A wise man once told Ariel Helwani: Where I come from, you know, people like that get slapped. That man was Nick Diaz, and while his words of wisdom in this instance may not have been the most articulate, he gets his point across like five fingers to the face.
The Diaz brothers are a big part of both mixed martial arts past and present and endure in this sport thanks to their ferocious fighting styles and charisma in and outside of the cage.
Stockton native Nick, 32, pioneered the infamous ‘Stockton Slap’ and his younger brother Nate, 30, quickly got in on the family tradition and put his own spin on the patented taunt. Let’s take this time to examine some of the more memorable slaps from the Stockton 209’ers.
8) Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller
Nate swings hard and hits Jim Miller with a crisp slap. Of course, in proper Diaz fashion, Nate follows it up with a ‘what?’ gesture to rack up bonus points for intimidation.
7) Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler
Slapping UFC WW Champion Robbie Lawler and then flashing the ‘what’s up now b—tch?’ hand pose to spice things up— poetic.
6) Nate Diaz vs. Michael Johnson
This is some high-level slappage right here. Nate actually leads with a fake into a combination that ends in a slap.
5) Nick Diaz vs. BJ Penn
Nick triple-slapping UFC Legend BJ Penn. Did you really think this wouldn’t make the list?
4) Nate Diaz vs. Rafael dos Anjos
B—tch slapping a beast like current UFC LW Champion Rafael dos Anjos epitomizes the word ‘defiant’, and doing so while he’s dealing damage on top of you takes badassery to bold new heights.
3) Nate Diaz vs. Benson Henderson
Nate gets high points for style here. Not only is he putting together potent bird-flipping and b—tch slap combinations, but he’s doing so while his opponent, Benson Henderson, is close to doing the splits. I bet you never thought you’d see that.
2) Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit
What makes this slap so impressive is the delivery. Nick literally walks down Condit and charges up his slap for a few seconds just to put it in on him. That’s devotion to your art right there.
1) Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor
Slapping a friend, colleague or acquaintance is probably not the best idea. Slapping a professional fighter is probably an even worse idea. Slapping UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor probably tops the terrible-idea list— that is, unless you’re Nate Diaz. Using several impressive slaps in his arsenal, Nate slapped the ever-loving sh*t out of McGregor throughout their fight at UFC 196— making for a great bully beat down subplot and the slap-happiest-top-slap on this entire slaptastic list.
BONUS: The time Nate allegedly put the slap on KJ Noons’ father after his brother Nick lost a title fight to KJ Noons following a TKO Cut Stoppage. Things certainly got out of hand fast and a full-out brawl ensued.
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