At UFC 137, Nick Diaz re-emerged into mixed martial arts consciousness. Not that he was out of the watchful eye of most fans and the media alike, though his star never shined brighter than in his October tussle with former two-time world champion BJ Penn.
Originally, Diaz was scheduled to take on Georges St-Pierre for the UFC belt, where the two would serve as the headlining act. However, a pair of no-shows to several pre-fight press junkets called an end to the match, when UFC officials yanked Diaz from the match.
A shuffle later re-booked Diaz with Penn and moved top contender Carlos Condit to the championship tilt with the Canadian. A subsequent injury sidelined St-Pierre, and Diaz and Penn later garnered main-event honors in the process.
From there, Diaz stole the show, deftly defeating Penn en route to a dominant decision victory, courtesy of his superior striking arsenal, which was on display, bloodying and bludgeoning “The Prodigy’s” face in a “Fight of the Night” worthy performance.
Though the victory in of itself may have been enough, Diaz put an exclamation in his position as the No. 1 contender to the title when he called out St-Pierre following his bout, stating “I don’t think Georges is hurt, I think he’s scared. I think he’s scared to fight everybody right now. Where you at Georges?”
The verbal assault was not the first time we’ve seen Diaz’ reputable villainous skills on display. In previous endeavors, Diaz was twice involved in near riot meltdowns inside a cage, first against rival KJ Noons under the EliteXC banner and most recently against Jason “Mayhem” Miller when Diaz and the Cesar Gracie crew jumped the “Bully Beatdown” star on a live CBS broadcasted event in Nashville last April.
If that wasn’t enough, in the lead-up to his UFC 137 tilt with the Hawaiian, Diaz still had a chip on his shoulder thanks to his removal from the title bout, and St-Pierre bore the brunt of several expletives, essentially reaffirming that Diaz moniker that St-Pierre was “scared, homie.”
The Stockton native’s methods are unconventional, doing what he wants, when he wants and on his own terms. His fighting style, in and out the cage antics have made him the ultimate anti-hero to most, which is why he’s as sought after a fighter as there is today, making him a fighter that we either hate to love or love to hate.
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