Nate Diaz was awarded with the third degree on his BJJ black belt just the other day in a ceremony that was led by the legendary Renzo Gracie and his long-time coach and mentor Cesar Gracie. Any promotion is an honor of course but after anybody reaches black belt, every degree added afterward is done so on the basis of time served. Each of the first three degrees signify three years of being a black belt in the sport so this means that Diaz has now been a black belt for a remarkable nine years. While he’s always been a phenomenal grappler, Diaz often uses his equally impressive boxing skills and his unbelievable cardio to win MMA fights throughout his seventeen-year career.
Much like his older brother Nick, Nate Diaz has been more than comfortable taking extended breaks away from professional MMA competition but began to prepare for his return to the UFC earlier this year. He made his comeback at UFC 263 in June 2021 against Leon Edwards and actually made history in being part of the very first non-title and non-main event five-round fight. While he has had impressive performances throughout his UFC career, including his submission win over Conor McGregor that propelled him into superstardom, Diaz will perhaps be best-remembered for his love of trash talk and hilarious pre-fight moments.
As of yet, Diaz has not announced any intention to compete in the UFC again and it’s entirely possible that he has resumed his status as a retired fighter for the time being. The only time that he’s been seen lately has been in friendly grappling matches with Youtube stars and gigantic weightlifters. Nate Diaz announced the news of his promotion to third degree BJJ black belt in a post to his official Instagram account where he shared the photo of him with Cesar and Renzo Gracie at his promotion:
