Nick Diaz is the most intriguing, mercurial and possibly polarizing figure currently (maybe?) competing in mixed martial arts. Stockton's favorite son has captivated the MMA world with his uniquely intense fighting style and no-nonsense persona outside of the cage.
Since he rejoined the UFC's roster this past summer to challenge UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, Diaz has taken much of the focus of MMA fans and media, who all either have something to say about the gritty martial artist or simply want to hear what he has to say. During that time, Diaz's peers have also formulated opinions about the mean-mugging bruiser, as evidenced in a recent piece compiled by SportsNet's UFC Central.
Read on to hear what fighters like Roy Nelson, Ronda Rousey and Josh Koscheck have to say about Diaz and watch the video below to hear more from Mark Muñoz, Carlos Condit, Mike Pierce, and GSP himself.
Roy Nelson: I think Nick's just, for me, Nick's a great guy. I think he's just a little misunderstood. I think, in a lot of relationships, some people have better communication skills than others. I think he just prefers to fight and that's all he wants to do, is just fight. He doesn't need to talk to anyone else. He's not in the promotion business, he's in the fight business.
Josh Koscheck: He's just a different breed. He's got a chip on his shoulder. I respect that. I think that he comes to fight. I really, truly believe that he doesn't care about the money. The guy just likes to fight and that's pretty cool, I like that.
Ronda Rousey: He's been more respectful to me than any other martial artist I've ever met in my life. When I was doing judo, I was the only American medaling in the Worlds and the Olympics. I never had a single teammate or another judo guy ask me for advice or ask me how to do anything. Even with all these other MMA fighters -- they're so polite and very, very cool -- but I've never had any of them say, 'Hey look, what are you doing today? I need to train with you, I want to learn something from you.' He's not the type to sit around and compliment you and pad your ego or anything like that, but his actions speak to, I think, he's an amazing person and I really hope I have more opportunities to train with him in the future.
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