(Video courtesy of IronForgesIron)
Nick Diaz has quickly become one of the most polarizing figures perhaps behind only Chael Sonnen in the sheer even number of fans and haters, but it looks like some facets of the Stockton native’s act may be more calculated than we thought.
While making a rare media appearance on HDNet’s Inside MMA last night Diaz told hosts Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten that his callout of UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre wasn’t a spur of the moment decision he made after beating BJ Penn at UFC 137. He explained that he was pretty sure he’d get his previously promised title shot if he chose his words carefully for his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan and that he was happy that St-Pierre took the bait.
“You don’t always come off the way that you want to or look the way you want to [in interviews]. I go out there and just act up and become the evil villain and I’m calling guys out and stuff,” Diaz explained. “It seems to have worked. I’m getting the fights I want. I can’t complain right now at this point.”
Complaining is pretty much what Nick Diaz does all the time, but again, it gets him what he wants, be it a reaction, more money or bigger fights.
Now that he finally got the fight with St-Pierre that he’s been calling for for a few years, Diaz says he has his work cut out for him when it comes to preparing for the dominant champion, but he feels that he has what it takes to dethrone him again.
He takes a somewhat analytical approach in detailing how he plans on going about beating “Rush.”
“It’s all about how you come out and fight. It can always go different, you know? I could go on the bottom a lot, but are you gonna be able to advance position? Are you gonna be able to do damage from there? Are you gonna stall? Are you gonna fight? There’s a lot of different stuff that can happen. It’s up to me to kinda make some stuff happen. Five rounds is a lot of time for me to work with in this one,” he explained. “I enjoy fighting five rounds. I work hard to be in good condition to fight for five rounds. It’s important to plan for everything. That’s what I’m good at. He’s fighting somebody who’s gonna do everything.”