Even though Nick Diaz has seemingly decided to retire from the “UFC game”, his younger brother Nate Diaz has made quite a name for himself. He has always been a phenomenal fighter, even with his.
Even though Nick Diaz has seemingly decided to retire from the “UFC game”, his younger brother Nate Diaz has made quite a name for himself. He has always been a phenomenal fighter, even with his very deceiving record. When his name appears on a card, rest assured, it will be an all out brawl that will live up to its hype. Nate Diaz is currently the number one contender for the lightweight division, but has decided to take a title fight against the winner of Henderson vs. Edgar this Saturday, instead of putting his contendership on the line.
This leads to Diaz signing a new deal with the UFC soon, as well as his manager pushing for a title fight as early as December of this year. Diaz only has one fight left on his current contract, so a new deal has to be agrees upon. The remaining factor to be decided is how many fights the new deal will consist of. Normally, Dana white makes deals consisting of four fights, but Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, hopes to have more fights guaranteed in the deal for his fighter.
Nate Diaz has been helping his training partner, Jake Shields, prepare for his upcoming fight which will also occur this Saturday at UFC 150. Nate Diaz won’t just be in the audience on Saturday to dissect the main event determining his future opponent in his own title fight, but he will be cornering Shields as well.
Gracie also discussed the future of Nick Diaz with White. While the outcome of it hasn’t been discussed with the public, Gracie said in the future, both Diaz brothers will be fighting in the UFC in the future. The roadblock of Nick Diaz’s suspension for a failed drug test still remains. While Nick’s first appeal did nothing for the fighter, his lawyer is currently appealing to a higher court.
With a prospect for a title fight right around the corner for Nate Diaz, we can only hope that his brother will be back into the octagon soon to support his brother and continue his own reign in the welterweight division of the UFC. Saturday will tell a lot for Nate Diaz as he works towards the opportunity to become a world champion.
We never expected Nick Diaz to stay “retired,” after he lost a close decision to Carlos Condit and got popped and suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for marijuana metabolites early in the year. So when Diaz manager/coach Cesar Gracie released a written statement on GracieFighter.com Friday that Diaz will, in fact, return to fighting it just confirmed the obvious.
However, Gracie had another timely bombshell to announce – Diaz would totally fight Anderson Silva, and Diaz’ camp will make the request of the UFC.
(I’m just playing, MMA. You know I love you)
We never expected Nick Diaz to stay “retired,” after he lost a close decision to Carlos Condit and got popped and suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for marijuana metabolites early in the year. So when Diaz manager/coach Cesar Gracie released a written statement on GracieFighter.com Friday that Diaz will, in fact, return to fighting it just confirmed the obvious.
However, Gracie had another timely bombshell to announce – Diaz would totally fight Anderson Silva, and Diaz’ camp will make the request of the UFC. “‘Silva’s camp has been speaking of a fight with GSP [Georges St. Pierre], possibly even at a catch weight,” Gracie wrote. “Nick will take that fight in a minute but has told me that should Silva decide not to drop at all, he will move up to 185lbs to face the Champ.”
As audacious as the challenge might be, from a rankings and match-up perspective, Diaz’ timing might be pretty good. Anderson Silva’s camp doesn’t seem enthused about the champion fighting any of the current middleweight challengers, saying they want GSP. But GSP has never seemed very interested in fighting Silva and besides, we’d expect him to fight the interim welterweight champ, Condit, first when he returns to action.
Diaz is much smaller than Silva and doesn’t own a belt, but on the other hand we can only imagine how well he’d sell that fight. Additionally, he might be the only other guy that we could expect not to be afraid of Anderson.
Diaz has been unsuccessful in appealing to Nevada’s Attorney General and to the NSAC for leniency in his year-long suspension but Gracie says that they are seeking remedy in court. ”To address the NSAC suspension, I will say that we have appealed to the courts and if things go our way, it will be plausible that Nick could return as early as sometime at the end of this year,” Gracie wrote.
He also said that he will be meeting with UFC President Dana White on August 6th to discuss Nick Diaz’ future. What do you say, nation – should Uncle Dana be open to the idea of UFC 160: Stockton vs. Curritiba?
(An artist’s depiction of what may have happened had Nick Diaz not been a complete space-case.)
Sigh…
We can’t be the only MMA news outlet that is getting tired of Nick Diaz’s inability to accept responsibility for his actions, or at the bare minimum speak up when his inability to do so is called into question. The man is one of the most entertaining and plain intimidating fighters in the game today, yet the only thing that seems to be holding him back is this ever-present sense of adolescent rebellion. And it looks like were not the only ones sharing this frustration.
You know the story by now. After no-showing for his BJJ superfight against Braulio Estima, Diaz went back into hiding, opting to have coach Cesar Gracie do his talking for him. In an incredibly long letter, Gracie claimed that a “lack of professionalism” on Estima’s part (ie. an inability to make the required 180 lbs.) was the reason for Diaz’s decision to pull out, even though Estima claimed to have made the required weight on the morning of the fight.
This was enough to set off a “fed up” Estima, who responded to Gracies claims with his own statement that awaits you after the jump.
(An artist’s depiction of what may have happened had Nick Diaz not been a complete space-case.)
Sigh…
We can’t be the only MMA news outlet that is getting tired of Nick Diaz’s inability to accept responsibility for his actions, or at the bare minimum speak up when his inability to do so is called into question. The man is one of the most entertaining and plain intimidating fighters in the game today, yet the only thing that seems to be holding him back is this ever-present sense of adolescent rebellion. And it looks like were not the only ones sharing this frustration.
You know the story by now. After no-showing for his BJJ superfight against Braulio Estima, Diaz went back into hiding, opting to have coach Cesar Gracie do his talking for him. In an incredibly long letter, Gracie claimed that a “lack of professionalism” on Estima’s part (ie. an inability to make the required 180 lbs.) was the reason for Diaz’s decision to pull out, even though Estima claimed to have made the required weight on the morning of the fight.
This was enough to set off a “fed up” Estima, who responded to Gracies claims with his own statement.
@CesarGracieBJJ Hi César i was reading yr statement. vry interesting points..
1st- When junior approached me 2 Offer me the fight I was actually training at the blackzilians at the time so obviously I was training Mma. Junior told me abt nick not wanting 2 fight an Mma fighter. I nevr fought before so he said it was fine & y u dnt cancel the fight before if ths was really an issue..??
2nd- nobody has ever bended no rules for me. Because there was no rules set to start off with, it wasnt going to be a UFC match but a superfight on a BJJ Expo so the whole point here was for us to show a fight..has Nick signed a contract that stated the date time and weight that we both need to reach? I didn’t. And since this whole thing was going to be a friendly event I really don’t see any issue here even if Nick turned up 10lbs overweight. Still when asked I went and dropped the weight to meet the requirement. Actually to put things straight it was myself that called Junior around 10pm Friday to check if there is going to be a weigh in at all. He kept contacting you and got back to me saying I need to be 180 that time, of course I said I can’t for the simple reason I was away in Irvine and it was already late at night but I said sure no problem I’ll make it first thing in the morning if needed, even if it would put me in a bigger disadvantage I didnt care I just came to fight. Junior had actually called me back no later than midnight that he spoke to you and confirmed the weigh in for 10am.
Besides when did Nick actually weigh in? And who witnessed that if we are being so strict and proffessional?
3rd – you are saying Nick had left by 10am Saturday morning? Why you never said anything then? I even asked you I’d like to see him and his weight and you said he’s not gonna come down because he ate already and wouldn’t make the weight anymore. And Lana after speaking to you called his room and said he was actually there sleeping. Nobody at any point had mentioned he could have left. Leaving me believing we would fight till the very last minute, now youre talking about lack of proffesionalism in the organisation of the superfight and this was very professional behaviour right?
There is many more points here that I don’t agree with but I am just fed up of this whole situation and don’t agree for anyone to ever release the blame from Nick for whatever reason, we were there to fight and that’s what should happen no excuses, we are both professional athletes and should respect one another no matter what. And this is inexcusable.
I don’t know about you guys, but there seems to be so much “he said/she said” drama surrounding what was supposed to be a friendly charity match that I’ve really gone past the point where I give a shit about the match that was suppose to happen in the first place. Nick Diaz is being Nick Diaz, and why anyone would expect otherwise is beyond me. Whether or not you will place the blame on Diaz or Estima for this blown opportunity likely depends on how much of a Diaz enthusiast you really are, and I’m not going to try and change anyone’s mind. Like I said, the guy is a fantastic fighter. I just wish he would grow the fuck up.
(Nick actually shattered his personal record for running away from a scheduled event by a full 3.5 minutes, but nobody ever wants to focus on the man’s accomplishments, I guess.)
Short version: Although Gracie didn’t appreciate his fighter’s no-show (“his lack of communication with his team and coach was inexcusable”), Nick’s decision to leave was based on multiple instances of shadiness involving a WJJE organizer named “Junior” and Estima himself. Read on for Cesar Gracie’s letter in its entirety, courtesy of graciefighter.com…
My decision to write an account of what happened this weekend is not to answer to the detractors of myself or my team, as no explanation is owed them. It is instead based on my acknowledgement and respect to our fans and supporters. I never thought I would be answering for something that happened at a grappling tournament, however with the worldwide popularity of the sport and my team increasing, I understand that our supporters need answers.
Below is a compilation of events in chronological order. I included the behind the scenes problems we had to let you, our supporters, know how things deteriorated.
(Nick actually shattered his personal record for running away from a scheduled event by a full 3.5 minutes, but nobody ever wants to focus on the man’s accomplishments, I guess.)
Short version: Although Gracie didn’t appreciate his fighter’s no-show (“his lack of communication with his team and coach was inexcusable”), Nick’s decision to leave was based on multiple instances of shadiness involving a WJJE organizer named “Junior” and Estima himself. Read on for Cesar Gracie’s letter in its entirety, courtesy of graciefighter.com…
My decision to write an account of what happened this weekend is not to answer to the detractors of myself or my team, as no explanation is owed them. It is instead based on my acknowledgement and respect to our fans and supporters. I never thought I would be answering for something that happened at a grappling tournament, however with the worldwide popularity of the sport and my team increasing, I understand that our supporters need answers.
Below is a compilation of events in chronological order. I included the behind the scenes problems we had to let you, our supporters, know how things deteriorated.
Facts
In the month of February I was contacted by a Brazilian named Junior asking me if I wanted to participate in an Expo\Jiu-jitsu tournament. The goal was to put one of our team’s stars in the event to attract sponsors and ensure it was successful. The event was not that far away and they desperately needed exposure. Junior stated that he was working with my uncle Rilion and my cousin Renzo on this project and they were in fact partners. Rilion and Renzo are 2 people that I greatly admire and respect and I was more than happy to partner up with them.
I discussed the idea with Nick Diaz and he readily agreed to enter in the black belt gi division. He did not seek any reimbursement. Junior thought it better for Nick to do a super fight as he thought this would be more of a spectacle and bring in more attention. Nick was not as enthusiastic but agreed on the condition that whoever was picked to go against him was not an mma fighter. He knew even a mediocre mma fighter would try to use a match and/or victory over him to further their career in mma. Nick believes a reputation as a fighter should only be earned in a ring or cage.I relayed this to Junior and he agreed to arrange for a strict jiu-jitsu competitor.
In March I received the disturbing news from Rilion that Junior had broken his agreement with him. Rilion stated to me that Junior was registering all World Jiu-jitsu Expo names under his name alone and was no longer taking his phone calls. When contacted by me, Junior stated that he would no longer honor his financial obligations to Rilion because “Rilion was doing nothing and treats me like one of his clerks”. He then went on a tirade about Rilion which I interrupted and reminded him that Rilion was my family member and I would not listen to someone speaking negatively about him.
This rift left me in a dilemma. My instinct was to sever ties immediately. Rilion was my original jiu-jitsu instructor and his reputation as an honest person was impeccable. On the other hand we had already committed Diaz and Caio Terra. Our removal would destroy an event Renzo provided all of the funding for.
I consulted with Rilion who advised me to move forward with the event. He was the one that had brought Renzo into this project and convinced Renzo to fund it. He also still believed in the idea of an American tournament that paid the best BJJ guys on the planet to showcase their skills. We agreed to move forward without him since at this stage Junior had entrenched himself and his removal was impossible. Lastly Rilion warned me that Junior was not to be trusted and would undoubtedly try to cheat me and Renzo.
In early April I got the call from Junior asking what I thought of a Braulio Estima vs Nick Diaz matchup. I had heard of Braulio and knew he was a formidable jiu-jitsu practitioner. I was under the impression that Braulio competed in the close to 200lbs weight category. When I asked Junior he assured me that Braulio could weigh in as little as 175 lbs right before the match.
I presented his information to Nick who accepted the matchup and seemed happy to go against the top BJJ player in the world at that weight. Nick started training for the match and I brought up several BJJ black belts to compliment his training.
Looking through some of Estima’s youtube videos, it was soon discovered that he had in fact been planning on entering upon a career in mma. We wondered if the match with Diaz was a way to create a buzz around him and get him signed with a prominent organization.
I called Junior who assured me Estima would not be fighting in mma and that he had spoken with him and been assured he had given up on the idea of ever fighting. Junior reiterated, “Cesar I spoke with Braulio, the guy is in his 30?s, he has a family and doesn’t want to live that type of life at this stage in his life…etc”
I repeated this info to Nick. A week or so later it was all over the Internet that Braulio had joined the “Blackzillians” and was training for an mma fight. We had been lied to. Furthermore it was evident that Nick’s sole condition that he not go against a wanna be mma guy was violated and this was in fact an attempt by Braulio to ignite an mma career.Nick was to have been accurately portrayed as a fighter returning to his BJJ roots. He had even agreed to give his entire purse to charity; St Jude’s Children’s Hospital for kids with cancer. If you know the story of Ralph Gracie’s son you would understand why this charity was chosen. Nick’s name having been added to this event had saved it but now it was clear he was to be the patsy, not respected but used.
Despite all of this Nick was still going to compete. He brought up Kron Gracie and prepared himself. Around this time I was informed by Junior that Braulio wanted to weigh in the day before and not right before the match as is the custom in IBJJ competitions and Abu Dhabi. At the time Nick was about 186lbs so I consented to both guys weighing in at 180lbs the night before.
Nick boarded a plane on Friday for Long Beach having cut 6 pounds for the weigh in that night. On his way there I got a call from Junior telling me Braulio would not be making weight! ”Cesar Braulio is complaining about the weight cut. Can we have him weigh in tomorrow? He can’t make the weight tonight how about 185 in the morning?”
Nick arrives in Long Beach to the news that there will be no weigh ins that night. As a professional with over 30 fights this was the final straw. The disrespect and total lack of professionalism given him convinced him he was at a circus not a professional event.
At 3:20 in the morning I received a text from Junior that Braulio would in fact make the 180lbs weight class at 10:00AM. With no other option available I said fine I’ll check with Nick in the morning. At 10:00AM Braulio did weigh in at 180lbs but by that time Nick had already left.
Opinion
As a Brazilian I love Brazil but not all things Brazilian. In the last decade I have witnessed Brazilian cronies running the IBJJF and making it impossible for Americans to get a fair shake when competing against their Brazilian countrymen. These cronies have instituted rules to where if you miss weight by even half a pound you are disqualified and not refunded your entry fee. They gladly keep your money and treat you like crap in your country because they can. One of these cronies (Junior) decided to bend all the rules for Braulio Estima and treat Nick Diaz like crap. Sorry that didn’t work out here.
As for Braulio I still respect him as a great BJJ artist. As far as calling Nick out for a mma fight, he knows that is impossible because Nick is signed with the UFC and in mma you have to make weight when they want you to. Not when you want to. If Braulio ever finds success in mma then he can mention Nick’s name for a fight. Right now he should respect the man.
Nick is not without fault by any means. His lack of communication with his team and coach was inexcusable. This will be addressed privately.
Renzo and I have spoken and we are committed to continuing with this otherwise awesome event….without the services of Junior.
It should be noted that Nick paid to St Jude’s Children’s Hospitable the sum of what would have been his entire purse.
Thank you, You have my apologies and my respect Cesar Gracie
(Props: Amazon.com, via CP reader “joe sons balls,” who claims that he randomly came upon one of Phil Baroni‘s old fetish-modeling gigs while searching for XTC t-shirts. Sure, buddy. Your secret’s safe with us.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…
(Props: Amazon.com, via CP reader “joe sons balls,” who claims that he randomly came upon one of Phil Baroni‘s old fetish-modeling gigs while searching for XTC t-shirts. Sure, buddy. Your secret’s safe with us.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…
(Shirtless Saturdays just aren’t going to be the same around the gym without Nick.)
MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani caught up with UFC on Fox 3 headliner Nate Diaz today at the press conference today in New York for the New Jersey event and the lightweight contender revealed that he thinks his brother Nick’s days in the Octagon are over.
“Triathlon season is starting so he’s just training, getting in shape for that. [He’s] concentrating on being in shape, being healthy, helping me out and coaching me for my fights. Right now, I don’t think [we’ll ever see him back]. He’s just big on, like I said, just being healthy and staying in shape and not worrying about [fighting] and thinking about it. I think he’s retired. He hasn’t been into this whole fighting thing for some time, you know? Since everything that goes on with the funny wins and losses — for not just him — for me and for people on our team. I think he’s just relaxed right now and he’s pretty set on his retirement. I kind of agree with him, you know? It’s hard to say, especially when it’s somebody like my brother,” Nate explained.
Check out the video and the rest of what Nate had to say about the situation after the jump.
(Shirtless Saturdays just aren’t going to be the same around the gym without Nick.)
MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani caught up with UFC on Fox 3 headliner Nate Diaz today at the press conference today in New York for the New Jersey event and the lightweight contender revealed that he thinks his brother Nick’s days in the Octagon are over.
“Triathlon season is starting so he’s just training, getting in shape for that. [He’s] concentrating on being in shape, being healthy, helping me out and coaching me for my fights. Right now, I don’t think [we’ll ever see him back]. He’s just big on, like I said, just being healthy and staying in shape and not worrying about [fighting] and thinking about it. I think he’s retired. He hasn’t been into this whole fighting thing for some time, you know? Since everything that goes on with the funny wins and losses — for not just him — for me and for people on our team. I think he’s just relaxed right now and he’s pretty set on his retirement. I kind of agree with him, you know? It’s hard to say, especially when it’s somebody like my brother,” Nate explained.
“I’m not going to tell him to go fight somebody. I think he’s doing the right thing, you know? Whatever. He made enough money to just chill back, sit back and relax, you know? People don’t understand, Nick never had nothing. He came from not much, so… He complained a lot about not making much money because there’s so many people making more money than him that he works 10 times harder than, so. But they definitely paid him enough money to not have to do anything. He don’t need to fight,” he told Helwani.
So there you have it, unless Nick simply isn’t one for sharing his feelings with his friends and family, which we highly doubt, we may have seen the last of the ornery Stockton native in the cage. At least there’s still a chance we might see him join the thoughtful and caring business of boxing, where I’m sure he’ll have no problems with promoters or reporters.
