UFC 135: Is Nate Diaz Best Suited for Lightweight?

Diaz. Mention the name in MMA circles and it’s going to evoke a strong reaction one way or another. Few names are as polarizing across any sport, in fact.

Some hate the idea of a mean-mugging thug flipping off his opponent, while others love it. Others will look past the antics to see a great martial artist who never puts on a boring fight and has an unmatched knack to entertain.

And there are two of them.

Nick and Nate Diaz have skyrocketed to stardom as outlaws in a sport filled with them. Where manufactured machismo is often the name of the game, the brothers from Stockton, California, are as real as it gets. The epitome of messing with the bull and getting the horns, you see no touching of gloves or mid-round congratulations when they take to the cage. Just a smooth blend of boxing and all-world jiu-jitsu, sprinkled with plenty of trash talk and taunting.

While Nick has parlayed his against-the-grain approach into a Strikeforce welterweight title and a shot against UFC champion Georges St-Pierre, Nate’s road has had more bends.

He became an overnight sensation by winning season five of The Ultimate Fighter as a lightweight, and beat an impressive crop of talent once he joined the big show for real. Those he didn’t beat, he only lost to on judge’s scorecards, and earned plenty of extra pocket money in performance bonuses along the way.

However after a loss to eventual title challenger Gray Maynard early in 2010, Nate decided he’d had enough of starving himself and working like a dog to cut to 155, and announced he was moving to welterweight. He battered Rory Markham and Marcus Davis in his first two fights there, looking crisp in wins over serious veterans.

People were talking that he might be following Nick’s path to glory at 170.

Unfortunately, 2011 was less forgiving. Monstrous judoka Dong Hyun Kim molested Diaz on New Year’s Day, laying his massive frame on the Cesar Gracie product and more or less roughing his way to a win on points.

Diaz was then thoroughly walloped by Canadian prodigy Rory MacDonald, who repeatedly ragdolled him with slams that rattled the Rogers Centre. Nate wasn’t broken, never quit and fought bell to bell, but it was a huge setback.

And so he was left with a decision to make: compete with the middle of the pack at welterweight, or drop back to lightweight and try for a title run. After some consideration, he chose the latter.

The thing with Diaz is that, while he probably gets to live a more comfortable life outside of the cage fighting as a welterweight, his life inside it is much more enjoyable as a lightweight. He’s beaten tough customers at 155 and his only losses have been close decisions to the best the division has to offer.

He’ll attempt to use Japanese legend Takanori Gomi as a springboard back to the top of the division at UFC 135, and the matchup is likely to showcase exactly why he should compete at lightweight.

The tools that Gomi possesses—good wrestling, heavy hands—are the tools which people have come to expect Diaz to have problems with. In fact, it’s more about the wrestling, as Diaz’s trademark volume punching combined with his steady beard usually keep him ahead in a standup fight.

At 170 Diaz is easy to hold down for powerful wrestlers. Get your hands on him, dump him, work the top game. Since North American judges prefer laying on top of a guy to attempting submissions from one’s back when it comes time to score fights, size is enough to win.

At 155, it’s a lot harder to execute that game plan. Diaz is a long and rangy lightweight instead of average-sized or smaller, as he is at welterweight. He’s hard to get a hold of, hard to get inside on, and hard to hold down. Only truly great wrestlers with good submission defense are able to grind him out.

In Gomi he’ll see a wrestler who doesn’t love to wrestle, a guy who isn’t afraid to stand up and throw leather. Add to that natural inclination that Nate’s brother holds a gogoplata victory over Gomi, and he may be even less interested in a ground fight given his prior experience with Diaz jiu-jitsu.

If that’s the case, expect Diaz to box Gomi up with painful precision, repeatedly slapping away with combinations to the head and body. He’ll probably cut him up, swell him up, and shout “Stockton, bitch!” the entire way. That’s not to say Gomi doesn’t have a hope, but he has to know what he’s getting into.

Yet the question remains: overall, is Nate Diaz best suited to lightweight?

Past outcomes suggest he definitely is. Gray Maynard will fight for the title again at UFC 136, and Diaz beat him clean on TUF before narrowly losing to him last year. Only Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson have otherwise beaten him at 155—both talented wrestlers, both by decision. Looking at his style and skill set, as well as his losses at welterweight, it only stokes the flames of Diaz the lightweight.

UFC 135 is exciting for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the title headliner that grows to a grudge match every time Rampage Jackson trolls Jon Jones. However, earlier in the evening Nate Diaz will return to the lightweight division, likely in explosive fashion. If this piece didn’t answer the question of what weight class the younger Diaz should call home, look for him to answer it himself in Denver.