“Don’t be scared homey.”
How many times have we heard this line from Nick Diaz and fans?
It only seems fitting that the line has been redirected towards the Cesar Gracie student after he no-showed two scheduled UFC 137 press conferences for his UFC championship bout with Georges St-Pierre.
“I’ve had my reservations with Nick Diaz for some time now. We haven’t heard from him. He hasn’t returned our calls,” UFC President Dana White said on Tuesday at a press conference in Las Vegas.
“When we brought him in to sign to fight Georges, I told him that all purses he’s ever made won’t add up to as much as he would make in this fight. But I told him that I needed him to do certain things. You have to promote the fight. You have to show up for pressers. You can’t start fights at fights.”
White wasn’t asking much of Diaz, who constantly complained about money issues and lackluster competition when he fought under the Strikeforce banner.
Who could ever forget Diaz’s interview leading up to his Strikeforce title bout with Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos?
“I’d like to get paid. [Manny] Pacquiao’s making $40 (expletive) million, GSP’s making a couple million dollars, and I’m over here driving a Honda because my (expletive) breaking down,” Diaz stated in a conference call.
“I got here and started fighting before most of them, including GSP. I was at it first, and I’m mad that they are getting [all the] recognition when I was here first. People think this guy is better than me and it’s bullshit.”
It’s no secret that Diaz despises mandatory press appearances. White has even gone on record to state that he likes Diaz as a fighter, but the former Strikeforce champion’s inability to cope with the demands of being a professional athlete is tough to deal with.
Still, why would Diaz no-show for a pair of press conferences of this magnitude?
Currently on a 10-fight win streak, Diaz has ascended to the top of the welterweight ranks after facing a minimal of top-10 opposition. To top that off, every one of Diaz’s opponents have been favorable style matches.
In his career, Diaz has continuously struggled against elite wrestlers with strong submission defense. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who meets that criteria on Diaz’s résumé since Gleison Tibau in November 2006.
Grapplers like Diego Sanchez, Sean Sherk and Joe Riggs have all had their way with Diaz, and St-Pierre, who is the best wrestler in all of MMA, clearly would’ve presented the Stockton native with his toughest style match to date.
Did Diaz simply fold under the pressure of such a blockbuster event, or were there unknown circumstances involved that kept him from fulfilling his responsibilities?
“I despise doing this. I don’t like the staredown, the face-to-face, the pictures, the click-click. I don’t like doing this, but I have to,” St-Pierre said. “It’s the contract. To promote the fight, you need three entities: the organization and the two fighters. And one fighter didn’t do his job. If you don’t want to do it for yourself, do it for your family. It’s a little bit selfish.”
Now, fans are left with one question––was all of the talk for nothing?
For well over a year, Diaz has constantly complained about not getting a crack at world class opposition and driving a “Honda,” but when he finally gets the opportunity he has so desperately been asking for, he turns his nose up at it.
This isn’t Strikeforce any more, and the opponent isn’t K.J. Noons or Scott Smith. Diaz has returned to the big stage, and if he can’t handle the pressure, he may want to consider returning to the San Jose-based promotion.
If a chance at the UFC title was that important to Diaz, he would’ve showed up at both press conferences or presented a valid excuse as to why he couldn’t attend. He didn’t do either and simply chose to not show up.
When you don’t show up to work in the real world, you lose your job, and Diaz will be lucky to keep his after these two costly stunts.
“Cesar Gracie had him in his house. Nick snuck out the back door. Nobody has been able to find him,” said White. “If I had known this would happen, I never would have made this fight. We’ve spent $15,000 in just flights for Nick Diaz in the last couple of days. It’s a pretty big financial blow.”
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