There may be no single fighter in the sport of mixed martial arts with a personality and style as polarizing as the one and only Nick Diaz. Generally speaking, fans of the sport either love him or hate him, with very few having feelings that would fall somewhere in the middle. Ask a hundred MMA fans their feelings on Nick Diaz and you aren’t going to find too many whose answers are ambiguous or whose opinions are muted. People either can’t wait to tell you how much they love Nick Diaz, or how much they hate him. And that seems to be just fine with the undeniable badass of the 209.

I think there’s people out there who just don’t like me very much, he tells MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, before gazing directly into the camera with an and what? kind of look on his face.

Love him or hate him, Nick Diaz is blessed with what so many fighters, athletes and human beings lack – personality. He’s raw and unfiltered. His opinions are real. He is not afraid to tell you his feelings and let the chips fall where they may.

Far from the canned answers many of us have come to expect from some of the sport’s most experienced and successful fighters, and equally far from the manufactured personas of many of MMA’s most popular fighters, Nick Diaz approaches interviews and answers questions like a man with nothing to lose. And that’s why we love him. Or hate him. Either way, it’s fine with him.

Jeff Warsaw is the former executive editor of Long Island MMA Magazine, professional combat sports public address announcer for several NY/NJ MMA and kickboxing promotions, and a proud one-stripe white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the famed Joe D’Arce. He is currently a musician, coffee enthusiast and host of the Stranger In A Strange Land podcast on YouTube.