Nate Diaz’s 209 Crew Roll Deep at UFC 196’s Open Workout

Not many people can greet a gathering of hundreds of people with a middle finger and have them break out into bellowing cheers, but Nate Diaz can.

The Stockton native walks into the Jabbawakeez Theater in the MGM Grand flanked by a handful of teammates on either side of him. The outspoken fan-favorite oozes nonchalance with his signature North Californian cool before he takes to the matted area with his featherweight Cesar Gracie teammate, Chris Avila.

The duo begin with a some classic jiu jitsu pummeling before Diaz uses various trips to send the compliant Avila down to the mat. Eventually, Diaz transitions from the takedown into an armbar, which he drills four times.

Loosening himself up, Diaz starts to throw his patented one-two combination as Avila shapes in front of him. Despite the chants of 'Ole, Ole, Ole', from one fan in particular who McGregor later suggests has "had a few, ye", Diaz is unfazed and continues to work a sweat up to the delight of his captive audience.

Diaz's posse escorts him as he walks from the stage and into the scrum area. Joe Schilling is approached by a number of media members and when Avila comes down off the platform, he looks around for his friends who have disappeared behind a sea of bodies who cram together in the hopes of asking Diaz as a question.

When he finds them I inquire about an interview, but Avila isn't all that enthusiastic.

"Where are you from?" he asks me, and when I tell him, it only adds to my troubles of getting some quotes from him.

"This guy is from Ireland," he says to the crew's celebrated media arm, Michael 'Layzie The Savage' Mardones. And luckily for me, 'Layzie' gives me the nod of approval.

"That's our homie, though," he says to my delight, although it doesn't seem like Avila fully believes him.

As I launch into my questions, there is a definite guard to Diaz's sparring partner. He probes me with his eyes, making sure I'm not trying to trip him up with any of my inquiries. When he speaks, he speaks carefully, with the knowledge that I hail from the same land that Saturday night's enemy comes from. If anything, it's a testament to the loyalty that exists in the click that so passionately represent the 209.

"Nate's got some very high-level boxing," he tells me when I ask about the striking matchup between Diaz and McGregor.

"He's been boxing his whole life, a long, long time. We have plenty of good southpaws where we're at. Where we're from there are lots of guys with high-level boxing. Guys are travelling worldwide to come over and train with us in Northern California, so we've got the sparring taken care of.

"Personally, I'm a right-handed fighter, but there are lots of other guys to give him them looks. Whether he has respect for Conor's hands or not? That's his opinion, so you're going to have to ask him."

Of course, the most obvious threat to McGregor's chances of a successful welterweight debut exists in the stellar submission game of Diaz. The long limbs of Diaz make his guard one of the most dangerous territories in the UFC ranks. Knowing where his historical lineage with the gentle art originates from, Avila questioned the origins of McGregor's jiu jitsu.

"Nate's jiu jitsu is on a really high level," he explains. "That's Gracie jiu jitsu. To us, we don't know where Conor McGregor's jiu jitsu came from. We don't know who he's trained under or where he's at with his game, with his level and things like that.

"We know how good Nate is when it comes to jiu jitsu. He's at the top of the food chain. We got Kron Gracie, one of the best guys in the whole world, training with us. So, to me, that's saying something right there.

"If this fight hits the ground, I'm positive Nate will get the finish. And it's not just if it hits the ground. He can finish this fight anywhere. Wherever the fight takes place, Nate is dangerous."

When Diaz finishes his media scrum, its queues Avila's exit from our conversation. Despite a somewhat ropey start to our chat, Avila is all class and thanks for my time before he leaves with the rest of the crew.

Outside the Theater, people are still in a line that stretches back for quite a distance in an effort to get into the personal venue. When Diaz appears with his team, some of the crowd wishes him luck, while others tell him that he's going to taste defeat at the hands of McGregor with their roars.

Again, Diaz beams widely before he looks around to his friends, who can clearly see the funny side of things.

Reading the situation perfectly, Diaz and two others turn around to his critics and give them double birds as the line erupts into cheers. Again, Diaz and his crew burst into fits of laughter.