Nick Diaz has said in recent interviews that he doesn’t want to fight anymore.
He doesn’t like hurting people. He thinks that he doesn’t have a social life as long as he’s in MMA. He’d rather do triathlons if he had the choice.
He doesn’t need MMA.
Nick Diaz has said all of these things, but despite all that, he said one other thing that is more salient—he doesn’t have enough money, and because of that, he can’t stop fighting right now if he wanted to.
And obviously, a part of him does want to quit, even if it’s more complicated than that.
But he can’t quit.
Even though Diaz has made a lot of money fighting, he has bills to pay and a whole life after fighting that he needs to be able to support.
It doesn’t help that, unlike some other MMA fighters, Diaz doesn’t have a day job or some other skill-set to fall back on.
Fighting is his life.
And even though fighting gave him everything he’s ever had, he doesn’t own fighting. Fighting owns him.
But is Diaz right?
Diaz’s resentment towards his occupation is understandable, but tons of other fighters are able to exist outside of fighting and don’t regard it as Diaz does.
It’s possible to me that in some parallel universe, Nick Diaz, the professional triathlete, is sick of running all day, but he talks in glossy-eyed fondness about his MMA hobby where he’s free to let his creative energy thrive.
But maybe I’m wrong.
If Diaz beats BJ Penn this weekend, a title shot with Georges St-Pierre will give him the kind of money one might need to retire and finally put the fight game in the rear-view mirror.
Perhaps then, Diaz would get to see if there really is life after the fight.
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