Nathan Donald (Nate) Diaz (born April 16, 1985) is an Americanmixed martial artist, currently competing in the lightweight division. He is well known as the younger brother of UFC veteran Nick Diaz, and has amassed victories in Strikeforce and the World Extreme Cagefighting promotions. Diaz is a graduate of Tokay High School in Lodi, California and holds a purple belt in Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu. Diaz is affiliated with the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Pleasant Hill, California, where he trains under Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie. He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5 show, featuring exclusively lightweights. He fought on Jens Pulver's team. In the preliminary round, Diaz defeated Rob Emerson by submission; in the quarterfinals he defeated fellow Team Pulver teammate Corey Hill via triangle choke in the first round. In the semifinals, he defeated Team Penn member Gray Maynard by submission, advancing to the finals where he faced Manvel Gamburyan. Though Gamburyan won the first round, he was forced to submit in the second round due to the dislocation of his right shoulder as the result of attempting a takedown. With this, Diaz became the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5. Diaz' last fight was against Junior Assuncao at UFC Fight Night 11 on September 19, 2007. Diaz won by guillotine choke in the first round.
American
