Nick Diaz is one of the top welterweight mixed martial artists in the world. That much is certain.
But lately, it seems like Nick Diaz has been catered to by the UFC in most of the things he does. From getting an immediate title shot after jumping ship from Strikeforce to potentially getting an automatic rematch against Carlos Condit, it seems that whenever Diaz does anything “rash,” the UFC is there to make things better for him.
A lot of people are going to disagree with me, but let me show you what I am talking about.
First off, Nick Diaz left the UFC in 2006 to pursue competition in different organizations. While this is fine, the UFC has the best fighters in the world to offer as opponents, and Diaz built a record fighting mid-level talent after the UFC.
Obviously, he would become the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, defend his belt three times and become the talk of the MMA world. Many believed, from his post-UFC successes, that he would be the man to defeat Georges St. Pierre.
When it looked like Diaz would not be considered for a title shot against St. Pierre, Diaz threatened to pursue boxing and leave Strikeforce (which he would have had to do anyways had he challenged St. Pierre in the UFC).
To me, this was an obvious ploy to force the UFC’s hand to give him a title shot, as he is a big draw and a top welterweight.
Catering to Diaz, the UFC granted him a title shot against St. Pierre, which he ended up losing because of his missed media events. People point to social anxiety as the reason while I myself point to his unprofessional attitude, which he has displayed throughout his career.So instead of getting a main event title shot against St. Pierre, he gets a co-main event slot against BJ Penn. When St. Pierre goes down, Carlos Condit decides to sit out and wait for the title shot he was now supposed to fight for, while Diaz fills the main event slot with Penn.
Diaz beats Penn. He then calls out Georges St. Pierre on national television, leading to St. Pierre voicing his dislike for Diaz. Because of the call-out, Dana White pulls Condit from his promised title shot in favor of Diaz, again catering to the brash superstar.
Calling a fighter out for the title shot is not unheard of, but when that champion has a fight already basically set, they shouldn’t pull out a fighter in favor of the fighter who called out the champ.
For example, Chael Sonnen made the most famous post-fight call-out in the history of the UFC after manhandling Brian Stann. Did that give him the immediate title shot that everybody wanted to see against Anderson Silva? No. It got him a No. 1 contender’s fight against Mark Munoz (later Michael Bisping after the injury to Munoz).
So the match is set. St. Pierre versus Diaz. Until St. Pierre sustains another injury, leading to an interim title fight against the man who should have gotten the title fight to begin with, Carlos Condit.
Condit and Diaz fight five close rounds, and in the end, Condit comes away victorious by unanimous decision. He outstrikes Diaz, follows his game plan and avoids getting into a hockey fight-like brawl with Diaz.
Yes, it is a close decision, but how many close decisions have we seen in MMA history? Diaz fans and friends alike are enraged because Diaz lost. They are belligerent in their arguments, but facts are facts, Condit is your champion.Following the loss, Diaz retires. Caesar Gracie complains, like I expected him to. This is where the straw finally broke the camel’s back for me.
It appears that the UFC is going to rematch Condit and Diaz before Condit has a chance to unify the belts with St. Pierre. That is the ultimate catering to a fighter, and it is not fair to Carlos Condit. It is catering because, like the threat to switch to pro boxing, it forced the UFC’s hand to cave in on Diaz’s actions.
I can see that if after the St. PIerre fight, Condit and Diaz have a rematch. That makes sense. But to do it before Condit can unify belts with St. Pierre doesn’t seem right.
In all, the catering that Nick Diaz has received from the UFC is not fair to every fighter, not only in the welterweight division, but in the company. To me, it shows that the company is holding Diaz to a higher standard than anybody else. It is like that parent who has no control over their child, and when the child cries, the parent gives it whatever it wants.
Believe me, I do want to see a rematch between the two. But not an immediate rematch. Maybe somewhere down the road is the right time to do it, but don’t make it now because Diaz took his ball and went home.
Feel free to leave comments. I fear no reprisal.
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