On Wednesday, September 7, the UFC held a press conference for UFC 137’s main event, Georges St-Pierre versus Nick Diaz. When the participants took to the stage, there was St-Pierre, UFC president Dana White and an empty chair. White wasted no time in detailing the fact that Diaz had gone missing and as a result Carlos Condit would replace him, facing St-Pierre for the UFC welterweight title.
In a matter of minutes, Diaz went from fighting St-Pierre for the UFC welterweight title to having his future with the promotion put into doubt. During his time at the podium White stopped short of saying that Diaz would be released from the organization, but he did make his unhappiness with the fighter known.
On Thursday night, White let his followers on twitter know that Diaz had been spared from the UFC chopping block and that he would remain on the card with a new opponent, the fighter that was originally set to face Carlos Condit:
This is crazy but here we go again! You wanted it so you got it. Penn vs Diaz Oct 27th in Vegas
White quickly corrected the date on his tweet:
I meant Oct 29th
That Diaz would stay with the organization after causing such an uproar says a great deal about his worth to the promotion. It’s hard to fathom White being so forgiving to many other fighters, but as White says, “it is what it is” and Diaz has been given another chance.
It’s very likely that this will be his last chance with the promotion and it makes one wonder if Diaz can overcome being his own worst enemy.
When he fought for Strikeforce, Diaz’s quirks were forgiven and perhaps even encouraged, for he was the big draw for the promotion. With the UFC, Diaz is just another fighter and he must, as White has asked him to do, “play the game,” just a little bit.
Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, was far from forgiving of Diaz going missing between Tuesday and Wednesday, but when speaking to MMAFighting.com, he did offer his take on why Diaz failed to appear for UFC press duties: “He doesn’t feel comfortable being around people.” “He has a very deep ingrained social anxiety, and it’s something he probably needs help for, I think. I think that’s why he self-medicates himself with the marijuana. That’s my amateur opinion.”
If Gracie is on the mark with his self-described amateur opinion, could that explain Diaz’s boorish behavior? Can Diaz only find comfort in the few minutes he is physically engaged in a fight? Is everything else posturing and posing, to hide the social anxiety that he is suffering from?
Honestly, only Nick Diaz can answer those questions and the odds are against that ever happening. The fact remains that if Diaz does ever want to climb to the level of top contender, he’ll need to take a look inside himself and overcome whatever issues are holding him back from “playing the game.”
None of this is meant to say that what Diaz did earlier this week was excusable, for there is no excuse for his actions. However, if Diaz truly does suffer from severe social anxiety disorder, to simply dismiss him as “crazy” or a “screw-up” is just as unforgivable and shortsighted.
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