Nate Diaz recalls the time he nearly tapped out to Ronda Rousey
It’s no secret that former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, and the Diaz Brothers were once extremely close. While the trio still remain friends, Rousey trained with the Diaz brothers when she first was promoted to the UFC women’s bantamweight champion, frequently appearing in photos with the Stockton superstars.
Ahead of Rousey’s return to the Octagon on December 30th, where she will look to reclaim the UFC women’s bantamweight championship by defeating Amanda Nunes, Nate Diaz recalled a time when he was nearly submitted by ‘Rowdy’.
He spoke on The Pony Hour:
“I trained with Ronda Rousey and I’ve trained with a lot of other girls. Ronda Rousey’s like, the most athletic and technical. She’s crazy.”
“If I’m messin’ around or playin’ around like, ‘oh I’m just training with a girl’, you’re going to get tapped out,” Diaz said. “That hasn’t happened [to me] but I’ve seen her tapping out people and I’m like aw, that ain’t happening to me.”
“She got me in a move to one time and I had to get super man-strong and hold on for it.”
“There’s no girls like that. I’ve trained with other girls that are real good. Real, real, real good at Jiu-Jitsu and moving and stuff, but none that I’ve trained with that are real good, and technical and that much of a beast too.”
While Diaz didn’t say how Rousey nearly submitted him, it wouldn’t be all-that surprising if the move was an armbar, Rousey’s signature move, which has earned her nine of her 12 professional wins. When Rousey was gaining popularity in the MMA world, and earning her reputation as the ‘Armbar Assassin’, Rousey would frequently tell the story of her mother waking her up in the morning by putting her in an armbar. Rousey’s mother, Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, is an Judo world champion herself, winning the 1984 Judo World Championships in Vienna.
