With next weeks upcoming Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley event going down on April 9, the Strikeforce media machine has started to increase the hype leading up to the show. On Wednesday, the promotion held a conference call for the San Diego event which included headliners Nick Diaz, Paul “Semtex” Daley, Gilbert Melendez, and Tatsuya Kawajiri.
USA Today reporter Sergio Non put together a list of comments from that conference call. We’ve picked some of the better quotes, check them out below.
Nick Diaz
– I was asked before, at a press conference, about what I thought about Paul Daley, and I said I wasn’t overly impressed with his MMA skills — as far as a well-rounded fighter is what I meant by that. And I gave sort of an analogy of how I thought that fight might go in my favor, if it were to go in my favor. And that’s pretty much all I had to say about that. But I feel like, same for what I said. If the fight goes in my favor, then that’s probably how I see it going. That’s just what I meant by the statements I made before. It’s a good match-up. A lot of the time, you don’t get to see strikers fight each other.
– We’re a family. Someone like Nick, Nate and Jake, they’ve all helped me become the fighter I am. How am I going to use these skills that they’ve taught me against them? We help each other get better. It’s just not right. And if you’re offering me $10 million to fight my boy, then I’m sure somebody’s going to offer me $8 million to fight somebody else. So I’ll definitely take a pay cut or whatnot. Like I say, it runs deeper than money and team. It’s family and loyalty. Just because you’re an athlete or just because you have money, you don’t just join the team. I’ve learned lessons with that already.
Paul “Semtex” Daley
– I’m not just blowing gas up his (butt), but even before I knew I was fighting (Nick) — I do think that Nick has been criticized for his boxing — but as a striker, looking at his striking, I think Nick’s one of the best boxers in MMA. Granted, he doesn’t have the sort of one-punch knockout power that I have, but it’s proven that his hands are among the best in MMA. His distance, his timing, his range is that of a boxer. So he’s a fantastic striker.
(More quotes after the jump )
– As a fan of the martial arts and a fan of MMA, I don’t like to see the other way it’s going. The sport’s going to be a monopoly. In 10 years’ time, people are going to be calling MMA the UFC. I think that’s bad. That’s why I wanted to pull out of the fight. I didn’t want to fight (for) the competition, basically.
Gilbert Melendez
– I re-signed with Strikeforce, have a great deal with them, and now I’ve got the marketing machine of Zuffa behind me. That means I’m going to be exposed to every fan out there who calls MMA “UFC,” as well as I’m going to get a chance to really prove and find out if I am No. 1. A lot of great match-ups out there. It’s going to be great for my career. There’ll probably be some bumps in the road, but I feel like I’m going to be fighting for at least six more years, so it’s going to be great. I think everyone’s going to see what I got.
– I’m just being realistic here. Careers don’t last forever. This ain’t going to pay the bills forever. I can’t fight for the rest of my life. I’m just being realistic. Most fighters are in their prime around 30 to 32 or whatnot. So I’m just being realistic here.
Tatsuya Kawajiri
– Japanese translator Ishibashi, for Kawajiri: He says he’s always fighting for himself, and this fight is between himself and Gilbert. So that’s number one. But number two, he does want to meet the expectations of his fans and his friends, so he’s looking forward to seeing his fans, friends and family smiling after the fight.