A young Nate Diaz took part in Season 5 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” hoping to follow in the footsteps of his brother Nick and make it to the UFC.
Diaz (20-12 MMA, 15-10 UFC) showed he was one to watch from his first fight in the house when he submitted Rob Emerson in a back-and-forth battle.
He then notched two more submissions over Corey Hill and Gray Maynard, leading to a finale showdown with Team Jens Pulver teammate Manny Gamburyan in 2007.
With Gamburyan’s grappling strength and Diaz’s jiu-jitsu’s background, the fight was projected to hit the mat, and it did right from the opening bell with both men tied up in scrambles and trading submission attempts.
But Gamburyan was all over Diaz in Round 1, with Diaz remaining active in his guard, throwing up multiple submission attempts from bottom. In Round 2, Gamburyan shot for the takedown just seconds in, but as soon as he grabbed a hold of Diaz, he dislocated his shoulder, forcing him to tap immediately.
It was an abrupt ending to the fight, but nonetheless, it capped a brilliant season for Diaz, who’s had his ups and downs in the octagon, but is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in the promotion with recent wins over Michael Johnson, Conor McGregor and Anthony Pettis.
Check out Diaz’s win over Gamburyan in the video above, which crowned him “The Ultimate Fighter.”
UFC free fight: Nate Diaz wins Season 5 of 'The Ultimate Fighter'