Remember when Dana White said that Nate Diaz wasn’t a needle-mover?
There may have been some truth to that statement when the UFC president said it back in 2014, but four years later, Nate Diaz could be the second biggest superstar in the sport.
The Stockton native has always been a cult figure in MMA, but since his back-to-back wars with Conor McGregor, he has exploded into the mainstream. Once he beat ‘the Notorious’Â to the ground and punched his dome into that rear-naked choke, Diaz made the leap into MMA superstardom.
Suddenly, people who wouldn’t be able to tell you the difference between a kimura and an armbar knew the name Nate Diaz. Dare we say, that win coupled with the closely-contested rematch loss saw him surpass bigger brother Nick in terms of fandom.
https://twitter.com/TheJivemaster/status/909712601692692480
Nate wants to fight again in the UFC this summer. If his cameo at UFC Austin proved anything, it’s that the promotion should be doing everything in their power to book him another fight.
Despite being inactive since August 2016, Diaz managed to completely steal the show in less than five seconds. even with White constantly talking down his star power, Diaz was the standout star of a card he wasn’t even fighting on.
He only had a small window to make an impact, but he really seized the opportunity with both hands. Some people were talking about Donald Cerrone snapping his losing streak in the main event. Others were giving Curtis Millender props on his sensational debut. However, absolutely everybody who watched UFC Austin was talking about Diaz after the fact.
Crowd shot shows Nate Diaz smoking a joint during last night's UFC https://t.co/FA6CYJWh1S
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) February 19, 2018
Diaz’s moment came during a nightmare minute for Fox Sports.
First, the broadcasters had to endure Derrick Lewis dropping the Bellator bomb during his Octagon interview. Then ‘the Black Beast’ told his old lady to prepare because he planned on ‘going deep’. Once that ordeal was over, the cameras cut to Diaz in the crowd before very swiftly cutting away from Diaz in the crowd.
Kenny Florian, who was working the Fox Sports analyst desk that night had to give props to Diaz.
Nate Diaz keeping it 💯 per usual
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) February 19, 2018
Fox Sports Twitter account also responded to Diaz’s very memorable cameo.
While they didn’t seem to be thrilled about Diaz nearly sparking up a joint during their coverage of the event, they couldn’t stay mad at him. Their reaction was very light-hearted.
Also, can you guys please tell @NateDiaz209 to chill too? 😅😅#UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/SyXGWQEQy8
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 19, 2018
