Getty Nate Diaz walks to the Octagon before his welterweight rematch against Conor McGregor at the UFC 202.
Instagram users who follow UFC superstar Nate Diaz may have noticed his Instagram Story late Sunday night. Diaz shared a clip of the UFC 53 bout between Matt Serra and Diaz’s longtime rival, Karo Parisyan, which took place in 2005.
Diaz shared a few seconds of the third round of the welterweight match when Parisyan tried to catch Serra in an armbar. Serra, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt under Renzo Gracie, worked his way out of the submission and got back up to his feet. Parisyan went on to win the bout by unanimous decision.
Diaz was seemingly not impressed with “The Heat’s” submission attempt, writing “Nah” in the Instagram Story. Watch Diaz’s post below:
The dig at Parisyan appeared to be out of nowhere as the two haven’t publicly feuded for years. The Armenian has been out of the limelight for a meaningful amount of time and Diaz has become one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts, moving on to rivalries with the likes of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
The Heat, who competed 13 times inside the Octagon, last fought in 2017 when he lost to Jose Diaz by TKO during Extreme Fighters MMA: Ready for War. He has a professional MMA record of 24-12 with one no-contest. Parisyan has notable wins over the likes of Serra, Chris Lytle, Shonie Carter and Nate Diaz’s older brother, Nick Diaz.
Newer fans may not know about the rivalry between Diaz and Parisyan. Read on to learn more about the beef that was on full display nearly 15 years ago.
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Diaz & Parisyan Feuded During the 5th Season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
Diaz was introduced to UFC fans during the fifth season of the UFC’s hallmark reality television show, The Ultimate Fighter, in 2007. The show featured 16 lightweights broken into two teams of eight, coached by BJ Penn and Jens Pulver.
Diaz and Parisyan’s rivalry sparked during The Ultimate Fighter when Parisyan, who was already an established UFC fighter at the time, briefly came on the show to support his cousin, Team Pulver’s Manny Gamburyan.
During a confessional, Diaz said that he didn’t believe The Heat was acting respectfully while interacting with people on the show. Diaz said that The Heat was “talking down” to him and constantly physically antagonizing him.
Things escalated between the two fighters and they almost became physical before being broken up. Watch the altercation below:
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Diaz Won ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ 5, Never Fought Parisyan
Diaz, who was on Team Pulver, won the tournament and the six-figure UFC contract by defeating Rob Emerson, Corey Hill and Gray Maynard while inside the house. He then met Parisyan’s cousin Manny Gamburyan in the finals and defeated him via TKO after “The Pitbull” suffered a shoulder injury in the first round.
Diaz and Parisyan would never cross paths in the UFC. Diaz fought exclusively in the lightweight division until he moved up to welterweight in 2010. Parisyan, who fought at welterweight, last competed in the UFC in 2009.
However, The Heat does hold a win over Diaz’s brother Nick, defeating him at UFC 49 in 2004, a few years before Diaz’s season of The Ultimate Fighter.
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