In a recent interview with USAToday.com, Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz (23-7) commented on his brother Nate Diaz’ loss to Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 125.
Nick, who is preparing for his own fight against Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos at the end of this month, felt that his brother should have won the fight on damage. The Strikeforce welterweight feels that if the bout had been fought under the old Pride rules then his brother would have walked away as the victor.
Nate lost a unanimous decision to Kim during the pay per view portion of the New Year’s Day UFC 125: Resolution event in Las Vegas.
I think he made a lot of mistakes. I don’t think he was very focused…But he (Nate) is a lot better than that guy (Kim). You could see it in that fight. He (Nate) won on damage. At the end of that fight, that guy was real banged up, you know? Taking some hard shots to the eye, to the face. My brother hadn’t taken any shots.
I used to come in running in a lot, and getting overly aggressive. You get that way, because you (get caught up in trying to) win on damage. You’re fighting a different fight. One guy’s trying to win the round, one guy’s trying to win the fight.
That’s why I like dealing with Pride rules. I thought that there would be an organization that has that type of scoring criteria. I thought that show would stick around; I’d probably be fighting for them right now…
The restarts and the old Pride rules, it’s better.
The yellow card (if) you stall. You can’t stall. You have to fight.
You can’t elbow. You have to punch. It takes a lot of space. A guy on the bottom wants to get up, he gets up because you’re making space to punch. It makes for a more technical aspect to come out. It makes for more transition and movement to happen. It’s more exciting to watch and it makes for the better fighter to win.
The way that things are going now, you don’t (always) see the better fighter win. They play a game to win.
Diaz will defend his title on Jan. 29 at the Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The event will air live on the Showtime cable network.