(Video courtesy YouTube/WorldFightProducts)

UFC lightweight-welterweight, Nate Diaz was in Toronto over the weekend for some guest appearances and I debated whether or not I should make the hour-and-a-half trek to interview him for the site, but ultimately I decided against it knowing that interviewing him is like hunting for truffles. You never know if you’re going to find anything valuable or just come home covered in mud and having wasted your day.

As you can see by the video above, which ranks in my top-ten most awkward fighter interviews of all time, the likelihood that I would have found a "truffle" were slim to none as Nate didn’t seem in the least bit interested in answering any of the interviewer’s mundane questions.

Maybe it had something to do with the guy’s habit of replying to each of Nate’s answers with "Cool!" or "Super!" or "Super Cool!" or maybe its because he and Nick are both sociopaths in the classic sense of the word.


Whatever the reason, the interview, which lasted just over three minutes but felt like thirty, was almost painful to watch.

A couple of somewhat interesting points he made in the interview, which likely won’t sit well with the UFC brass (see Todd Duffee) if they ever see it, were that he feels that everyone in the UFC is on steroids and that most fighters are underpaid and wouldn’t be able to survive without the financial aid of their sponsors.

When asked about Chael Sonnen‘s recent suspension for testing positive, Diaz said he didn’t have an opinion on the subject, then proceeded to share his opinion on the subject.

"No opinion. That’s not a surprise," Diaz said. "Not that he was on steroids, but all these guys are on steroids, so you can’t be surprised when somebody pops up on steroids, you know? You should be surprised when people aren’t on steroids."

Here’s what he had to say about how destitute he and other fighters would be if they were forced to live off of their fight purses alone.

"[Sponsors are] a big help, you know," Diaz pointed out. "A lot of fighters are underpaid. They help us put food on the table and clothes on our backs, so sponsors are great."

The average U.S. household income in America in 2009 was $33,000.

According to figures released by the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission, Diaz made $60,000 for his UFC 118 bout with Marcus Davis, including a $30,000 win bonus. He also made $24,000 for his UFN 20 loss to Gray Maynard this year and an undisclosed amount for his UFC 111 win over Rory Markham.

So the question is, if he relies on sponsors to put food on his table and clothes on his back, what the hell is he blowing his money on?