Following his release from a long-term rehab facility, there’s a lot more questions regarding Nick Diaz’s situation over the past few years than answers. But in a new interview conducted by ‘Baja Rehab,’ the former UFC fighter opened up about his complicated feelings he had about the recovery journey he was forced to take.
While details are sketchy as to what triggered his trip to rehab, Diaz was supposed to fight Vicente Luque in Abu Dhabi in August 2024. That fight was cancelled with no details,
and then a make-up date in Las Vegas three months later fell through. This is right around the time a viral video surfaced that showed a shirtless Diaz trying to light some bushes on fire outside of a Chinese buffet. Rumors of substance addiction swirled, and it seemed like Nick’s life was in a tailspin.
Then, in mid-2025, Nick’s girlfriend claimed he was drugged and taken against his will to Baja Rehab — yes, the same facility now releasing this one hour podcast with Diaz now.
“I just had a falling out with, like, my current agents,” Diaz said about why he was pushed into rehab. “I had a falling out with some friends that wasn’t — this wasn’t a good time for us to split, to part ways. And, you know, I was in the middle of a big job. And so you know what I mean? Nobody saw my way, and so I wound up here.”
The interviewer congratulated Diaz on a year of sobriety and mentioned that the UFC had paid for his rehab. Diaz was asked if he felt like the program had helped him.
“I’m grateful for being here, but I’m not grateful for anybody that had anything to do with me being here,” Diaz said. “But I’m grateful for this facility, and I’m grateful for the people and the psychologists. And I’m grateful for the 12 steps. I’m grateful for all of these things that I did not wanna f–king learn about, but I did. And I’m glad. But that’s all.”
The interview was made in the days leading up to Diaz’s release at the start of 2026. Asked what his future plans were, Nick suggested he’d be getting back to fighting.
“I see myself becoming world champion, and I think it’s easy money,” Diaz said. “It’s not like before. You know, people are gonna see a brand new me.”
“I just wanna thank my fans and supporters and everybody,” he concluded. “Be ready to tune in for my next upcoming fights, and we’re gonna win a world title.”
