Former UFC fighter Nate Diaz made an unexpected appearance in the spotlight at WWE Raw on Monday, but it was his young daughter who stole the show.
During the live broadcast, 7-year-old Nikayla Diaz mimicked her father’s trademark flex pose on the crowd cam, sitting on his father’s lap, and she instantly caught everybody’s attention.
The moment quickly spread across social media, going viral with more than 2.4 million views on X as of publication and doing an unexpected favor for the connection between the UFC and WWE under the shared TKO Group Holdings banner.
The two promotions merged in 2023 as part of a $21.4 billion deal, with Endeavor Chief Executive Air Emanuel leading TKO into the merger.
Although Raw featured several key moments, such as Seth Rollins getting stripped of the World Heavyweight title after undergoing surgery, it was Nikayla’s impersonation of her father’s iconic pose that grabbed fans’ attention.
Back to Diaz, 40, he remains one of the most recognizable names in mixed martial arts after leaving the UFC in 2022 once he completed his contract with the promotion.
Diaz, however, is not officially retired and is currently a free agent and active in other fighting sports, namely boxing. Most recently, he fought Jake Paul in 2023 and Jorge Masvidal in 2024, splitting those bouts.
Nate Diaz (21-13-0 throughout his career) started his mixed martial arts career in October 2004 under the guidance of his brother Nick and made his UFC debut in June 2007.
Diaz last competed in MMA in September 2022, submitting Tony Ferguson. He fought for a UFC championship once (against fellow lightweight Benson Henderson) but never won a title in the promo.
Although nothing has happened since Diaz posted a photo alongside WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque and his spouse, Stephanie McMahon, Diaz hinted at joining the WWE back in 2022, captioning the picture, “We’ll see what’s bout to happen next.”
