Author: Levi Nile

Can Nate Diaz Step out of His Brother’s Shadow and Capture UFC Gold?

For a while now, Nate Diaz has been stepping out of his big brother’s shadow, slowly but surely. While Nick Diaz is still in many of the water cooler conversations, Nate is getting very close to a title shot for the UFC lightweight title belt. The real…

For a while now, Nate Diaz has been stepping out of his big brother’s shadow, slowly but surely.

While Nick Diaz is still in many of the water cooler conversations, Nate is getting very close to a title shot for the UFC lightweight title belt.

The real question is: Can he do it?

Yes, he most certainly can.

Right now, Nate Diaz matches up well with any of the top five fighters in the division. Yes, he is good where they are great, but he is also great where they are good.

Diaz brings three tools to the table that he can claim are the sharpest in the division: striking, submissions and a love for brutal fights.

Much like his big brother, Nate Diaz never met a fight he didn’t like. He’s got some losses on his record, but they were never really one-sided, even when you consider his loss to Rory MacDonald.

Right now, he has to eat what’s on his plate, and that will be no easy task. Jim Miller is going to go after him, bell to bell, and unlike many in the division, Miller is not going to be intimidated by Diaz.

Should Diaz be able to utilize his reach and superior striking game, he will probably walk away with a decision victory, putting the title square in his sights.

He’ll either be facing Ben Henderson or Frankie Edgar—two incredible fighters who are polished beyond the rest of the pack.

And I think Diaz can beat them both.

Of course, it won’t be easy. Far from it, in fact.

Both Henderson and Edgar are better wrestlers than Diaz. Both have his same kind of cardio and both have proven they won’t wilt under the pressure.

They both also enjoy a very high fight I.Q., and that is normally what makes a champion. They know when to maintain a position, when to go for broke, and most importantly, how to exploit the weaknesses of their given opponent.

It’s going to be hard for Diaz to handle the constant angular movement of Edgar just like it will be hard for him to handle the strength of Henderson.

And, of course, both Edgar and Henderson are faster than Diaz as well, which is another daunting problem.

But still, even considering all of this, I think Nate Diaz can win.

Diaz will have a significant advantage in striking. He put the blocks to Donald Cerrone, who is a great fighter in his own right, and he made Takanori Gomi look almost childish.

On the floor, Diaz can submit anyone in the division. His jiu-jitsu has such a firm base that he can build a submission opportunity seemingly from out of nowhere, and he doesn’t make many of the common mistakes that allow an opponent to slip out.

But, if there is anything about his game that really shines, it’s his style of fighting.

Diaz would be in the face of both Edgar and Henderson. He’s gotten to be very good at controlling the distance and dictating the pace and any moment of contemplation on their feet would see Diaz winging hard hooks and straight punches, both of which he can do with a surprising degree of accuracy.

Nate Diaz is a hard opponent to prepare for, simply because he doesn’t shy away from punches. When a Diaz brother gets punched in the face, they come alive and press the action even further.

Obviously, in a UFC title fight, all the cards are on the table, face up. Men as good as Henderson and Edgar aren’t going to bring anything less than their best, and for Diaz, that means fighting hard to keep from being controlled on the ground by superior wrestling.

Still, I think Diaz can do it. He’s a fast starter who has the courage of his convictions, and I believe we would see him raise his game to a new level come the night of a title fight.

And, let’s be honest, a title fight between Nate Diaz vs. either Benson Henderson or Frankie Edgar would be spectacular.

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Why Are MMA Fans Obsessed with Boxing Comparisons?

When I was a young boy, my father sat me on the sofa next to him and together, we shared something magical. We watched as Muhammad Ali battered some game yet hopelessly outclassed opponent along the ropes, knocking out his mouth piece. I remember that …

When I was a young boy, my father sat me on the sofa next to him and together, we shared something magical.

We watched as Muhammad Ali battered some game yet hopelessly outclassed opponent along the ropes, knocking out his mouth piece. I remember that moment in particular: the sight of that white shape flying out of his head so fast that I had to ask my father for confirmation as to what had just happened.

It was my first exposure to the world of combative sport, and there was no doubt that for me, boxing was king.

Fast forward many years later. I sit down next to my father, pop in a UFC DVD and introduce him to the sport of MMA.

Now, he and I (and my step-mother, a shockingly astute fight fan and fight prognosticator) watch both sports with equal passion, ordering more UFC pay-per-view events than many others I know.

This story is not an uncommon one.

The president of the UFC, Dana White, came to the fight game as a fan of boxing, and a fan of boxing he remains to this day.

There are a number of MMA fans who cannot understand, or perhaps tolerate, any comparisons between boxing and MMA. They rightly feel they are two different sports, and MMA doesn’t need validation from the sport of boxing, via comparisons, to stand on its own.

This makes perfect sense. MMA fought its way onto the big stage, and in many ways it has succeeded in spite of the sport of boxing, which has given MMA some of its biggest and most vocal detractors.

But the comparisons aren’t going to end anytime soon, but for one reason: boxing is the history of combative sport, much more so than MMA and jiu-jitsu.

The sport of boxing has produced some of the most incredible, jaw-dropping, toe-to-toe fights that have ever been seen. It has also produced some of the greatest fistic talents the world has ever known.

Many new fight fans that are drawn to the combative sports due to the lure of the UFC have no use for boxing. For them boxing is stagnant and boring.

Then, of course, there are fans like myself and my father: coming from a different generation, where boxing was all that was both great and awful about the fight game. We find MMA just as new and exciting and incredible as anyone else, but we can’t help but compare these new times with the old times.

Because both put a smile on our faces.

Of course, there are technical reasons as well. MMA is about fighting, while boxing is about an aspect of fighting. Boxing is the potatoes in the potato salad of MMA, so to speak.

Some fans are always going to wonder how a fighter like Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Lennox Lewis would do in the sport of MMA, augmenting their considerable boxing skills with jiu-jitsu, grappling and so on. It’s not like the sport of MMA doesn’t have some aspects of the striking game that need improving.

But if pressed for a simple, honest answer: it’s because of the wars.

How can you, as a boxing fan, not feel for Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar what you felt when watching Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward I, for example? Great wars are in a class by themselves, and for many, they share the same real estate on the top shelf, and that is exactly where they belong.

When you start trying to place one epic bout above another, you are splitting hairs plucked from the same head.

Boxing and MMA may indeed be different sports, but the epic fights they produce are all the same species of animal: fearless, noble, strong and fast, unyielding and so beautiful to watch when it runs.  

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UFC 147: What Chael Sonnen Must Do to Silence His Critics

The time for talk is almost over, key word being “almost.” Chael Sonnen never met a smart-ass comment he didn’t like, even if he had to be the butt of the joke in order to bring it into play. It’s that attitude that has served h…

The time for talk is almost over, key word being “almost.”

Chael Sonnen never met a smart-ass comment he didn’t like, even if he had to be the butt of the joke in order to bring it into play.

It’s that attitude that has served him well and entertained him to no end. His humor is high brow, going over the heads of most people who have a hard time seeing the sharp side of the truth when it’s lying between two lies.

But none of that really matters anymore because there is a serious situation waiting just around the corner—a situation Sonnen helped build, word by inflammatory word.

The rematch has been signed, and Sonnen gets his chance to prove that his dominance in their first fight wasn’t a fluke.

Ever since UFC 117, Sonnen has been painting a picture for us in which his submission loss to Anderson Silva is some rare species of victory. We’ve laughed with and at him during his campaign, but Election Day is almost here, so to speak.

With the shadow of Anderson Silva becoming longer and darker as the sun rises, the critics of Sonnen are turning their attention away from his antics and to what really matters most, the fight itself.

Sonnen has a second chance to silence those critics, and in truth, it is actually his last chance.

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UFC 145 Results: 5 Fights for Ben Rothwell to Take Next

Having fought his way back to an even keel in the UFC, Ben Rothwell now holds his own future in his hands, which is more than many would have thought before Saturday night in Atlanta.The heavyweight division is full of great fighters, but they could al…

Having fought his way back to an even keel in the UFC, Ben Rothwell now holds his own future in his hands, which is more than many would have thought before Saturday night in Atlanta.

The heavyweight division is full of great fighters, but they could always use one more, and it is up to him to make sure his hat stays in the ring, never far from the eye of Joe Silva.

Rothwell has many attributes, but his biggest may be his desire.

That being said, he still has mountains to climb, and any one of the next five listed fighters would help him reach that higher ground.

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Jon Jones: Are We Mistaking Confidence for Conceit?

For all intents and purposes, it seems that many MMA fans think Jon Jones is every bit as arrogant as Rashad Evans says he is. When Jones says he believes his own hype, or that he is the best in his division, or that he wants to become better than Ali,…

For all intents and purposes, it seems that many MMA fans think Jon Jones is every bit as arrogant as Rashad Evans says he is.

When Jones says he believes his own hype, or that he is the best in his division, or that he wants to become better than Ali, they’re shocked and appalled.

And if that wasn’t enough, he reportedly won’t sign replica UFC title belts for fans because they were not earned.

Many MMA fans are going to be tuning in on April 21st with the hopes of seeing Jones get knocked off the top of the mountain.

And all of that is fine and just.

But everyone should take a moment to consider the possibility that they are wrong about Jones.

I am not saying they are wrong, I’m saying they might be.

In order to keep things in context, we would have to walk a mile in Jones’ shoes — when he was a skinny kid who had little-to-no athletic aspirations, aside of proving himself to his brothers.

Much of what Jones has achieved is due to plain, simple daring. Instead of saying “I can’t do that,” his modus operandi is “I don’t know I can’t do that until I try.”

Considering the results of his MMA career, Jones has succeeded at what he has tried to do.

Fighters’ lives are based upon seconds. They have to focus all of their energies toward the next step or the next drill.

Most successful fighters can do this because they have some God-given athletic ability that allows them to sail on autopilot through those difficult sessions.

And once again, there is nothing wrong with this.

For Jones, he has not attained any of his acclaim due to athletic grace. Many say he is more like Roy Jones Jr. than Muhammad Ali, but I beg to differ.

Roy Jones Jr. was a freak of nature, athletically speaking. His rise to glory was based on the fact that his physical gifts were so numerous that he didn’t have to work as hard as the next guy.

Jon Jones works twice as hard, like Ali did, because he is not some uber-athlete.

I have no idea what a training camp must be like, but I imagine it is brutal from day one to day whatever. I also imagine that having self-confidence is a must when you are young and defying the odds.

There is nothing wrong with a fighter feeling that he has a destiny, nor is there anything wrong with a fighter being confident, especially when that confidence is well-founded.

Jones is still very young to the game and, having lost much in his life already, he is probably terrified of losing what he has. When people want to hold on to something, they may try just about any kind of philosophy in order to get a better grip.

So what if Jones doesn’t exactly fit what we consider to be the standard of humble? Who are we to say our standard is the right standard?

My point is that the difference between conceit and confidence is usually only seen in hindsight, and Jones is only looking into the future, quite possibly because the past is painful for him.

And as far as not signing a replica UFC championship belt, hell, I don’t think they should even make those. As long as he doesn’t stop signing autographs, he’ll be just fine.

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Should Kazushi Sakuraba Make a Final Run in the UFC?

Most fighters are men of dreams, willing to roll the dice and take their chances, hopeful that their chin and heart will ultimately take them to the top. They make sacrifices we will never know about, all toward the end of winning the next fight, and t…

Most fighters are men of dreams, willing to roll the dice and take their chances, hopeful that their chin and heart will ultimately take them to the top.

They make sacrifices we will never know about, all toward the end of winning the next fight, and the fight after, and so on.

When they talk about themselves, they try to project optimism because they are always swimming the seas of promotion.

Of course, Kazushi Sakuraba is not like everyone else. 

When American audiences got their first real look at Sakuraba, it was during his appearance at UFC: Ultimate Japan. His attitude was humble and seemed to say: “you win some, and you lose some.”

Of course, on that night he went on to become the first-ever Japanese fighter to win a UFC tournament, and in the heavyweight division no less.

That started what would turn out to be a stunning career for Sakuraba, at least while he was still in his prime, fighting opponents of similar size.

But much has changed since he was atop the MMA world. He’s taken some savage beatings in the ring and is currently sitting atop a four-fight losing skid.

Still, if he has a mind to continue fighting, why not fight in the UFC?

Some might laugh at the idea, but truth be told, it is not that far out of the realm of possibility.

So, what advantages would Sakuraba have fighting in the UFC as opposed to other organizations?

Read on and find out.

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