“Nick has been forcibly taken.” In June this year, an Instagram user ‘Rosie’ sparked a rumor about UFC legend Nick Diaz. Claiming to be his alleged girlfriend, she revealed in a frantic post that he’d been kidnapped, drugged, and smuggled to a rehab facility in Mexico by his cousin amid substance abuse struggles. This, of course, immediately took off in MMA circles, as people feared the worst had happened. 

By June 8, though, the reality had surfaced. Nick’s coach, Cesar Gracie, shut it down fast with a training photo. He captioned the post, “Nick is healthy and well. Not cloned or kidnapped. Has not joined MS13. Does not have a girlfriend but is probably looking.” Shortly after, the alleged girlfriend’s post was deleted. What fanned this entire situation was Nick’s own personality, where going MIA was nothing new. However, his location remained a mystery until now. 

Jake Shields reveals Nick Diaz’s whereabouts

In the latest episode of Jake Shields’ Fight Back Podcast, Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Champion Jake Shields may have accidentally revealed Nick Diaz’s current location while introducing the podcast team, which includes Nick, Nate, Shields, and Gilbert Melendez. Shields mentioned that Diaz was in Mexico, saying, “We’re the people known as the Skrap Pack. We’re three-fourths of it of it. Our boy Nick’s in Mexico right now,” during the show.

The four-member group forms the core of the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu camp, a Stockton-based MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) team. Their bond runs deep, forged through years of training together and competing under the same banner. Known collectively as the ‘Skrap Pack,’ the crew’s shared history and mutual loyalty have long defined their brotherhood, from training sessions to cornering each other inside the cage.

In the initial days, Nick Diaz and Jake Shields trained in the gym, but Shields later brought in Melendez. This prompted Nick to bring his little brother into the gym as well. “I brought Gilbert, and I think Nick’s like, ‘Well, my brother has to trade with Gilbert now,’” Shields revealed during the podcast. Shields remembers being friends with Nick, “but we were super competitive.” This prompted Melendez to reveal how Jake Shields and Nick Diaz used to be in those days.

Nate Diaz had to ease the tension because of Nick Diaz

“Jake and Nick just had this look in their eye like they were mad. They were like they already knew they were going to be world champions,” Melendez recalled. Nate Diaz added that it was evident from their behavior, which often led to tense moments in the gym. Despite that, Melendez said, “I loved kicking in with Nate,” because, as Nate himself revealed, he would “ease the tension.”

“Nate was like comic relief,” Melendez continued. “You guys were so serious, and I just admired you guys.” Nate then brought the conversation back to his brother, adding, “I was always easing the tension cuz I was around Nick all the time and he’d spooked the whole room.” He admitted that being around Nick sometimes made him uncomfortable, which pushed him to “light up the room.” Diaz had realized back then, “I got to start talking. I got to learn how to talk. Training help[ed] me with that, too.”

That being said, this friendly conversation between three friends seems to have revealed the whereabouts of the fourth. While the rumors about his kidnapping seem to be false, Nick Diaz is no stranger to personal struggles. When do you think he’ll return to the public eye?