When it comes to Nick Diaz, there is no middle ground.
MMA fans either love him for his outspoken, “nothing matters but the fight” attitude or they label him as a crazy, immature, ungrateful miscreant who squanders opportunities and blames others for his missteps.
With Diaz, as with most people, things are not just black and white, there are shades of gray, whether his detractors as well as his supporters want to admit that or not.
It’s hard to deny that Diaz is an interesting figure. Like many “personalities,” he is extremely hard to ignore. When he does consent to an interview or participate in a press conference there are bound to be some noteworthy moments.
However, unlike someone like Chael Sonnen, you never get the feeling that Diaz is doing anything with a wink and a nudge, instead he comes off sincere to a fault; without a filter and possibly without a clue as to the repercussions of his words and actions.
That fact was made evident when he blew off two scheduled media events for UFC 137. Diaz was originally booked to face UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in the main event of the Oct. 29 fight card.
The fight, for St-Pierre’s welterweight crown, was one that fans had been looking forward to for some time, but the matchup fell apart when Diaz no-showed media events in Toronto and Las Vegas.
Those acts of insubordination resulted in the UFC pulling him from the fight. Carlos Condit, who had been booked against BJ Penn in the co-main event, was then slotted to replace Diaz.
The next we heard from Diaz was via a video blog the he had recorded as he drove back to his home in Stockton, Calif., the day of the missed Vegas press conference.
In the video, Diaz took no ownership for his actions. He apologized for not making it “to the beauty pageant,” but other than that, he offered nothing in the way of an explanation as to why he failed to fulfill his press obligations for UFC 137.
Fate then smiled on Diaz when he was not only allowed to stay with the UFC, but also given the spot that Condit had left vacant, facing off against Penn in the evening’s co-main event. Earlier this week, Diaz and Penn had their fight become the main event, when St-Pierre withdrew from the card due to an injured knee.
The promotion held a media call for the new main event earlier this week and guess who was missing in action for the first half of the call? If you said Nick Diaz, you would be absolutely correct.
He eventually made the call, but his temporary absence did cause Neil Davidson of The Canadian Press to (jokingly?) inquire if Diaz would remain on the card.
Through all of this, there have been three schools of thought on Diaz and his actions. The first group is flatly dismissive of him, waving him off like an insolent child.
The second group consists of those that blindly support his actions, giving him a big thumbs up each time he acts out in a way that they see as some type of modern day Johnny Strabler, Marlon Brando’s character from the The Wild One.
Lastly, there is the seemingly smallest group, those who are curious as to what makes Diaz tick.
Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, has claimed that his fighter suffers from social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder is one of those psychiatric disorders that some find easy to dismiss, seeing it as an excuse or an imaginary condition.
However, it is a legitimate problem that can be almost incapacitating to those that suffer from it. The disorder can cause sufferers to make irrational decisions that leave others scratching their heads, decisions like avoiding the probing questions of a press conference that will be streamed via the Internet across the world.
Diaz never seems comfortable when he does get roped into an interview or a press conference. When this occurs, he acts out, taking the defensive and attacking perceived threats. Like Cesar Gracie’s amateur diagnosis of Diaz’s social anxiety disorder, one could easily view these moments as acting out to cover up a bigger issue.
Social anxiety disorder may be one explanation for Diaz’s actions; another may be that his focus is so intense that he cannot comprehend or consider the fact that there is anything to worry about other than getting ready for the fight and competing.
Any profile of Diaz usually focuses on the time he spends training, the time spent in the gym, the time spent competing in triathlons or as Diaz himself proclaimed during this week’s media call, “I’m not sitting here by my phone, waiting for a call. I’m waiting to train. I’m trying to become the best in the world. That’s what you’re dealing with, here. This is the whole world out there. Ain’t nobody can beat me.”
In the business world, someone like Diaz would be applauded. They would be called “driven” and admired for their single-minded focus on being the best in their particular field. Instead of being commended for his focus on becoming the best fighter he can be, Diaz faces derision and taunts.
None of this is meant to dismiss the actions of Diaz. Instead it’s meant to look at them and consider them with an open mind, without labeling him a rebel without a clue or some kind of countercultural hero, depending on which side of the fence you fall when considering Diaz.
Diaz, like many of us, is a flawed human being who just happens to perform his job on a much larger stage than most of us.
No matter the reason behind his actions, whether they are the result of social anxiety disorder or just a bad attitude, Diaz shouldn’t be looked at as anything other than a person who just wants to do his job and be left alone outside of his work hours, not too different than many of us.
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