Nick Diaz Jumpstarts Training for GSP Fight With 36th-Place Finish in Triathlon

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, News

Nick Diaz has his biggest fight ever in front of him, but that doesn't mean he's putting his other passion to the side just yet.

On October 29, the Strikeforce welterweight champion vacates that belt for good to take a shot at becoming the man to dethrone long-reigning UFC champion Georges St-Pierre. Last Sunday though, Diaz was still taking part in one of his favorite activities: triathlons. Diaz participated in the 30th annual Donner Lake Triathlon in Truckee, Calif., finishing 36th out of 292 entrants.

The race, characterized as an "International Distance" event, was comprised of a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike ride and 6.5-mile run. Diaz completed the course in 2 hours, 46 minutes and 20.4 seconds.

In each individual discipline, he clocked a 24:59.1 in the swim, 1:25:11.4 in the bicycle portion, and did the run in 53:50.5. He also finished ahead of the event's other well-known pro athlete, as former major league baseball player Eric Byrnes finished 76th with a time of 2:58.19.09.

Diaz has long been a triathlon competitor and credits the training for his reputation as one of the fittest fighters in mixed martial arts.

In fact, in a June interview with Fighters Only, Diaz specifically mentioned completing demanding triathlon courses as a recipe for his future success.

"Fighting is 90 percent mental, and knowing that 15 minutes or 25 minutes are no problem can help you sustain that mental advantage over your opponent," he said. "What's 25 minutes when I've been pushing 80 percent of my maximum aerobic threshold for three hours?"

Diaz also famously once said that if the pay was the same, he'd race triathlons instead of fighting. Since that's not the case, he'll be back in the cage for his biggest career payday in October. A winner of 10 straight fights, Diaz (25-7, one no contest) faces St-Pierre at UFC 137 in Las Vegas.

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