WHEN NATE DIAZ was drafted in as a late replacement for Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 196, he was dismissed as cannon fodder for Conor McGregor.
At 30 years of age, with a record of 18-10 and having lost three of his last six fights, Diaz was written off. A journeyman. A convenient stopgap. A guaranteed win for McGregor.
But, as Diaz showed on 5 March at the MGM Grand Garden Arena where he submitted the Irish star in the second round of their headliner, the numbers on his record don’t reveal the full extent of his abilities.
Ahead of his rematch with McGregor on Saturday night, the following numbers offer a clearer indication of what he’s capable of and where he stands in the pantheon of all-time greats…
- Diaz has won 14 Fight Night bonuses, which is tied with Joe Lauzon for the most in UFC history.
- With seven Fight of the Night bonuses, he’s tied with Frankie Edgar for the most in UFC history.
- His five Submission of the Night bonuses are the second-most in UFC history, behind Joe Lauzon’s six.
- Diaz has 11 wins by stoppage in the UFC, which is the fourth-most in UFC history.
- Only the great Royce Gracie, with 11, has more submission wins than Diaz (9) in the UFC.
- Diaz has landed the fourth-most significant strikes in UFC history, with 1,044.
- The 238 significant strikes that Diaz landed in his unanimous-decision win against Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 set a record for a three-round UFC bout.
H/T: UFC.com
