Not Surprised? Nate Diaz Receives “Pillar Of The Community” Award

UFC lightweight and welterweight Nate Diaz has a reputation in the mixed martial arts world as being a bit of a bad boy. His ‘gangster’ image is part of what helps sell his fights, and people have come to admire his no-BS style of interviews. Since beating the UFC featherweight champion in a thrilling 170-pound affair at UFC 196, the younger of the infamous Diaz brothers has finally stepped in to the limelight.

The Diaz brothers have always been cult idols, with a following within the MMA community that rivalled many other mainstream stars, but it really wasn’t until the last two years that they had received the attention they fought so hard for over the years.

For Nick Diaz, after losing in fights to Carlos Condit, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva (later a no-contest), his push in to super stardom came thanks to a highly controversial hearing with the Nevada Athletic Commission. After popping for weed in the fight with Silva, during which time the Brazilian was also caught but for anabolic steroids, Nick received a hefty five year ban from competition. is plight and eventual lighter sentence saw huge stars backing the ‘free Nick Diaz’ cause.

So who are the Diaz brothers? If you ask anyone in their community, they might well have a very different opinion than your average MMA fan. This post from Gracie Fighter 209 on Instagram shows Nate Diaz receiving an award from Assemblyman Jim Cooper. He is honored for hard work and giving back to the community:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BF0cZysJPZV/

Of course it wouldn’t be a Nate Diaz story if we didn’t look back to the single most publicized moment of his wild career. The day after Diaz’s submission victory over Conor McGregor will forever be known as ‘Not Surprised Sunday,’ as his epic post fight words echoed across the web in a frenzy of hilarity and disbelief.

Here’s to you Nate Diaz!