Nick Diaz is one of the most polarizing figures in Mixed Martial Arts. It seems like everyone either loves him or hates him. One thing that I know for sure about Nick Diaz is that he doesn’t give a shit what you think about him either way.
If it was up to Nick Diaz, he would be competing in triathlons instead of spending all of his time getting punched in the head. Unfortunately for Diaz, triathlons don’t attract millions of fans to yell at the tv and watch him bike, swim, and run.
Diaz has never been shy about the fact that he fights for the money, which could be not enough or too much depending on what time of the day you ask him. He thinks that he should be making the same money as GSP, Lesnar, and the other top draws in MMA. If you have ever watched him fight then you may even agree with him. His fights are certainly some of the most action packed, exciting fights that MMA has to offer.
The problem with Nick Diaz is that he refuses to play the game the way that an athlete needs to in order to make the money that they desire. Sure Brock Lesnar freaked out after his fight with Frank Mir but he was apologizing 20 minutes later after the adrenaline left his veins. Nick Diaz won’t apologize for shit. It’s this reason that I love his personality but it’s also what is costing him what could be millions of dollars.
Regardless of what you think of Nick Diaz, Saturday night proved once again that he is one of the best fighters in the world today. Some will point to his past in the UFC where he lost to Diego Sanchez, Joe Riggs, and Karo Parisyan as a way to devalue his recent accomplishments. I’ll agree that he isn’t facing top ten competition on a regular basis in Strikeforce but that doesn’t mean that what he has done isn’t still extremely impressive. Let us also not forget that Nick was still very young when fighting in the UFC and his stand up game wasn’t anywhere near what it is today. You can say what you want about his crackhead boxing style but you can’t say that it isn’t effective.
Most people thought that if Nick was to come into his fight with Paul Daley with the intentions of kick boxing him that he would be knocked out. Diaz didn’t give a shit about your opinion because thats how he rolls. He also happened to be right. From the opening bell Diaz was calling the hot-headed Brit everything he could think of to get under his skin and draw him into a brawl. His shit talking worked as Daley quickly abandoned his game plan in an attempt to shut Diaz up. Despite almost getting knocked out by one of Daley’s Tyson like hooks, Diaz out struck the striker to win with another exciting performance.
I think the fight should have been allowed to go to a second round but I’ll admit thats probably because of my own masochistic indulgences. Daley was on skates after taking a combination from Diaz and although he was never out, it took two guys to pull him up onto his stool after the fight was called. Diaz celebrated by rubbing it into Daley’s face and then gave one of the most paranoid, weird interviews ever after the fight.
Nick Diaz’s training partner, Gilbert Melendez, also successfully defended his lightweight belt Saturday night. In what was Gilbert’s most dominate, impressive victory to date, Melendez proved that he has what it takes to compete in the shark pool that is the UFC’s lightweight division. I don’t know exactly how long it will be before he gets that opportunity but that shouldn’t stop him from being considered at least top 3 in the division. I think he may have the best chance out of all the Strikeforce champions at beating the current UFC champion at his weight.
Gegard Mousasi was absolutely robbed in his fight with Keith Jardine. After 3 rounds of completely beating the piss out of Jardine, the judges declared it a draw. Even with the point taken away in the first round for an illegal upkick, Mousasi should have easily won that fight. Jardine is a warrior and gave it his all despite not having a sufficient training camp leading up to the fight due to taking the fight on short notice but there is no way that fight should have been declared a draw. Jardine did land a few takedowns but he never did anything with them. When the fight was standing it was all Mousasi. This fight is yet another example of why MMA needs a new judging standard.
The opening fight featured two men known for their hideous choice of pants but it will be remembered for one of its combatants coming in with the worst game plan ever. Everyone with a brain knows that you must keep the fight standing if you want to beat Shinya Aoki. Apparently, Lyle Beerbohm never got the memo. Quickly after taking down what is probably the lightweight divisions best submission fighter, Beerbohm was being choked to death by the popular Japanese fighter. Aoki didn’t really answer any questions with the win but it will garner him more opportunities in America while the Japanese fighting scene continues to die off.
Fights That I Would Make:
Nick Diaz vs Diego Sanchez - Strikeforce has little to offer Nick Diaz in the welterweight division. Tyron Woodley will probably get the next title shot and his wrestling will make it interesting seeing how Diaz hasn’t fought a talented wrestler in quite awhile but I think it’s too soon to give Woodley a title shot. Diego Sanchez is a marketable name that has already beaten Diaz once. Sanchez will probably never be able to work his way up to a title shot in the welterweight division and may not even fight GSP if he was given the chance since they both fight for Greg Jackson. The first fight was absolutely thrilling and I think the second fight would be great also but with different results. Diaz has seemed to improve much more over that time period and I would put money on him winning this fight.
Paul Daley vs Tyron Woodley - This could possibly kill two stones for Zuffa. Daley is still on their shit list and Woodley could probably out-wrestle Daley to give him his second loss in a row. This would be a good stylistic matchup for Woodley and could give him a nice career boost with a win over a name opponent. Daley would have a punchers chance at winning this fight but I would predict that it would go a lot like his fight with Koscheck. If Zuffa would like to continue working with Daley and maybe hype up a future rematch with Diaz on the premise of an early stoppage then they should give him Cyborg next in what would be a slugfest that would probably go in Daley’s favor.
Gegard Mousasi vs Ronaldo Souza - Mousasi should be fighting at middleweight where he beat Souza earlier in his career. Like a lot of european fighters, Mousasi doesn’t particularly care for dropping weight and is not fighting in the division that he would do best in. Gegard could still hold his own in a lot of light heavyweight fights but he will not be able to beat the high level wrestlers in that division on a regular basis. Souza would probably be motivated to revenge his loss and may have a chance with his improving standup.
Keith Jardine vs Tim Kennedy - Jardine deserves another shot after taking that fight on such short notice and surviving it. He also has recently made it known that he plans on dropping to middleweight for his next fight. Kennedy would be a great gauge as to whether Jardine still has enough in him at this point in his career to make another run.
Gilbert Melendez vs Jim Miller - Gilbert doesn’t have a legit challenger left in Strikeforce. Jim Miller has already lost to the top 2 guys in the UFC and is behind Pettis for the next shot at the belt. It would make sense to let Miller challenge for the Strikeforce belt in the mean time. The lightweight division is probably the deepest in the UFC thus probably will be the first division that we see castoff’s to challenge for Strikeforce gold. Miller would be Gilbert’s toughest challenge to date and would validate his future wish to unify the belts.
Shinya Aoki vs Josh Thompson - Both fighters would like another shot at Melendez so why not make them fight each other. Shinya Aoki still has a lot to prove to most American fans and a fight with Thompson could either make or break his chances at a rematch with Melendez. The Strikeforce lightweight division is pretty shallow so I don’t see another fight to make unless they decide to put one of the two against an up and comer.
