Last year, Nick Diaz’s sudden disappearance from social media raised plenty of questions. Fans grew concerned about the UFC legend’s well-being as reports surfaced about him being abducted and forced into rehab in Mexico, while very personal drama involving his now-wife and teammates also came to light. Now, after months of speculation, the Stockton native has finally opened up about what really happened.

The former Strikeforce champion admitted he went through a rough stretch, dealing with some difficult situations in his life. Despite finding success, Diaz revealed that a few college friends with a negative influence remained in his circle, which slowly began affecting his life in a bad way following his UFC comeback.  

Nick Diaz reveals details of his forced rehab experience in Mexico

“We had a whole like 20 of us or something. We’re all friends … I had a pretty good group of friends. I mean, a lot of them did good or went to college, moved away. And then some of them stayed started f— up. I didn’t really maintain friendships for a long time,” Nick Diaz said in an interview with Baja Rehab on YouTube. 

“I was busy. I was fighting three to five fights a year for 17 years. All I was thinking about was weight. How much do I weigh? What am I going to eat? After a while you realize there’s more to life. That’s when I started getting into some trouble again. I was bringing some old friends back in the picture, and that really f— things up,” he added. 

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When it comes to the former UFC fighter’s history, he was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission back in 2015 for five years after testing positive for marij—na. However, there has never been much clarity on whether Nick Diaz ever used hard drugs in his life. That said, in 2024, the 42-year-old’s partner Kay uploaded an Instagram story confirming Diaz’s struggles with addiction, writing, “D—g addiction doesn’t last forever. You either find sobriety, or it takes your life.”   

Dealing with substance issues, Diaz appeared to have burned through much of his finances and drastically shrunk his circle, leaving him with almost no one to communicate with and nothing to live on. Because of that, the former UFC fighter found himself in multiple conflicts and eventually ended up in a rehab center.

“That was one of my biggest problems before coming here. I didn’t have the means of transportation. I cut my circle shorter, and I didn’t have anybody to call. I had nowhere to go, so people thought it was best that I wind up here,” he said. “I just had a falling out with my current agents. I had a falling out with some friends. Nobody saw it my way, and so I wound up here. I’m grateful to be here, but I’m not grateful for anybody that had anything to do with me being here,” Nick Diaz added in the interview.  

Over the past few years, Nick Diaz has clearly gone through some tough times that were hard to deal with. Still, as he finally appeared before the fans again, a new sense of motivation seems to have taken hold. Brushing aside everything he’s been through, the UFC veteran wants to find his way back to his old self, driven by the same belief that he can still chase championship glory. 

The Stockton native still has championship ambitions

Although dealing with rehab was a rough phase, Nick Diaz has started training again with his long-time friend and training partner, Jake Shields, at Xtreme Couture. So, he’s clearly taking steps to get himself back on track in MMA. However, it looks like Diaz has much bigger plans in mind.

“I see myself becoming world champion,” Diaz said in the Baja Rehab interview. “I see myself becoming world champion, and I think it’s easy money. It’s not like before. People are going to see a brand new me.”

Nick Diaz, in his glory days, was a Strikeforce welterweight champion. He didn’t just win the belt, he defended it three times. After that, the MMA veteran delivered one of the best performances of his career against B.J. Penn at UFC 137, announcing his return to Dana White’s promotion.

Even though he lost the following bout to Carlos Condit at UFC 143, the UFC still matched him up against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 with the 170-pound title on the line. So yes, Diaz definitely has a long history of fighting at the championship level.

What is as impressive as his resume is the mark he made on the fighters who grew up watching him. At Xtreme Couture, Diaz ran into former middleweight champion Sean Strickland. The loudmouth boxer was visibly in awe of ‘The General.’ “When I was a kid, I used to watch it, bro. I’d be in my f–ing boxing shorts in my living room watching you scrap, dog. Yeah, that was dope, dude,” Strickland told Diaz. Nick answered, “Now I watch you, I appreciate it.”

That said, at 42 years old, it won’t be easy for Diaz to make another run inside the Octagon, especially since he hasn’t fought since losing to Robbie Lawler at UFC 266. Still, the promotion could finally look to book him against Vicente Luque, a fight that has already fallen apart twice. So, what do you think is next for Nick Diaz? Let us know in the comments section below.