It is genuinely perplexing how people can be willfully ignorant, whether it is in Hollywood with folks like R. Kelly or Washington with politicians like Ron Paul. People just seem so prone to this “beaten wife” mindset, constantly defending the apple of their eye no matter how many times reality slaps them in the face.
Nick Diaz is MMA’s most chronic abuser of fans, but they just can’t help but to ask for more, knowing all the while that it is just a matter of time before they get another one across the mouth. Then, every time they have to put on sunglasses, they pull out the Big Book of Excuses and say why their abuser is not to blame.
It is sad. It is painful to watch. It always ends in tragedy.
Before listing off the many reasons to hate Diaz, it should be framed in why people like him. He is an exciting fighter. Plain and simple.
Diaz is a serious threat anywhere in the cage and always looks to finish a fight—a serious change of pace from the distance-focused fighters like Georges St-Pierre and Jon Fitch who dominated the welterweight division for a long while. In eleven fights from 2008-2011 Diaz only made the judges earn their paychecks twice.
That is the extent of his likability on any level.
Diaz is consistently disrespectful to his opponents in and out of the cage. Historically he and his brother are possibly the best in the business at instantly hating somebody for no reason other than that they are going to be doing battle.
This turns into vitriolic smack-talk before fights, moronic taunting during and, if he happens to lose—or sometimes even if he wins—nonsensical complaining after. He is also no favorite for the press, typically coming off as disinterested or confused for press conferences and conference calls.
Okay. So he could use some work on his verbal skills. He still is a total professional, right?
Well, no. As mentioned he is not especially savvy with a microphone in his face, but a bigger problem than that is how he tends to not actually show up to media obligations. His highest-profile misstep was his bout with Georges St-Pierre. What was easily the biggest fight of his career and one of the biggest fights for the UFC in 2011 got nixed because of his absolute refusal to attend required promotional and press events.
So his people skills are not great. Professionally? Eh. Not so great there either. At least he behaves himself.
Ha! Nope. That would actually be his biggest downfall, with a lengthy history of trouble controlling himself and one of the longest rap sheets in MMA history.
He threw a shoe at Diego Sanchez before they fought at the TUF2 Finale.
He picked a fight with Joe Riggs at a hospital after losing to him in the cage.
He has repeatedly failed drug tests due to his frequent use of marijuana and probably would have failed at least one more if he did not skip a drug test before a title fight with Jay Hieron.
He was the central figure in a post-fight brawl at Strikeforce: Nashville that got the promotion kicked off of network television.
All that and he is still one of the most popular figures in MMA. Why? Why would his fans do this to themselves?
This writer is not a psychologist but it seems pretty clear that he has some manner of fear of success. He has, after all, cheated himself and his inexplicably loyal fans out of three (technically four) title fights between Jay Hieron, Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit (twice, really, because even if he beat Condit, the bout would have probably turned into a No Contest and then his positive test stripped him of the chance for an immediate rematch).
Worst of all he has a Josh Barnett-like allergy to taking responsibility for his actions. Whether he thought the weed would be flushed out of his system, that he was just getting his boy’s back or that he perceived something that somebody did as disrespectful. There is always an excuse. He never simply made a mistake.
There was a big hubbub just a week ago about Diaz truanting a BJJ event he was headlining. Cesar Gracie, Diaz’s manager/trainer/babysitter, was quick to defend him, giving a generally nonsensical explanation that his would-be opponent, Braulio Estima, came in over weight and that he lied about the nature of his MMA training.
Estima himself came out and ripped Cesar Gracie, dismantling his argument piece-by-piece. Gracie flip-flopped and tried to deflect the criticism toward Nalty Junior, the event’s marketer. Ultimately though, this is entirely irrelevant.
The bottom line is that fans paid to see Nick Diaz, and did not get their money’s worth for reasons nobody really knows. Possibly not even Diaz himself.
This seems almost an eternity ago now, however, with Diaz officially being suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for testing positive for marijuana metabolites. Again.
Diaz’s handlers and fans are obviously disappointed, but the case his lawyer was trying to make was never logically sound or likely to succeed (he tried focusing in on a technicality in the wording of the rules). Diaz now has to wait until February 2013 for another fight and has denied his fans the opportunity to see a rematch with Condit, a bout with Georges St-Pierre or anything other than BJJ events he may or may not decide to attend.
Nick Diaz is a 28 year-old man. He is in all likelihood as mature as he is ever going to be. To be a Diaz fan is to embrace the fact that any given accomplishment will be followed by disappointment and ridicule.
Diaz fans—you can do better. No matter what he tells you, it is not your fault.
Lose that zero. You can put that enthusiasm behind his brother, Nate, who is (probably) going to be fighting for the lightweight belt later this year or in early 2013.
You can get behind Carlos Condit who has demonstrated knockout power alongside an ability to game-plan and adjust during fights, which he used to beat Diaz in lopsided fashion in February.
If you are looking for somebody with a bad attitude and arm-snapping skills, Ronda Rousey can use more fans.
Either way, you can do better than Nick Diaz. You are only setting yourself up for more of the same.
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