Cesar Gracie slams “groupie” Jose Garcia over false accusations that he’s trying to leech off Nick Diaz

By Chris Taylor - October 11, 2024

They say there are two sides to every story, and Cesar Gracie is making it known that he has nothing but love and support for his longtime pupil Nick Diaz.

Cesar Gracie, Nick Diaz, BJ Penn, UFC, Jose Garcia

It was earlier this week that Jose Garcia (BBJ), a member of the Diaz entourage, spoke to BJPENN.com and accused Cesar Gracie of being a “snake” who was attempting to exploit Diaz in hopes of a future payday associated with his slated return to MMA at UFC 310.

“He’s a snake and an opportunist that only has his own best interest in mind,” stated Garcia. “He does not care about Nick’s mental health, nor does he care if Nick has a full fight camp as we saw when he fought Robbie Lawler (Cesar was in charge of fight negotiations and fight camp prep for that fight).”

Those remarks marked the second time that Jose Garcia had accused Cesar Gracie of wrong doings with Nick Diaz, as he had previously claimed that the coach “forced” Nick Diaz to fight at UFC 266, this despite ‘The General’ being in bad mental and physical shape. Garcia also suggested that Gracie had been attempting to sabotage Nick’s camp for UFC Abu Dhabi, a fight which ultimately never came to fruition.

Well, Cesar Gracie has heard enough from Jose Garcia and wants the world to know that he is no more than a ‘Diaz groupie’ who holds a grudge against him dating back to Nick’s most recent Octagon appearance at UFC 266.

“You know, Nate (Diaz) is a nice guy. He lets anyone hang out and follow him to fights and stuff and do whatever. But the guy (Jose Garcia) is quoted on your site as being a coach. As a recovery coach, whatever the hell that means. He’s not a coach! I’m talking to Nick and Nate and they’re like ‘dude sorry’ we have nothing to do with this article. So, the thing is, this guy has a vendetta because I literally told him he cannot adjust Nick’s neck back in 2021.”

Cesar Gracie explained:

“He (Jose) is doing chiropractic now, but he’s not actually a chiropractor. So, Nick had two discs for the Lawler fight (at UFC 266) that had collapsed on his neck. He had to have an operation after the fight. But before the fight, this guy Jose was going to come out and he wanted all this money from Nick to adjust his neck as a chiropractor. Nick’s triathlon coach caught word of this and told me ‘You can’t let this Jose guy do this because he worked on my neck and really hurt me and one other guy’. So, when Jose showed up, I was like no, you’re not even a chiropractor, this is dangerous. So ever since then the guy has had this vendetta for me dude. I took away the thing he lives for, taking pictures with the Diaz brothers.”

Jose Garcia, Nick Diaz, UFC 310, UFC

“He’s not involved.” Cesar Gracie continued in reference to Jose Garcia. “He’s not one of the guys in the fight camp. He literally just shows up for the fight and follows people and tries to get as many pictures as he can. So, he says he’s with one of our guys, but he’s really not. Yea, he’s part of the entourage, but he buys his own ticket and hotel. He’s a groupie that just hangs along and tries to get in backstage and whatnot. He’s sneaky. But anyone you talk to will tell you he’s not a coach.”

Cesar Gracie began coaching and training Nick Diaz during his teenage years and helped guide him to the Strikeforce welterweight title in 2010. When asked to share what his current relationship with Nick is like, Cesar responded with the following sentiments.

“My current relationship with Nick is we are obviously still very good friends. He’s in Vegas right now doing his thing, and I’m in Northern California doing my thing. Apparently, he has a fight coming up in December. The regular team has not been as involved in this fight as much as other fights. But we love him and support him in everything he does. I’m still in contact with him very often. We text a lot, almost every day. We support him in whatever direction he wants to go. If he ever needs anything, he knows we are here for him.”

Following a three-year absence, Nick Diaz is currently slated to return to the Octagon at UFC 310 on December 7th for a welterweight showdown with Vicente Luque. Ahead of the fight, Nick is acting as his own manager and trainer.