It’s great to see Nick Diaz looking healthy, because 2024 was a rough year for the Stockton native.
Diaz attempted to return to action twice opposite fellow veteran slugger Vicente Luque, but both of his scheduled bouts versus the Brazilian were cancelled before coming to fruition. Notably, the rebooked Diaz vs. Luque bout was canned as a result of a concerning video of a shirtless Diaz lighting grass on fire leaked online. Even his would-be opponent was concerned for his well-being, and accusations of drug addiction spread online. As a result of that incident, Diaz was detained by authorities but was later released without any charges.
Fortunately, 2025 appears to be off to a better start. Back in January, Diaz posted a video of himself at a “retreat center” in Mexico. The specific location wasn’t revealed, but it was widely speculated that Diaz was at a rehab facility. Regardless, the former Strikeforce king looked well and talked clearly, certainly a better look than the grassfire a couple months prior.
Now, longtime coach Cesar Gracie has offered another positive update. “Nick is healthy and doing good,” Gracie wrote, alongside a picture of a smiling Diaz.
All the same, Diaz’s future is uncertain after all the 2024 cancellations. Will the UFC offer him another bout? He hasn’t actually won a fight since beating up BJ Penn way back in 2011, after all. More recently, Diaz coughed up a TKO loss to Robbie Lawler at UFC 266. On its own, that’s not a terrible defeat, but he didn’t really show up in shape. Worse still, in the months afterward, Diaz claimed to have not trained MMA in the last five years and acted like he was pressured into accepting the bout.
Is UFC willing to put up with more potential cancellations? How much of Diaz’s star power still remains after all these years?
Ultimately, none of that matters nearly as much as Diaz’s health and well-being. At this stage of his career, I’ll take a positive personal update over a fight booking any day.
