Nate Diaz put in a performance he would go on to repeat multiple times across the course of his UFC career on this day 18 years ago.
On September 19, 2007, UFC Fight Night 11 took place at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event, which was broadcast on Spike TV, was headlined by Kenny Florian submitting Din Thomas in round one of their lightweight main event.
The card was not short on other memorable finishes, including Chris Leben’s comeback knockout against Terry Martin, Dustin Hazelett’s armbar submission versus Jonathan Goulet, and Gray Maynard’s near-record nine-second KO of Joe Veres.
But looking back, the most notable name on the lineup was Diaz, who made a statement in his first UFC fight after winning The Ultimate Fighter 5.
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Nate Diaz netted his first UFC submission with trademark move in 2007
After beating Manny Gamburyan to win TUF’s 155-pound tournament in June 2007, Diaz made a quick turnaround to face Junior Assuncao, who was coming off a submission triumph over David Lee at UFC 70.
At the time, Assuncao was just weeks on from being awarded his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, having earned it during his camp for the Diaz fight.
During a pre-fight interview with Inside Fighting, Assuncao suggested that would give him a clear edge over his up-and-coming opponent on the ground.
“Totally, man,” Assuncao said when asked if he would have a grappling advantage. “I actually just got my black belt (from fellow UFC fighter Diego Saraiva). I was in Brazil for four months at Black House training with a lot of world class guys like Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, the Noguiera brothers.
“It was good getting to put myself against world class guys like that. My ground is where it needs to be. Unfortunately I’ve not been able to show much of my ground work…Nate is good on the ground but he’s not anything special on the ground.”
Unfortunately for Assuncao, those words came back to bite him.
Diaz answered the dismissal of his grappling talents by ending the fight in the very first round, locking in a tight guillotine choke that quickly left his Brazilian foe tapping out.
That result marked the fan favorite’s first UFC win via submission, and he would go on to record a further four guillotine chokes during an Octagon career that spanned 18 years.
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Nate Diaz ended his UFC career with the same move
After starting his UFC career post-TUF with a guillotine choke, it was fitting that Diaz repeated the feat during his final outing inside the Octagon.
Before venturing to boxing, where Diaz has lost to Jake Paul and defeated Jorge Masvidal in their rematch, the Stockton star fought out his UFC contract in September 2022.
While initially scheduled to headline UFC 279 against the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev, the Chechen’s huge weight miss resulted in a re-shuffle to the card and left Diaz instead squaring off against fellow veteran Tony Ferguson.
The fight ended midway through round four, when Diaz submitted Ferguson with a guillotine to get the crowd in Las Vegas on their feet.