Ariel Helwani interviews Nick Diaz about no-showing the infamous UFC press conference with Georges St-Pierre, his family including bother Nate Diaz, GSP and his MMA career. #arielhelwani #nickdiaz #arieldiaz
Paul Beltran It was difficult to watch it’s was like when Chuck Liddell hit the booze n pills and started slurring his words on that famous interview... it Ronda Rousey to blame for Nicks drinking problem 🤦♂️😩👊👋😕😟
Had to rewatch this interview. Ariel, been following you forever. This was not just an interview, this was a respectful moment. Best Nick Diaz interview ever. He’s so wise and honest. I hope this interview is recognized when Nick Diaz becomes a part of history.
Diaz is a boss. Totally misunderstood. He is not unintelligent, rather simply does not view the media as something he needs to take the time to truly convey himself too, seems to over time have come to view them as adversaries almost. Calm, confident, doesn't bullshit or pretend to be anything he isn't, simply content to be who he is and allow others to view him however they choose. he's actually vulnerable and very real in most interviews and its unfortunate so many seem to not understand who he is.
It's only the media and the UFC itself that provided a negative image for these two. They clearly don't care about the media, and they both clearly know the media is the devil and will twist shit up, so they probably are very cautious of what they say on camera. Nick Diaz, beat BJ Penn, he fought very well against Anderson Silva in his prime, and Silva tested positive for PEDs. Fought two people before given the title fight against GSP after he already had earned it. Knocked out Robbie Lawler.and both have never taken PEDs. More than impressive but like I said, the UFC and the media don't cover them or give them the merit they earned.
He has no trouble expressing himself, people are just conditioned to not accept or understand genuine honesty of words and character. Man this interview is so old, and in my opinion the best interview of Nick Diaz about his view on mma ever.
Great Interview! He seemed more comfortable in this interview than I've seen in others and hence was a little more revealing about who he really is as a person. Good guy.
amazing, the kind of interview that can totally change your mind about nick diaze, cudos to halwani for letting nick roll with his thoughts. nice to finally meet you nick :)
Marvel 1996 No ambitions? Let's see, Nick Diaz- Strikeforce welterweight Champion with most title defenses, WEC welterweight Champion, IFC Americas welterweight Champion, IFC U.S. welterweight Champion, and 2004 purple belt gold medal at the U.S. BJJ Open. Ok, now let's hear what you've done. ???
I honestly believe Nick has aspergers or social anxiety or some shit like that. It's not an insult at least coming from me as I have aspergers and it's one of the reasons I've always looked up to him. I don't think Nate has it though tbh, maybe picked up on some of nicks mannerisms but still seems way more extroverted than Nick, just has a speech impediment
@@leetheflea4096 autism/aspergers related to a very high IQ (not joking, you cannot be that high level a black belt in such a short time training without being very clever) mixed in with childhood trauma (growing up in rough gang infested neighbourhood alongside girlfriend killing herself).
people give this man too much shit. he has social anxiety.. he has a medical marijuana card because of it and it helps him why does that bother you?? ignorant people are mostly why he gets a bad reputation. most people suffering from social anxiety avoid any type of interaction yet he powers through and puts up with the ignorant media that asks stupid questions.. he's an intelligent guy with a great memory that overcomes physical contests that most people submit to and then he overcomes his own personal anxiety. majority of this sport is mental. he deserves respect. there's so much controversy surrounding him and I think majority of it is biased and ignorant. he may not be book smart as he's admitted and his trainers have mentioned, but he's an above average intelligent fighter and strategist. he's not apart of NASA or running a high level company, so until he is stop saying he's making bad choices. he's a fighter and he's strategically one of the best, toughest, and most skilled ever to be in the sport. too many ignorant, wannabe, mystical lover not fighter style people give him shit. he is himself and IMO he's top 10 p4p. his only problem is his emotions get the best of him and he chooses to prove himself. I admire that really, instead of taking the GSP route of hugging you and doing zero damage. however he is where he is because of it. judges have fucked him before and I honestly think it's a personal decision. the same judges were fair in other fights, I think his attitude persuaded their opinions in scoring. this is one reason we need to replace all of the garbage judges that are currently appointed. UFC has no control over it but the commission needs to act. it feels like they're trying to kill the sport idk why
having social anxiety myself and an extensive history of smoking pot, I can tell you it doesn't help anyone for their sense of coherence, of direction. Sure it helps to relax. It's perfect when you have a life structure going. But this man sounds kind of like a searching soul, he likes the athleticism of mma, the thrill of fighting, not the money and promotion side of things, neither the hurting people. He seems awkward about his social life, his family, his place in life. I wonder whether he needs a marijuana time-off and some cognitive therapy to deal with his emotions and finding his real desires and ways in life. And then, when structure is there, smoke that stuff whenever, whatever. But he cannot answer anything coherent right now, he forgets any idea or question, he's choked up introvertly, drowning in his own contradictions and quests. Of course, this is an old interview, so maybe stuff's changed. But judging his current retirement, he's probably doing some soul searching, whether he wants to or not, wandering. Wish him and everyone the best in such matters.
I agree with everything TardRepellent said about his personality, disagree with everything you said about his fighting abilities, Nick Diaz is a mixed martial artist and a great BJJ practitioner, not a great fighter. He flat out said in this interview that he does not like fighting and also he does not want to hurt people in his fights. That mentality is clearly visible in his fighting style. He wants to to tap his opponents out to submissions from the bottom or wear you out with 50-70% punches, not blast you out of their with huge strikes to the head (which can cause brain trauma) or smash your face up with elbows from the clinch/top position. Look at the way he throws head kicks, he telegraphs them and throws them at 50% speed because he's not trying to hurt his opponent with them, he's just trying to back you them to the cage where he can use his combination punching to wear you out. I'm happy Nick Diaz has made some money, is retired and paying back to his community, there's a lot of people walking around with their heads up their arses saying MMA is "Just competition". MMA is not just competition it is violent and dangerous competition. Nick Diaz knows this and keeps it real, he's not going to delude himself by pretending that people can't or wont get hurt in MMA bouts neither is he going to pretend that fighters are just athletes, like he alluded to in this video a lot of fighters are mean nasty athletes. I have a huge amount of respect and sympathy for Nick Diaz. I think he's doing the best he can with what he has and all his so called fans who want to see him come back and fight aren't good fans. They may have love for Nick Diaz but that's the kind of love that will get people hurt.
Jimothy Snooker I fully agree with everything you said! I have been following Nick's career since the beginning! He's an amazing fighter and has one of the best gas tanks in MMA! I also admire the fact that although he seems to have social anxiety, the fact that he meets all his media obligations is pretty impressive if you know how bad social anxiety can be! Nick is a strong minded guy and much respect to him!
He rides the line between one of the scariest fighters ever, and one of the most scared (Not in a fighting sense -- just overall). Total aggression = total fear.
Rides the line of one of the scariest fighters ever? That isn't true Hahahaha. Anthony Rumble Johnson is scary. Chuck Liddell is scary. But maybe are definitions of scary are just A LOT different.
I find Ariel's questioning to be beautiful, here. Usually, he is a bit tabloid, but here he truly allows Nick to speak and asks questions that glean some of the best and most detailed ideas. I love Nick. He's a free thinking guy, from brain to mouth, honest and raw. I just love the guy.
pawkeet714 so pretty much the same... Just seems like more complex social situations accumulated and so he has more to analyze = longer ramble. As an educator, even though kids hate school, I tell them to succeed in life you must read, write, speak. U can drop out and self-teach reading and basic arithmetic. Everything else is excess.....
He has social anxiety, he is far from stupid. If Diaz was stupid he would of never made it to the level he is at currently. He is fighting Anderson Silva..... I have social anxiety it is horrible if you do not understand something, shut the fuck up....lol
Most humble and honest interview of Diaz's career. Areil strait pulled a Dr. Phil on him. Almost makes you feel bad for the kid. No kids, wife, or anyone exept for his brother and the bond they share in the fight game. Talks bout his mom.....extremely pouring his heart out.
As a person who grew up with social anxiety problems and struggled in school because I was so uncomfortable, Sports were my outlet. At the beginning of the interview Ariel throws a few loose ice breakers (jokes) and I could feel my fight or flight instinct kick in, hard to breath, can’t think straight. I get the feeling Nick is one of the nicest dudes in a casual setting and yet he can be one of the most fearsome/emotional paradoxical characters. Always a Nick Diaz supporter. God bless
This is the best interview that I have ever seen of Nick Diaz. Ariel Helwani did a great job of just letting Nick talk and not interrupting him. I hope Ariel does go out to Stockton and we get to see a lot more Diaz/Helwani interviews in the future.
question at 4:15 begins with Nick talking about how he believes the UFC never wanted him to fight GSP then by the end of his response he's talking about speeding tickets and getting charged with drink driving... fucking love how he just goes off on rants lol
Damn bro, it's almost like a deeper level of "proper preparation prevents poor performance. " if he trains and is aware of all the negatives then it's in his ability to do what he has to go prevent any of the negatives to occur. None of that "fate" shit. I feel it.
Compared to today’s interview 11-11-19 with Ariel, he’s a lot more coherent and understandable in this one. That one from today was hard to watch , actually pretty sad , hope it’s not cte.
2 things, Alcohol and years of anxiety built up inside. He doesn’t feel comfortable doing interviews anyway but after not doing one for a long time. Made his anxiety worse
Josh Thiessen wtf are you talking about? He’s clearly much different here, speaking well, thinking clearly. He could barely formulate a sentence in his most recent interview, he’s clearly been partying too hard. You’re extremely unintelligent if you can’t pick up on that
On the real, Ariel is an amazing mediator. He understands Nick's personal traits and just let's him talk. That's when Nick seems most comfortable. He has a hard time answering questions but he'll talk for hours on end.
Much props to Ariel Helwani for this great interview. Of the different interviewers out there Ariel Helwani seems to be the best at getting fighters, especially very private fighters like Nick to open up and show us, the fans, a side we normally don't get to see. Ariel, great interview. Keep up the good work!
Nicks in the fight business, he doesn't have to give great interviews, he's trying to keep his teeth in his mouth. The fight business isn't a joke, bones can break, teeth can get knocked out..the interviews are icing on the cake in my opinion.
Nick doesn't like media and is quite wary and suspicious around these people, especially Arial, This isn't unusual, he is like this in most interviews, starts out wary and awkward. I think he has anxiety issues that is compounded by his mistrust and lack of articulation skills.
Ariel is so good for the ufc. He gets the best out of his interviews and does well. Nick is also my favorite of all time and I can tell he may have actually enjoyed this interview more because Ariel asked him real questions that wouldn't piss him off and it seemed like it had a better flow too it.
I've said it before, but Ariel is the best reporter in MMA. That was a clinic in "people skills" right there. He turned a cold interview with almost one-word answers into a total Nick Diaz exposé. Outstanding work once again dude.... and oh yeah, nice shoes =P
