Light heavyweight Ozzy Diaz steps into the octagon for the fist time at UFC Macau this Saturday, making the long trip overseas to take on Mingyang Zhang. The card will be an early one for Western fight fans (the main card kicks off at 6AM ET, 3AM PT), and is headlined by bantamweights Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo, both former champs in the UFC – Yan at 135, Figueiredo at 125.
Ozzy Diaz
Standing at six-foot-two
Fighting at 205 lbs (Light heavyweight)
34-years-old
Los Angeles, California, US
Training out of Kings MMA
A pro record of 9-2
7 KO/TKOs, 2 Submission
Pro comp; N/A
How Diaz will fare in the UFC:
Diaz has had an underrated career but has been looked past quite a bit. The reason being is that he was on the wrong end of the “Be Joe Pyfer” moment. That was on the Contender Series in 2023 when he was put out cold by Pyfer. Before that, Diaz was an LFA and LXF middleweight champion. After the loss to Pyfer, he didn’t return until this year. He came back with fresh air fighting at 205 and is 2-0 in the division. Diaz doesn’t have a “great” win but has fought tough guys. Wins over Chuck Campbell, Bevon Lewis, Bruno Assis, Moses Murrietta, and Logan Woods are all respectful wins.
Diaz is a good fighter that has a lot of the fundamentals. He’s an accurate striker that bases a lot of his success off the jab. He’s also good at the leg kicks and can snipe his opponents as they come in. What really hurts him is his speed. It doesn’t help that he sits in the pocket too long and lacks head movement. Although his jab and leg kicks are a good tool he’s there to be countered every time. Now, despite being at light heavyweight he’s even slower against heavier-handed guys. Diaz is going to do well on the feet with his technical abilities. Outside of that, he doesn’t have the big stopping power in his hands as others do in the weight class He’s been knocked out twice before and being 33 it’s not going to be much better for him in the UFC.
I don’t view Diaz as a wrestler at all but he’ll get tested there quite a bit. His takedown defense isn’t too good but I credit his grappling defense. He does a solid job of working back to his feet and fighting off submissions. He’s never going to lean heavily on his offensive grappling but hasn’t been out-grappled at any point. With that said he hasn’t fought the level of grapplers that are in the UFC but I believe he’ll do well.
Diaz is a fine signing because he has a better resume than most signings outside the Contender Series nowadays. At 33 with chin issues at 205 I can’t see him making much of a dent in the division. I believe he’d succeed more at middleweight where he’s more in shape.
How he matches up with Mingyang:
This is a setup fight for Mingyang to have a showcase knockout in front of his home country. I’m not sure it’s that simple because Mingyang has a lot of flaws. He’s reckless, chinny, and has cardio concerns. The thing is Mingyang is going to have a huge speed, youth, and athletic advantage. I expect Mingyang to crack Diaz as Diaz is too willing to trade and with a questionable chin.
