Once again, UFC star Nick Diaz showed he can’t be trusted to fulfill his obligations on Saturday, as he failed to show up for the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo in Long Beach, California. After another huge disappointment, Diaz must repair his image and right the wrong from this weekend quickly.
Diaz was scheduled to face multiple world champion Braulio Estima in what was a highly-anticipated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu match as the main attraction of the event. But he failed to show up, leaving Estima standing on the mat with no opponent.
Originally, there were concerns that Estima might not make the 180-pound weight limit, but he apparently did. Nick’s brother Nate took to Twitter to make a vague complaint about the weigh-in, but that didn’t really clear anything up.
Diaz was reportedly going to give his purse to charity, but now, that appears to be off the table as well thanks to the no-show.
The native of Stockton, California has a lot of explaining to do, as this is his second high-profile no-show. He was removed from the main event of UFC 137—which was supposed to be a welterweight title showdown with Georges St. Pierre—because he missed multiple flights for press events to hype the fight.
He eventually got his shot at Carlos Condit for the interim welterweight title at UFC 143, but he lost a unanimous decision before testing positive for marijuana in a post-fight drug test.
All of those black marks against him mean that Diaz has a lot of work to do if he wants to regain the trust of his fans. But there is a way he can do it.
First, he should donate whatever money he would have earned by fighting Estima to charity. Then, he needs to issue a public apology to anyone who attended this weekend’s expo and all those who paid $10 to stream it live on the Internet. He also needs to apologize to Estima for not showing up and fighting him.
Then Diaz needs to assure both the UFC and his fans that he won’t let anything like this happen again. He should take whatever fight Dana White wants to put him in next and not complain. He should just shut up and focus on training.
This was another big letdown for people who have defended the Diaz brothers and their actions for a long time. It’s time for Nick to grow up and accept responsibility for his actions instead of making excuses or blaming others.
Admitting his mistakes and making good on his promises will be the first steps in earning back the fans he has lost over the last year.
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