For some, MMA may seem brutish or barbaric, a bunch of meatheads beating each other up.
But for Maverick Diaz it’s an art and a lifeline.
Diaz is a NW student who fights as an amateur in competitive Muay Thai for the Evolução Thai gym in Keller. He trains five days a week, drilling sequences of attacks and trading blows in sparring matches with his teammates. He’s been studying Muay Thai for the past five years, starting at the age of 15 when he was desperate for a new sport to keep him moving.
“I never wanted to be stagnant,” Diaz said. “So I came here — first gym I came to — and immediately fell in love with it. I had no idea where it would take me in terms of competing, but all I know is, in that moment, I was like ‘I want to keep doing this.’”
His first promotion, an official fight organized by a company, was the pivotal fight that made him into the competitor he is today. The stakes were high. Diaz was the first student to officially compete for his gym, and he was nervous.
With the music blaring, lights flashing and crowd roaring, it was surreal. The eyes of his teammates, family and total strangers were all watching. Empowered by the faith his coach Andy Tiet had in his potential, Diaz stepped into the ring ready to face his opponent.
His training had prepared him for this moment. “As soon as I stepped in there and that bell rang, I felt ready,” he said. “I felt good, and I really kept my composure. I ended up getting my hand raised. … I feel like that moment kind of changed the trajectory of my life.”
Diaz has fought in three more promotions following his initial win, only losing one. He said that his biggest challenge isn’t in taking a punch, but his mentality leading up to a fight. He struggles with motivation and feeling confident, but he relies on the work he and his team pour into him.
“I think the support that I have and the coaches that I have and the team that I have, it’s just half the battle,” Diaz said. “To finally get over that hurdle, it’s up to me.”
Diaz trains with Ashton Sears, an experienced fighter with several promotions under his belt. He said that even though Diaz is new to the sport, he’s knowledgeable, which sets him apart.
“He chooses his shots,” Sears said. “He chooses his battles. If he doesn’t like what he sees, he circles out, he resets, and he’s very good at baiting you into throwing a cross so he can slip in an overhand. Just the way that he frames can bait you into doing something.”
Diaz reached a roadblock after his third fight, questioning if he wanted to continue taking these beatings. He began to grapple with his commitment to competing. One night, he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking that he couldn’t expect to come out of these fights unscathed. He was going to be hit and it was going to be hard, but was he willing to rise to the occasion and devote himself to this work?
In that moment, he told himself that this is what he wanted to do, and he put every ounce of himself into training. Adjusting to this mindset shifted his view of Muay Thai from a hobby to a form of expression.
“Anything in life that you do with intent and meaning, I think it’s an art,” Diaz said. “And there’s meaning behind this. It’s much more than just ‘I hit you, you hit me.’ You study, and you get to a point of understanding that there’s beauty behind that. Taking what you learn and putting it all out there, it’s like putting paint on the canvas.”
Diaz’s study of technique is evident in the way he moves on the mat. He’s in constant motion, bouncing on his feet with gloves raised to shield his face. He stares down his opponent, and before they even know what punch they’re going to throw, he’s already prepared to counter it and land one of his own.
Nate Laughton, who also trains at Evolução, said Diaz is one of the hardest guys to spar with.
“Before you even catch a rhythm, he interrupts it,” Laughton said.
Another training partner, TJ Mynyk described Diaz’s fighting style as sharp, calculated and elusive. He never wastes a shot.
“He’s tough to hit, and he hits hard, hits fast,” Mynyk said. “It makes you pay when you’re not locked in, that’s for sure. … Everything he does is intentional. Everything’s with a purpose. Everything is setting up for something bigger.”
Mynyk said Diaz will often push himself and others to work hard when training and will answer questions without making others feel put down. Sears said Diaz used to teach the children’s lessons, and kids will still ask where Coach Maverick is.
Laughton said he appreciated Diaz’s willingness to teach.
“My first months here, sparring him obviously was hard,” Laughton said. “There’s a lot of things that he was doing that I wanted to emulate, but I didn’t exactly know how he was doing it. Anytime you ask him a question about anything, he’s not gonna gatekeep. He’s very open to teaching anybody. He’ll walk them through it.”
Diaz’s coach said Diaz’s desire to understand and digest the unique style and technique of Muay Thai sets him apart.
“You have to know all the rules so that you can break them,” Tiet said. “It wouldn’t be a very interesting fight if they’re throwing the same punches. So, the form needs to be instinct. Then you can know how to do something unexpected. That’s something he does very well.”
Evolução’s name came from Tiet’s previous instructor. He wanted its meaning of evolution and growth to reflect his unique style of Muay Thai, which incorporates elements of MMA. Tiet’s teacher took him under his wing at the same age Tiet did Diaz. He’s been able to witness Diaz’s growth over the past five years.
Diaz has a spiral design tattooed on his wrist to symbolize his connection to the gym and his own personal evolution.
In his junior year of high school, Diaz struggled with depression. Loneliness compounded with guilt, wondering why he felt utterly alone despite having friends at school and family at home. He thought no one would want to hear a teenage boy talk about his issues. He struggled for a long time with these feelings.
In November 2022 he attempted to take his own life.
“When you attempt something like that, it definitely leaves emotional trauma,” he said. “I’m happy, but it comes in waves. I feel like that part of me will always be there. I’ve accepted that now, and I feel very comfortable talking about it. … I’ve come to a point where I can tell myself, ‘I don’t want to do that anymore.’ I did, and I was wrong. It was horrible, but I learned a lot.”
He’s found that sharing his story with others has helped. Coming to the gym, listening to music, watching movies and staying busy alleviates his loneliness.
(KELLY AMTOWER)
“I don’t ever want to be stagnant in my life, whether that’s on a day-to-day basis or the long term,” Diaz said. “I always want to be doing something.”
Dedicating his time and effort to Muay Thai has helped train his mindset to focus on productivity. Investing in his craft has changed the way he carries himself both in and out of the gym. He focuses on treating people with respect and kindness, and he allows himself to put trust in and rely on others. The relationships and community he’s built has given him the skills to move forward with a new perspective on life.
Diaz is currently at the amateur level in the fighting circuit but has considered going pro. Just like he approaches a fight, he prefers to look at what’s in front of him and not get too ahead of himself, though, so he’s taking things one step at a time.
He is also working on his associate degree in film with hopes of writing and directing his own movies in the future. His appreciation of film began at an early age. He was even named after Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, the main character in “Top Gun.” Growing up, his dad would show him the movie, and he would wonder what a maverick was and what it meant.
“I just remember being in my grandpa’s house and him having that TV on for hours and just watching those old Westerns like “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” Diaz said. “He would just tell me, ‘That’s a maverick. That’s what your name means. It’s somebody who’s different.’”
