We are all guilty of being prisoners of the moment at certain points, and if you believe that Nate Diaz deserves the lightweight championship title fight more than Anthony Pettis, you are a prisoner of the moment.
Don’t get me wrong, Diaz had a great showing against one of the top opponents at 155 in Jim Miller. He’s tough as nails and even harder to stop.
However, let’s not forget that “Showtime” Pettis has not only beaten the current champion at lightweight, but is coming off of a spectacular head-kick-Knockout-of-the-Night performance. What else could you want?
I’m of the mind that all current fighters are only as good as their last five fights, and with that said, just look at the fact that in his last five fights, Anthony Pettis is 4-1, while Diaz is 3-2.
Pettis has also received a Knockout of the Night thanks to his Decapitation of Joe Lauzon, Submission of the Night thanks to a Triangle Choke with only nine seconds remaining in the fight, then won a Fight of the Night performance in which he caught current lightweight champ Ben Henderson with a spectacular kick off of the cage.
Add all of this to the fact that Anthony Pettis was promised a championship match almost two years ago and it’s almost as if Showtime is becoming the 155-lb version of what John Fitch was. Continues to win but continues to be overlooked.
Whatever the deal, there’s just no way that Diaz deserves the title shot more that Pettis. It’s the fair thing to do, it’s the right thing to do, and it would actually make for the better lineup of future fights.
Who wouldn’t love to see Henderson vs. Pettis 2, and Edgar vs. Diaz? There’s always good money to be made in a semi-feud and this could be the one that the lightweight division has been waiting on since BJ Penn left.
So do the right thing, Dana. Give the title shot to the man who deserves it most, and put Nate in a contenders match for now. Let’s not be prisoners of the moment, let’s look at the entire picture.
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