Estima reacts to Diaz’s antics (Video: MMAFighting.com)
In a way, the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo got everything they asked for last night. When you contract Nick Diaz for a bout, you sign on for a fair amount of trials and tribulations; the Nick Diaz package extends well beyond his formidable fighting skills. The very behavior that spikes a promoter’s blood pressure draws media attention and fan speculation—added interest that may not exist were it not for the Stockton native’s puzzling behavior. It’s a trade off, a roll of the dice that you make in hopes that you get the best of both worlds–the amazing prize fighter and the polarizing figure. But there’s a problem with counting on a tortured soul unable to cope with the most mundane aspects of life: you can’t count on him.
If you haven’t gotten the sense that all did not go well for Nick Diaz’s BJJ superfight with Braulio Estima last night, let me spell it out for you: the bout didn’t happen.
It’s almost an exercise in futility to try and figure out why, but we can certainly try. Things seem to have started unraveling when Estima failed to make the contracted weight the evening before the bout. Though it’s clear that he wasn’t prepared to make 180 lbs on Friday night, the decorated BJJ champion claims that the weigh-in time was never clearly outlined. Rumors have Estima hitting the scales at 189 lbs, then renegotiating a catch weight of 185 lbs, though both the man himself and Diaz’s coach Cesar Gracie claim he hit the contracted mark on Saturday morning.
As for why Diaz no-showed, Gracie was less certain. “I don’t know,” Cesar told MMAFighting.com. “I know he was mad when he was told Braulio would not make weight last night. No one has seen him today. Braulio ended up making weight this morning.”
Making this turn of events a bit more glum is that Diaz had volunteered to donate his purse to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, but let’s go ahead and wipe that look of shock off of our mugs. This is par for the course with the elder Diaz, and if he didn’t play hooky for drug tests and press conferences and bouts, we wouldn’t be as interested when he actually does bother to show up. Fans were looking forward to a BJJ match that–on paper at least–was incredibly lopsided simply to see what sort of crazy antics Nick Diaz would get into; I’d say we weren’t disappointed.
Stay tuned in the days ahead for the Diaz chronicles to unfold. Something tells me he’s charging up his camera, fueling up his ride, and preparing a statement as I type.