Did Nick Diaz waste his prime years?

[ZafroTexas]

I just went to his page and saw that he’s 37. He was 27 went beat Daley and Penn and was very hyped to make a splash in the ufc. I know he was banned for awhile and lost his last 3 but they were against Condit (boring loss could have gone either way) and 2 of the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.

I know he’s been successful in other endeavors but it just seems like there could have been so much more to his story.

 

[LEWIS540]

You mean the guy who spent the last 10 years of his athletic prime partying and doing triathlons?

Hard to say.

 

[tramendous]

I think youre right. I dont have too many sources to back this but i think he hated the anxiety of the build up to fights and the media stuff. He took weed for it and then got banned for years and probably grew comfortable. Theres been talks of a comeback fight and he looks in good shape but time is running out.

 

[genecop]

He set himself up better financially than most fighters who fought regularly..so no…

 

[Nathan LaMontagne]

In short, yes.

Long version, yessssss

 

[23rd Century Sweetheart]

He was 32 and got made an example of for five years. It's a pretty rough dice to roll when you're back at 37 with three loses (albeit to two of the GOATs, but most audiences don't care about who beat you). One more loss and you've got people calling you washed etc.

He's on record saying he hates fighting and if he gets paid to teach, do a measly social media post and promote cannabis products then fuck it i'd probably stop fighting too

 

[trblesome1]

I just don’t get why he when he got banned for 5 years he was outraged and fought it so hard then hasn’t even tried to fight during that time

 

[MetalMilitia]

He's rockin' about 3 mil -- depending what source you cite... but if had used the years to stay somewhat relevant, he would likely have made his brothers money at some point as revenge/grudge/WWE love triangle (clusterfuck of money fights).

So yeah, he wasted it, but it's not like he's terrible off for it. It could have been FAR more lucrative, and I don't think anyone can deny that. His 2006-2011 run was pretty crazy, you know he wouldn't voluntarily quit in that KJ fight -- and then the 3 losses to super top guys ain't really a shame.

...and he moves the needle. Love 'em or hate 'em, it's undeniable the Diaz bro's sell shit. If Nick was still even SOMEWHAT active, they could have cashed the bank even more than they did...

 

[koquerelle]

For sure. Both brothers were way too stubborn.

 

[kalabula]

As much as I loved Nick, he has to be one of the most overrated popular fighters. He had a few good wins. But for the most part, he lost when faced with good competition.

 

[Dirge]

I just went to his page and saw that he’s 37. He was 27 went beat Daley and Penn and was very hyped to make a splash in the ufc. I know he was banned for awhile and lost his last 3 but they were against Condit (boring loss could have gone either way) and 2 of the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.

I know he’s been successful in other endeavors but it just seems like there could have been so much more to his story.

He actually didn't lose to Silva given Silva popped for multiple PED's. Even more impressive that Diaz went 25 with Silva while he was juiced to the gills.

 

[Tweak896]

No question he wasted it. Maybe he felt he was out of his prime and just called it.

 

[Proud American]

Yes. But his overall health is the thanking him for it.

his main defense was just eating shots so he could begin a boxing exchange that becomes a withering assault

 

[Mongoose]

He did, and he’ll likely end up regretting it.

 

[DOMMA]

He absolutely wasted his prime years. I suspect that he will regret this decision when he is 40 and broke. In the past 10 years he has had three fights, lost them all. Completely wasted his prime.

 

[Blacksonville]

He 100% wasted his prime years, but its possible that the work he put in set him up financially well enough to not have to worry about it. Poor kids who grow up and come into money either piss it away instantly, or are incredibly careful with what they have.

If he's the latter and he hated fighting, yeah. Can't fucking blame him. If someone gave me enough money so I could pay off my house, hang out all day in my garden and play with my dog and maybe go to the beach whenever I wanted, I wouldn't be ambitious about much, either.

Time is the most valuable thing.

 

[D'z]

You mean the guy who spent the last 10 years of his athletic prime partying and doing triathlons?

Hard to say.

Oh damn. Owned.

Does this qualify as "thread derailment"?

 

[Hades86]

No because he doesn't like to fight, he likes the money but hates the sport. I don't blame him, getting punched in the face isn't fun.

His heart isn't in it and people think Nick is wasting his years in Nick's eyes he would be wasting his life fighting. He down right hates it.

All people are different and Nick is a bit of an odd dude.

 

[greenseeker]

It wasn't like he was going to accomplish anything else either way. He wasn't going to taunt the guys at the top into fighting his fight and he didn't have the skill set to beat them at their own game.

He should have stayed in the B-Leagues.

 

[Poser Caust]

No way dude fighting was always in the way of nicks smoking career. That's what he has been focusing on the last 5 years I'm sure