Nick Diaz had two ruptured neck discs heading into his UFC comeback fight against Robbie Lawler but opted to not withdraw from competing due to financial reasons.
Diaz, 39, fought for the UFC for the first time in over seven years last September when he took on former champion Lawler 17-years after their first meeting. Things didn't go as planned for the fan favourite as he was verbally submitted to Lawler in the third round, marking his first stoppage loss in MMA for almost two decades.
The UFC veteran looked well past his best in the rematch and admitted that he had "a lot of stress" heading into the fight. Diaz's long-time jiu-jitsu coach Cesar Gracie has now revealed Diaz recently surgery for his injuries after entering his rematch against Lawler with numbness in his hands.
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"He went into that fight and his neck was pretty messed up,” Gracie told Submission Radio. “Robbie’s a great, tough fighter and Nick was doing great. Then you kind of see Nick fading as the fight wore on. So, Nick had an operation very recently here seven weeks ago. Two of the discs had ruptured in his neck before the fight and he was having numbness of the hands. That’s why he didn’t make 170lb. He fought at 185lb because it was impossible to train. He just didn’t have any strength."
Gracie admitted that part of Diaz's decision to not withdraw from the fight was because of his outstanding debt to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Diaz was fined $100,000 and suspended for 18-months after testing positive for marijuana following his 2015 bout against Anderson Silva. He still owed the Nevada Commission $75,000 before rematching Lawler.
“Nick had to pretty much take that fight," Gracie added. "There was a lot of things weighing in on him. What people don’t know is that the commission in Vegas was still demanding their money from. Remember the marijuana test that we didn’t pass? They said ‘you still owe us that $75,000.’ I think it was some insane amount."
Last July, the Nevada Commission revealed they would stop punishing fighters who tested positive for marijuana. Regardless of the new ruling, Diaz was still ordered to pay his fine. Gracie added: "It was like, ‘What? You still have to pay it? Even though it’s legal now?’. Nick really hadn’t signed the best contract in the world, so they said 'we’ll pay you more money, but you have to fight this fight and on this date'".
