Nick Diaz ended his transient second UFC stint with a formidable performance 19 years ago today.
The Stockton star became a number one fan favorite in MMA’s leading promotion, where he challenged for gold and figured in a lot of memorable fights.
But Diaz’s profession contained in the Octagon was actually not without deviations. Following eight fights, he briefly competed elsewhere before an unexpected short-notice return at UFC 62.
After Diaz submitted Josh Neer, he stuck around for another fight before joining Pride and occurring to eventually develop into the inaugural Strikeforce lightweight champion.
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Who’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in MMA?
Nick Diaz pummeled Gleison Tibau on the bottom in second-round TKO at UFC 65
The UFC 65 pay-per-view took place on this present day, November 18, in 2006. The event at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California concluded with Georges St-Pierre knocking out Matt Hughes of their highly anticipated rematch.
The Canadian’s predominant event victory was not the one impressive performance on the night. Joining the likes of Tim Sylvia and Brandon Vera within the UFC 65 winners’ circle was Nick Diaz.
In the ultimate fight on the preliminary card, Diaz shared the cage with Gleison Tibau. The Brazilian was making his Octagon debut after build up a 16-2 record on the regional scene.
Tibau would go on to build up 16 wins within the UFC — the fifth most within the lightweight division’s history. But things couldn’t have began much worse for him on MMA’s biggest stage.
After ending round one on his back, Tibau was finished within the second frame when Diaz unleashed relentless ground-and-pound attacks.
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Some think Gleison Tibau ‘beat’ Khabib Nurmagomedov
Despite his debut setback, Tibau would go on to enjoy a lengthy stint under the UFC banner, contributing to an ongoing profession that recently prolonged to 59 fights.
While he never found his option to a UFC title, the Brazilian veteran did record victories over some notable names, including Rafael dos Anjos, Kurt Pellegrino, Francisco Trinaldo, and Pat Healy.
But it surely was actually a loss that the 42-year-old is arguably best remembered for.
Tibau was beaten by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 148 in 2012, but that result has been hotly disputed ever since.
Many consider the Brazilian did enough to deserve the nod from the judges and will have gone down because the one blemish on the GOAT contender’s record.