and much better fighter that Josh Neer, but when you lose you drop, it's harsh but thems the brakes.

With 5 consecutive victories at 155 in the UFC, it's time for Nate to prove himself against some real fighters. At this point, I consider Nate on the outside of the lightweight elites, but looking through the glass door just waiting to smash through it. Remember, Nate is only 23 years old, which means it's time to pull out my comparison.

I am going to ask you to take a trip down memory lane. Almost 3 years ago, the second TUF season finished up. Rashad Evans was crowned the winner of the Heavyweight class.

Does anyone remember the other weight class on that show? Welterweights. Does anyone remember the 23 year old winner of that weight class? Joe "Daddy" Stevenson. Yes, I am about to compare Nate Diaz, to lightweight contender Joe Stevenson.

Joe Stevenson was 23 when he won the Ultimate Fighter. Does anyone remember the first fight he had after winning that show. I'll give you a clue, Joe lost this fight by unanimous decision. Need another clue? Nate Diaz just beat this guy by split decision. Yes, Joe Stevenson lost his first non-TUF fight, to Josh Neer. Joe was 23 at the time of that fight, the same age as Nate Diaz was when he beat Neer.

Now what happened to Joe Stevenson after this loss? He went on a 4 fight win streak before losing to BJ Penn in a championship fight. Joe is one of the best lightweights in the world, but will Nate Diaz be able to follow in Joes footsteps. Lets look at some more things these 2 have in common.

• Both won their respective season of TUF
• Both finished all TUF fights not including finale
• Both have fought and defeated Kurt Pellegrino, Joe by decision, Nate by showboating triangle.

• Both have won 3 fights under Zuffa with one submission, Joe by guillotine, Nate by triangle(2 with UFC,1 WEC)

You be the judge. Can Nate Diaz be the next Joe Daddy, or will he buckle when he fights top contenders in the division?