In this old school fight clip Nick Diaz gets owned by a very tough Jeremy Jackson in the 2002 UA welterweight championship tournament. UA 4: King of the Mountain was Nick’s 5th professional fight and unfortunately for the Stockton native – Stockton 209..what?!…WHAT?!!! – he gets a beating put on him like no one else has been able to repeat. Sure, he lost to KJ Noons in EliteXC, but that was by a TKO due to a cut.

Keep in mind this was September of 2002 and Nick was still green despite having 4 wins in a row coming in to this fight, 2 of which were in this very same tournament. Before that he was 2-0 in the fledgling IFC promotion. 

Diaz has always been a polarizing figure and will probably be famous forever mostly for his trash talk, feuding with everyone, and the improbable KO of Robbie Lawler. Nick’s jiu jitsu – Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu..what?!…WHAT?! – has always been elite, but his striking is there, too. He shocked UFC fans when he KO’d knockout specialist Lawler at UFC 47 because no one really knew Nick’s hands were that good except maybe Joe Rogan.

Nick’s run in Strikeforce is also memorable. Notable KO/TKO wins over legend Frank Shamrock, striker Paul Daley, and Thomas Denny stand out. Submitting Evangelista Cyborg Santos is one of his best submission victories and one of the reasons his jiu jitsu is his backup if he can’t KO someone.

Since Nick is coming out of pseudo-retirement we thought we would bring back one of the videos that sparked Nick to train harder, become more aggressive, and to eventually really let his hands fly with confidence.

Here is Nick Diaz vs. Jeremy Jackson at UA 4: King of the Mountain in the welterweight championship finals in September of 2008.

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