Nick Diaz has slipped up once again. This time it’s far more serious than missing a press conference. Today, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced that Diaz failed his post-fight drug test following his defeat by Carlos Condit at UFC 143….
Nick Diaz has slipped up once again. This time it’s far more serious than missing a press conference.
Today, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced that Diaz failed his post-fight drug test following his defeat by Carlos Condit at UFC 143.
It should be no surprise that Diaz tested positive for “marijuana metabolites.” Diaz also tested positive for marijuana when he faced Takanori Gomi in 2007.
Although he can smoke legally in California, his medical marijuana card does not affect how he gets tested in MMA.
Diaz will without a doubt get suspended by the NSAC. But what will the UFC do now that Diaz has failed a drug test?
This is only the first time that Daiz has failed a test with the UFC, but it’s not the first time he’s been in trouble with the company.
Diaz was dropped from a UFC 137 bout with Georges St-Pierre after missing two pre-fight press conferences. Although he would get the last laugh by being in the main event anyway, Diaz made a lot of people mad, including UFC president Dana White.
White gave Diaz another chance then, but he may not be so forgiving now that Diaz has failed another drug test.
If the UFC decides to release Diaz, no one should complain.
Diaz is an exciting fighter, and it is true he didn’t get caught using something that could have gave him an advantage inside the Octagon. But Diaz often has the attitude that he doesn’t care about his actions. As talented as Diaz is, this is the second straight fight where there has been controversy.
Although some may not want to see it, it may be best that Diaz is let go, so he can get his act together.
As Georges St-Pierre attempts to return to the UFC later this year, his progress continues to go well as he is currently recovering from a knee injury.UFC President Dana White commented on the champion’s status, and although he was confident that St-Pi…
As Georges St-Pierre attempts to return to the UFC later this year, his progress continues to go well as he is currently recovering from a knee injury.
UFC President Dana White commented on the champion’s status, and although he was confident that St-Pierre would step back in the Octagon, he said he’s still nowhere near 100 percent at this point.
“Georges has been rehabilitating and he’s been doing great. He is on track, but he is still far from being ready,” White told MMAWeekly.com during a post-fight press conference following UFC 143.
St-Pierre has currently been undergoing rehabilitation since late last year and he said he would be able to return to the Octagon as early as November. The longtime 170-pound champion tore his ACL prior to UFC 137, forcing him off of the card. He has remained out of action ever since then.
White did reveal St-Pierre was suffering from a little pain in his knee after getting out of his seat following the event, but the UFC boss was adamant that he would be fully recovered.
“He’s getting the best physical therapy that you can get and he’s a hard worker,” he said of St-Pierre. “Some of these knee surgeries now are just as good—I mean, Jerry Rice, 10 years ago, came back from a knee surgery and was still awesome. It depends on the individual, but these knee surgeries are way different than they used to be.”
The main even of UFC 143 has split the MMA community right down the middle.The five-round interim title fight between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit on Saturday has become a popular topic of debate among fans, fighters and reporters alike. Many feel …
The main even of UFC 143 has split the MMA community right down the middle.
The five-round interim title fight between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit on Saturday has become a popular topic of debate among fans, fighters and reporters alike. Many feel Condit won with his flawlessly executed game plan, while others feel Diaz should’ve gotten the decision because Diaz was the more aggressive fighter, and because of Condit‘s elusiveness and unwillingness to engage in a brawl. However, it is very clear that this was a close fight and nobody was really sure who would get the decision before the scorecards were read.
I have been passionately defending Carlos Condit as the legitimate interim welterweight champion; however, I am not stubborn enough to pretend it was a dominant or convincing win. It was an extremely close fight, but the right man got his hand raised.
Having said that, giving Nick Diaz a rematch is probably the best course of action for Carlos Condit at this point, and these are some of the reasons to do it:
Silence the critics
If Condit doesn’t fight Diaz again, the crowd that feels that Diaz won will probably always feel that way, no matter how much we try to convince them otherwise. Condit wouldn’t be recognized as the legitimate winner by many people unless he convincingly defeats Diaz again. A win in a rematch would prove Condit in fact is the superior fighter and even the most hardcore Diaz fans will have a hard time making the argument that “Diaz should’ve won” if Condit wins twice in a row.
Establish Carlos Condit as a true threat to Georges St-Pierre
After UFC 143, not many people were clamoring to see GSP vs Condit, and even less were saying Condit would have a good chance of beating GSP. Two straight victories over Nick Diaz would make Condit seem like a real threat to GSP.
Staying active
It seems like Carlos Condit wants to wait to fight GSP, and that’s OK, he has earned it. However, we are still not sure when GSP will fight again, it could be by November at the earliest, but maybe it could be until 2013. Condit needs to stay active, he is in the prime of his career and wasting a year to wait around is never a good idea. Just ask Rashad Evans.
Get a better payday
Condit has the leverage to ask for a handsome payday if he were to rematch Diaz.
If Condit loses, there will be a trilogy
If Condit loses, there is almost a guarantee that he will face Nick Diaz again sometime in the future for the rubber match. This would no doubt be a huge fight, and a great payday for both men.
Give chance to build new contenders
Besides Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz, there are no clear contenders for the belt yet. Guys like Jake Ellenberger and Johnny Hendricks are coming off huge wins, but a couple of more fights would help them become more established future contenders.
These are some good reasons why this fight is a good move for Carlos Condit. I think when all is said and done Carlos Condit has more to gain if he fights Nick Diaz again.
Nick Diaz is one of the top welterweight mixed martial artists in the world. That much is certain.But lately, it seems like Nick Diaz has been catered to by the UFC in most of the things he does. From getting an immediate title shot after jumping ship …
Nick Diaz is one of the top welterweight mixed martial artists in the world. That much is certain.
But lately, it seems like Nick Diaz has been catered to by the UFC in most of the things he does. From getting an immediate title shot after jumping ship from Strikeforce to potentially getting an automatic rematch against Carlos Condit, it seems that whenever Diaz does anything “rash,” the UFC is there to make things better for him.
A lot of people are going to disagree with me, but let me show you what I am talking about.
First off, Nick Diaz left the UFC in 2006 to pursue competition in different organizations. While this is fine, the UFC has the best fighters in the world to offer as opponents, and Diaz built a record fighting mid-level talent after the UFC.
Obviously, he would become the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, defend his belt three times and become the talk of the MMA world. Many believed, from his post-UFC successes, that he would be the man to defeat Georges St. Pierre.
When it looked like Diaz would not be considered for a title shot against St. Pierre, Diaz threatened to pursue boxing and leave Strikeforce (which he would have had to do anyways had he challenged St. Pierre in the UFC).
To me, this was an obvious ploy to force the UFC’s hand to give him a title shot, as he is a big draw and a top welterweight.
Catering to Diaz, the UFC granted him a title shot against St. Pierre, which he ended up losing because of his missed media events. People point to social anxiety as the reason while I myself point to his unprofessional attitude, which he has displayed throughout his career.So instead of getting a main event title shot against St. Pierre, he gets a co-main event slot against BJ Penn. When St. Pierre goes down, Carlos Condit decides to sit out and wait for the title shot he was now supposed to fight for, while Diaz fills the main event slot with Penn.
Diaz beats Penn. He then calls out Georges St. Pierre on national television, leading to St. Pierre voicing his dislike for Diaz. Because of the call-out, Dana White pulls Condit from his promised title shot in favor of Diaz, again catering to the brash superstar.
Calling a fighter out for the title shot is not unheard of, but when that champion has a fight already basically set, they shouldn’t pull out a fighter in favor of the fighter who called out the champ.
For example, Chael Sonnen made the most famous post-fight call-out in the history of the UFC after manhandling Brian Stann. Did that give him the immediate title shot that everybody wanted to see against Anderson Silva? No. It got him a No. 1 contender’s fight against Mark Munoz (later Michael Bisping after the injury to Munoz).
So the match is set. St. Pierre versus Diaz. Until St. Pierre sustains another injury, leading to an interim title fight against the man who should have gotten the title fight to begin with, Carlos Condit.
Condit and Diaz fight five close rounds, and in the end, Condit comes away victorious by unanimous decision. He outstrikes Diaz, follows his game plan and avoids getting into a hockey fight-like brawl with Diaz.
Yes, it is a close decision, but how many close decisions have we seen in MMA history? Diaz fans and friends alike are enraged because Diaz lost. They are belligerent in their arguments, but facts are facts, Condit is your champion.Following the loss, Diaz retires. Caesar Gracie complains, like I expected him to. This is where the straw finally broke the camel’s back for me.
It appears that the UFC is going to rematch Condit and Diaz before Condit has a chance to unify the belts with St. Pierre. That is the ultimate catering to a fighter, and it is not fair to Carlos Condit. It is catering because, like the threat to switch to pro boxing, it forced the UFC’s hand to cave in on Diaz’s actions.
I can see that if after the St. PIerre fight, Condit and Diaz have a rematch. That makes sense. But to do it before Condit can unify belts with St. Pierre doesn’t seem right.
In all, the catering that Nick Diaz has received from the UFC is not fair to every fighter, not only in the welterweight division, but in the company. To me, it shows that the company is holding Diaz to a higher standard than anybody else. It is like that parent who has no control over their child, and when the child cries, the parent gives it whatever it wants.
Believe me, I do want to see a rematch between the two. But not an immediate rematch. Maybe somewhere down the road is the right time to do it, but don’t make it now because Diaz took his ball and went home.
Mixed Martial Arts is fundamentally defined by its first word. The sport of MMA was built upon, and features athletes of mixed styles from many different disciplines of martial arts. This mixture has created a phenomenon in competition. MMA started off…
Mixed Martial Arts is fundamentally defined by its first word. The sport of MMA was built upon, and features athletes of mixed styles from many different disciplines of martial arts. This mixture has created a phenomenon in competition. MMA started off pitting two different styles against one another, but has now evolved into producing well-rounded fighters who study in many disciplines.
The game has changed, and athletes have adapted themselves in order to compete in the ever-changing sport. New competitors have come in, already training in many martial arts. The sport is truly MIXED with many fighters knowing many disciplines.
Still, there are those who stand out in a particular field. While being substantial at other styles, these fighters truly excel at one, and have had success using their foundational style.
This slideshow contains just eight of many styles, but these styles are very prevalent in MMA. These are all UFC fighters that are at the top of the heap in their respective discipline. This is not a conclusive list of all who are notable, but those who are both popular and who are arguably the best at their craft.
(I got you now you son of a…wait, where’d you go?)
A great man once said that if you tweet it, they will come. Yes it seems that after days of tireless bitching reasonable pleas, we will in fact be treated to a Carlos Condit/Nick Diaz rematch in the near future. DW broke the news yesterday via his Twitter (go figure):
(I got you now you son of a…wait, where’d you go?)
A great man once said that if you tweet it, they will come. Yes it seems that after days of tireless bitching reasonable pleas, we will in fact be treated to a Carlos Condit/Nick Diaz rematch in the near future. DW broke the news yesterday via his Twitter (go figure):
Perhaps the strangest aspect of this story is that it was Condit, not Diaz, who approached White to request the rematch. After being subjected to heated public outcry in the wake of his unanimous decision win at UFC 143, Condit went against the advice of both his camp and his manager to ensure that the fight was booked. So you can say what you want about Condit’s recent performance, but you have to respect a guy who’s willing to possibly lose yetanotherchance at facing GSP, all for the sake of the fans. That’s three thus far, Shooter.
As of this write up, Diaz has yet to accept the fight, and according to Cesar Gracie, is unsure if he even wants it anymore. Here’s what Gracie had to say on the subject, via his Twitter:
@ufc@danawhite Condit vs Diaz or Gsp will not happen this year. Being interviewed by Ariel Helwanie in 5 minutes. He will break the story.
Less than an hour after tweeting this, Gracie appeared to change his mind, stating that “things are being considered.” Considered? THERE’S NO ROOM FOR THAT KIND OF TALK IN THE 209.
What will be interesting to see is how the UFC markets this rematch, granted Diaz accepts it. Yes, the decision was controversial to many (not to me), and yes, a polarizing figure like Diaz can hype a fight in his sleep, but their first meeting clearly failed to live up to the hype, and are we to believe that Condit will try all that different a strategy the second time around considering his success the first time?
Nick Diaz has slipped up once again. This time it’s far more serious than missing a press conference. 
