Fighting out of Stockton, California and training out of the Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy, Nate Diaz is a hardnosed, and tough as nails lightweight prospect currently competing in the UFC. A true fighter in the purest sense, Diaz isn't known for coming out with the strictest game plans and is willing to battle wherever the fight goes - standing or on the ground, and is known for always pushing the pace and looking to finish. Diaz shows tremendous composure at all times and is extremely hard to rattle, and has proven time and time again that he will not quit and is very difficult to put away. After winning the fifth season of the "Ultimate Fighter", Diaz would go on to win his next five contests and establish himself as one of the bright young talents in the UFC's lightweight division.

A BJJ brown belt under Cesar Gracie (who is notoriously stringent with handing out belts), Diaz is extremely slick on the ground where he possesses a high level jiu jitsu game and is especially good at fighting off his back. Diaz displays excellent ground awareness and has a very active and highly dangerous submission game regardless of where the fight is. A finisher, Diaz's technical submissions skills are excellent and he has the ability to latch his subs on in the blink of an eye (he caught Guillard coming in for a takedown with a beautifully applied modified guillotine), and as he's proven time and time again, once he has his opponents' caught it's usually only a matter of time before he elicits a tapout (see bouts with Robinson, Guillard, Pellegrino, Assuncao, and all three of his fights during his TUF stint). Diaz is also very composed defensively and demonstrates excellent submissions defense. A perfect example of that was in his bout with Joe Stevenson who had Diaz locked in his notoriously tight guillotine choke, yet Diaz remained calm and patiently worked his way out of the situation. Once the fight hits the ground, Diaz has proven he is a very competent grappler who "finds ways to win". Even at times when he appears to be losing or being controlled, if Diaz is given that one opening on the ground it's usually all he needs.

Diaz has shown good takedowns at times (see Guillard and Robinsons fights) with an improving double leg and good slams, and displays an impressive Harai Goshi judo throw that he uses very effectively from inside the clinch (see Guida, Stevenson and Neer fights). As a whole however, Diaz's wrestling abilities and takedown defense could use improvement, and physically Diaz would also benefit from getting stronger. Although he is very proficient at fighting on the ground, in the past Diaz has been easily outmuscled, slammed, taken down, and controlled for large portions of his fights (see matches with Pellegrino, Guida, Neer and Stevenson). These attributes also played major roles in his only two losses in the UFC to Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson, and was also an issue in his match with Kurt Pellegrino - who for the majority of the fight was overpowering, controlling and implementing a very effective ground and pound attack on Diaz, before Diaz was able to lock in a triangle choke.

Equally aggressive on the ground or standing, Diaz is definitely not afraid of fighting on his feet, although at this point his striking abilities are not nearly at the same level that his grappling and submission skills are. Unlike many younger fighters, Diaz doesn't look to load up on big, powerful punches, instead he constantly presses the action, keeping his hands active and throwing lots of punches - short jabs, left straights, hooks from all angles and inflicts his damage through the accumulation of his punches more so then with one strike. Diaz is good at using his reach to his advantage and has an unrelenting, peppering jab that is constantly in his opponents face, often frustrating his foes. While his standup game is definitely active, Diaz hasn't displayed significant power or hand speed, and he could also stand to improve his footwork, head movement, and overall technique. Diaz would likely benefit from branching away and working on his boxing skills outside of the Cesar Gracie camp, which as a team is widely recognized for the level of grappling ability in the fighters that train there and not so much for their striking skills, although given the tight-knit group the Cesar Gracie camp is it's unknown how likely that would be. Overall, Diaz still displays developing boxing skills and his striking game still needs considerable seasoning.