The latest incident involving Nick Diaz has certainly been making its way around the media this week.
After preparing to face renowned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Braulio Estima at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo, Diaz suddenly no-showed on the morning of the match.
The move had left critics surprised more than angry, considering Diaz was competing for a charity.
Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, had finally broke silence on the incident and released a statement on Graciefighter.com.
In the statement, Gracie recalls the event and explains how communication broke down and eventually caused things to fall apart.
In the month of February I was contacted by a Brazilian named Junior asking me if I wanted to participate in an Expo\Jiu-jitsu tournament. The goal was to put one of our team’s stars in the event to attract sponsors and ensure it was successful. The event was not that far away and they desperately needed exposure. Junior stated that he was working with my uncle Rilion and my cousin Renzo on this project and they were in fact partners. Rilion and Renzo are 2 people that I greatly admire and respect and I was more than happy to partner up with them.
I discussed the idea with Nick Diaz and he readily agreed to enter in the black belt gi division. He did not seek any reimbursement. Junior thought it better for Nick to do a super fight as he thought this would be more of a spectacle and bring in more attention. Nick was not as enthusiastic but agreed on the condition that whoever was picked to go against him was not an mma fighter. He knew even a mediocre mma fighter would try to use a match and/or victory over him to further their career in mma. Nick believes a reputation as a fighter should only be earned in a ring or cage. I relayed this to Junior and he agreed to arrange for a strict jiu-jitsu competitor, Gracie wrote.
Gracie went on to explain how he felt betrayed and that he feels the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation is organized by “cronies” and that American Jiu-Jitsu practitioners are not treated fairly compared to their Brazilian counterparts.
Gracie would then address Diaz’s actions and he did not think the former Strikeforce welterweight champion handled the situation in a professional manner.
“Nick is not without fault by any means. His lack of communication with his team and coach was inexcusable. This will be addressed privately.”
There has been no statement from Diaz regarding his reasoning for not attending the event, as Gracie looks to handle the situation internally.
Diaz is not likely to serve any harsh punishment, however, this is certainly not going to help his reputation as to how he conducts himself in a professional manner. He had already pulled a similar stunt while promoting UFC 137, which forced him out of the main event with Georges St-Pierre.
This incident won’t have any affect on his mixed martial arts career, but it will likely impact Diaz’s image among fans and his peers.
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