Nate Diaz Net Worth (Money & Salary)

Nate Diaz’s Net Worth: What is it?

With a net worth of $8 million, Nate Diaz is a professional mixed martial artist signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Prior to winning the fifth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” he competed in World Extreme Cagefighting, Pancrase, and Strikeforce. Diaz spent 15 years fighting in the UFC, during which he garnered 16 UFC bonus awards.

Among Diaz’s most significant achievements is his submission victory over Conor McGregor in March 2016, which he secured in the second round. This win elevated Diaz to fame and solidified his reputation as one of the UFC’s most skilled and resilient fighters. In a rematch with McGregor later that year, despite narrowly losing, he displayed remarkable determination.

Throughout his career, Diaz has fought against other elite fighters, including Benson Henderson, Gray Maynard, and Rafael dos Anjos. He is recognized for his striking skills, expertise in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and his fearless fighting style. Many times, he has earned Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night awards due to his outstanding performances in the octagon.

Nate is also known as the younger sibling of Nick Diaz, a former welterweight champion and current UFC competitor.

Fight Earnings from Conor McGregor

Nate’s reported fee for appearing at the Conor McGregor fight was $2 million. Additionally, he made $250,000 from a Reebok sponsorship, $50,000 for winning the fight of the night bonus, and $150,000 for attending an after-party. Most significantly, he received a share of the PPV (pay-per-view) revenue, totaling $10.5 million. In total, Nate earned $13 million from that memorable night, while Conor took home $15 million.

Career Beginnings and Early Life

Birthed in 1985 in Stockton, California, Nate Diaz comes from a Mexican-American background. He shares his life with an older brother, Nick, with whom he began martial arts training at age 11. During his teenage years, Diaz attended Tokay High School located in Lodi, California.

Diaz initiated his professional fighting journey in World Extreme Cagefighting, achieving his first victory against Alejandro Garcia in 2004. In 2006, he fought for the WEC Lightweight Championship but lost to Hermes França in the second round. Apart from WEC, he also competed in Pancrase and Strikeforce.

Participating in “The Ultimate Fighter 5”

In 2007, Diaz debuted in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on the fifth season of the reality TV series “The Ultimate Fighter.” This season included only lightweight fighters, with Diaz competing on Jens Pulver’s team. He won his preliminary match against Rob Emerson and then defeated Gray Maynard in the quarterfinals. The final bout was against Manvel Gamburyan, where Diaz emerged victorious via submission due to an injury-induced tap out from Gamburyan.

The Start of His UFC Career

Following his triumph on “The Ultimate Fighter,” Diaz experienced early success in the UFC, defeating opponents such as Alvin Robinson and Junior Assunção. However, desiring more challenging opponents led to a fight with Kurt Pellegrino at UFC Fight Night 13, where Diaz won by triangle-choke submission. He went on to beat Josh Neer at UFC Fight Night 15. Unfortunately, in 2009, he suffered his first UFC loss to Clay Guida at UFC 94. Nonetheless, he achieved victory as the headliner at UFC Fight Night 19, submitting Melvin Guillard with a guillotine choke.

In 2010, after experiencing three losses in four fights, Diaz opted to move up in weight class. He subsequently made

Nate Diaz made his welterweight debut at UFC 111, where he faced Rory Markham. However, after the weigh-ins, the bout was converted to a catchweight fight. Diaz ultimately secured victory through TKO in the first round. Following this, he opted to fight in both weight classes. At UFC 118, during a welterweight match, he achieved a win over Marcus Davis with a guillotine choke submission, effectively rendering Davis unconscious.

Further UFC Career

In early 2011, Diaz encountered setbacks against Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald. Later that year, he rebounded by overcoming PRIDE Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi at UFC 135. Subsequently, he delivered one of the most remarkable performances of his career by defeating Donald Cerrone at UFC 141. Another notable fight occurred at UFC on Fox 3, where Diaz triumphed over Jim Miller using a rolling guillotine choke. In May 2014, due to inactivity, the UFC removed Diaz from its lightweight rankings.

Diaz returned to the cage in December 2014, competing against Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC on Fox 13. He missed weight for this bout, resulting in a 20% fine from his purse, awarded to Anjos. Following another year off, Diaz came back in December 2015 to take on Michael Johnson, winning by unanimous decision. The following year, he faced off against Conor McGregor at UFC 196, achieving victory via submission, marking Diaz’s ninth submission win in the UFC, tying him for the second-most in history.

Controversies

Throughout his UFC tenure, Nate Diaz has been at the center of various controversies due to his sometimes erratic and provocative behavior. In 2013, he faced a 90-day suspension and a $20,000 fine from the UFC for using a homophobic slur on Twitter.

In 2015, he gained notoriety for a vulgar post-fight interview aired live, in which he called out fighter Conor McGregor.

During a post-fight press conference in 2016, Diaz breached USADA regulations by using a CBD vape pen within four hours post-fight. Nevertheless, since CBD isn’t classified as a performance-enhancing substance, he faced no sanctions. Consequently, USADA removed the substance from its banned list.

In April 2023, footage surfaced showing Nate choking a man unconscious in the streets of New Orleans.

Honors and Distinctions

Diaz has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including multiple bonuses for Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night. He has also been recognized for Knockout of the Night and Performance of the Night honors. Notably, in 2016, he secured the World MMA Award for Submission of the Year for his match against Conor McGregor.

He shares the record for the most submission wins in the UFC Lightweight division with Jim Miller, each boasting seven submissions. Furthermore, he ties with Frankie Edgar for the highest number of Fight of the Night bonuses, totaling eight.

Personal Life

In 2012, Diaz was awarded his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Cesar Gracie’s training facility in Pleasant Hill, California. Together with his brother, he operates a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in Stockton, California, named Nick Diaz Academy. The Diaz brothers also launched a CBD brand called Game Up Nutrition and collaborated with California Finest to create a licensed line of marijuana pre-rolls.

Diaz has a daughter named Nikayla with his girlfriend Misty Brown.