Uly Diaz is one of the most feared bare knuckle fighters on the planet, but also one of the most beloved in the industry.
(Photo courtesy: BYB Extreme)
Back in November of 2020, Uly "Monster" Diaz scored the fastest knockout in bare knuckle boxing history, a three second KO over Daniele Benedetto. The sensational knockout in concert with its brevity made it a social media moment, particularly during a time when many people were still confined to their homes and hungry for any live sporting content whatsoever. Before long, he had over 55,000 Instagram followers, and had gone from a man who once made his living in the streets to a man being stopped in the streets to talk about that knockout, sometimes asking if he thinks he can beat his own time.
“I tell them, first of all, it's impossible,” says Diaz with a laugh. “Second of all, why would I try to beat myself?”
Diaz’s viral moment was a life-changing one. It led to a BKFC fight against Thiago Alves, to appearances on two Floyd Mayweather undercards, and opened him up to a world of contemporaries and appreciators that he couldn’t have imagined would be in his orbit even a few years ago. Click on any one of Diaz’s social media posts and you’ll see legitimate celebrities in his comments wishing him well. “Mr. Worldwide” Pitbull, Hollywood star Mickey Rourke, infleuncer-turned-boxer Jake Paul (whom Diaz has sparred with extensively), WWE Superstar Sheamus and more are among the celebrities Diaz calls friends now.
But more important than the external rewards Diaz has reaped from bare knuckle boxing are those he enjoys within it.
After a discharge from the Coast Guard in his early 20s, Diaz spent more than two years in prison for street fighting. Upon his release, Diaz found work and eventually found comfort in the boxing gym where he’d spent much of his childhood, growing up in a boxing-obsessed Cuban family. At the age of 35, he made his pro boxing debut in the Dominican Republic. On the gloved circuit, he’s racked up 13 knockouts in fifteen fights, losing just once. But even with KO and star power, a 35-year old debutant wasn’t going to attract major promoters to sign him.
Enter the upstart world of bare knuckle boxing, where Diaz is now on his second promotional contract with BYB, where he will fight for the second time on May 11 in a cruiserweight title eliminator bout against Zion Tomlinson.
“Bare knuckle, to me, I find myself to be comfortable in it because man, I'm a kid off the streets. I ran with gangs my whole life, I was in juvenile detention centers as a young man, I was in prison as a young man. I've been fighting bare knuckle my whole life, but now I get paid for it, I get to be on camera in front of my family and friends and get paid for it,” said Diaz. “Miami's a melting pot for that type of lifestyle. There's a lot of guys now coming off the streets and turning their life over to fighting. It's a hard way to make a living, but it's an honest way to make a living. I feel like anything outside of this is just a boring lifestyle.”
(Photo courtesy: BYB Extreme)
Diaz’s debut in BYB in January of this year was, like his life, anything but boring. Diaz blasted through Mumia Abu Dey-Ali with a series of knockdowns in the first round. In the eyes of many fans, it represented a return to form for Diaz after as knockout loss at the hands of Francesco Ricci. It also represented his first fight in The Mighty Trigon, BYB’s patented triangular ring that rewards and borderline necessitates aggression, as color commentator Benny Ricardo often points out.
“For me, the Trigon is better for my style of fighting. I'm an in your face kind of fighter, I don't have the Cuban boxing style, bouncing all over the ring,” said Diaz. “You get trapped in any of those little corners and it's great for me to go to work.”
Against Tomlinson, Diaz may not be able to blitz in the first round in quite the same way, as Tomlinson has shown knockout power of his own, in particular with his 2023 win over Mattia Fonda. Upon reflection, as scintillating as his victory over Dey-Ali was, Diaz knows some adjustments will be necessary this time around.
“I threw technique all the way out the door brother. We had a game plan, I trained my ass off for that fight, and you know, something in my opponent's demeanor from the day before, I'm telling you, I'm sitting in my hotel room the day of the fight and I'm in my head about it. I'm like, you know what, I'm gonna go at this guy. He had this laid back demeanor, and I watched some of his previous fights, and he was just sitting back. I was like you know what, I'm gonna surprise him, just jump off the line and just fucking surprise him,” said Diaz. “I didn't like how I came across in that fight. I looked like I'd never fought before in my life. This time, we're gonna show some skill, we're gonna show some professionalism.”
Even at 43 years of age, Diaz aims to take no days off from the gym, citing in particular its benefits for his mental health to simply remain active. Diaz is so fixated on fitness that ten days after his win over Dey-Ali, he ran the Clearwater Marathon with no formal training whatsoever. Ironically, he says he would only ever need about three days before he can get back into the boxing gym following a fight, he needed a little longer to recover after running 26.2 miles on a whim, and had to borrow his son’s crutches to hobble around for a few days after the race.
For now, the finish line Diaz is eyeing is towards the end of 2024, when he hopes he can land a shot at the BYB light heavyweight title held by Cub Hawkins. However, he remains resistant to initiate any serious trash talk. At the end of the day, The Monster is really a Man of the People.
“Zion happens to be the next guy in line. I'm gonna run through him,” said Diaz. “But, I've made some of my best friends in this industry. Even guys I've fought, like Francesco Ricchi, that's like my brother, I consider him a brother. Fighting has saved my life and it's taken me on a journey around the world.”
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