…TO BE CLEANSED BY THE HOLY FLAME OF OUR LORD ALMIGHTY. For I, “The Dream,” am his vessel, the grail from which his vengeance is spilled unto the meek, uncultivated swine of this forsaken planet. Yes! Yeessssssss!!
I AM A SAVAGE. A savage who has returned to the 155 pound division to prove to the world that it is physically possible to love something to death. My enthusiasm is a river which shall break the levy of your insolence.
What must I do to draw your attention, Nate? I called you out when I announced my return to lightweight, and just yesterday, I even resorted to your species’ archaic, Godless device of social communication to further needle you. Yet still you do not respond. Is it because you KNOW and FEAR that which is “The Dream?” That whose spirit can not be broken? CONFESS AND YOU SHALL BE SAVED. YESS!!
Forget your upcoming fight with Mr. Maynard, for we both know that your heart is not invested in that little escapade. Your heart will have no such option when we tangle, for I will expose it from your chest, hold it betwixt my fingers and show you His light. And in that fragile, fleeting moment, you will thank me. You will say, “I am grateful for your friendship, Diego. God bless you.” You will SURRENDER to my influence and join the army of DREAMERS I have amassed over the years!! YES!
…TO BE CLEANSED BY THE HOLY FLAME OF OUR LORD ALMIGHTY. For I, “The Dream,” am his vessel, the grail from which his vengeance is spilled unto the meek, uncultivated swine of this forsaken planet. Yes! Yeessssssss!!
I AM A SAVAGE. A savage who has returned to the 155 pound division to prove to the world that it is physically possible to love something to death. My enthusiasm is a river which shall break the levy of your insolence.
What must I do to draw your attention, Nate? I called you out when I announced my return to lightweight, and just yesterday, I even resorted to your species’ archaic, Godless device of social communication to further needle you. Yet still you do not respond. Is it because you KNOW and FEAR that which is “The Dream?” That whose spirit can not be broken? CONFESS AND YOU SHALL BE SAVED. YESS!!
Forget your upcoming fight with Mr. Maynard, for we both know that your heart is not invested in that little escapade. Your heart will have no such option when we tangle, for I will expose it from your chest, hold it betwixt my fingers and show you His light. And in that fragile, fleeting moment, you will thank me. You will say, “I am grateful for your friendship, Diego. God bless you.” You will SURRENDER to my influence and join the army of DREAMERS I have amassed over the years!! YES!
I have literally been running up and down flights of stairs since Saturday’s decision. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? Complaining about the sounds your opponents make when they’re kicking your ass? Rest assured that the only sounds you will hear when we dance the sacred dance will be that of your spine imploding in my grasp as I channel the fury of A THOUSAND SUNS. For I may be The Dream now, but I WILL ALWAYS BE A NIGHTMARE WHEN THE CAGE LOCKS. YES! YEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!
* Editor’s note: This post may or may not have been written by Diego Sanchez himself. In fact, it may have been written by a certain CagePotato staff writer under the influence of sherm sticks. We’re not naming names. But we like to think it captures the *spirit* of Diego Sanchez.
(Word has it that Dana White responded to Diaz by telling him to “quit being such a fag and fight already.” Photo via Diaz’s twitter.)
Having suffered back-to-back defeats to Ben Henderson and Josh “Bitch Ass Lady Sounds” Thomson — the latter of which was the first TKO loss in his MMA career — you wouldn’t think that Nate Diaz would be in the position to start picking and choosing who he fights next. That is, after all, a right reserved exclusively for self-matchmaker extraordinaire Chael P. Sonnen. That Diaz was also recently fined and “suspended” for making offensive statements on Twitter* would further the belief that he should perhaps keep his nose to the grindstone for the time being, but a Diaz wants what a Diaz wants and that is usually weed or a fight they don’t deserve.
As such, when Nate found out he was once again being paired against Gray Maynard, he posted the above to his Twitter account. While it’s not that shocking that he would call out Pettis, it is shocking that a Diaz would seemingly turn down a fight against a guy who narrowly defeated him in their last contest. Or anyone, for that matter.
But as of this write up, Maynard and Diaz are still set to do battle at the TUF 18 Finale on November 30th. The fight will serve as a rubber match of sorts between the two, as Maynard was submitted by Diaz in an exhibition bout during the TUF 5 semifinals but went on to score a lackluster split decision over Diaz at UFC Fight Night 20 in 2010. So…advantage Diaz, we guess?
(Word has it that Dana White responded to Diaz by telling him to “quit being such a fag and fight already.” Photo via Diaz’s twitter.)
Having suffered back-to-back defeats to Ben Henderson and Josh “Bitch Ass Lady Sounds” Thomson — the latter of which was the first TKO loss in his MMA career — you wouldn’t think that Nate Diaz would be in the position to start picking and choosing who he fights next. That is, after all, a right reserved exclusively for self-matchmaker extraordinaire Chael P. Sonnen. That Diaz was also recently fined and “suspended” for making offensive statements on Twitter* would further the belief that he should perhaps keep his nose to the grindstone for the time being, but as the saying goes, “A Diaz wants what a Diaz wants and that is usually weed or a fight they don’t deserve.”
As such, when Nate found out he was once again being paired against Gray Maynard, he posted the above to his Twitter account. While it’s not that shocking that he would call out Pettis, it is shocking that a Diaz would seemingly turn down a fight against a guy who narrowly defeated him in their last contest. Or anyone, for that matter.
But as of this write up, Maynard and Diaz are still set to do battle at the TUF 18 Finale on November 30th. The fight will serve as a rubber match of sorts between the two, as Maynard was submitted by Diaz in an exhibition bout during the TUF 5 semifinals but went on to score a lackluster split decision over Diaz at UFC Fight Night 20 in 2010. So…advantage Diaz, we guess?
Similar to his TUF 5 counterpart, Maynard is also coming off a tough TKO loss — to T.J. Grant at UFC 160. The first round finish was impressive enough to earn Grant a shot at Ben Henderson and now Anthony Pettis, so expect Maynard to come out with something to prove against Diaz this time around.
In other booking news, the struggling Donald Cerrone (I really don’t like how that sounds) has already set a date for his next comeback fight. Despite suffering a rather lopsided beatdown at the hands of Rafael Dos Anjos less than two weeks ago at Fight Night 27, Cerrone was not medically suspended by the Indiana Gaming Commission and has been given the go-ahead to face Evan Dunham at UFC 167 in November. Dunham is also 1-2 in his past 3, having sandwiched a split decision win over Gleison Tibau between decision losses to T.J. Grant and Rafael Dos Anjos. Getting awfully narrow, this lightweight division is.
And finally, Brian Ebersole — he of the hairrow and the cartwheel kick – has been booked against Rick Story, also at UFC 167. We haven’t heard a peep from Ebersole ever since he dropped a short-notice fight to James Head at UFC 149, snapping an 11 fight win streak in the process. The Indiana native has been battling injuries for over a year and will be given no easy return test in Story, who is also coming off a decision loss — this one to Mike Pyle at UFC 160.
Two former UFC lightweight title challengers are set to meet inside the Octagon for the third time late this fall.
Gray Maynard is set to take on Nate Diaz at The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 Finale on November 30, the UFC revealed throug…
Two former UFC lightweight title challengers are set to meet inside the Octagon for the third time late this fall.
Gray Maynard is set to take on Nate Diaz at The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 Finale on November 30, the UFC revealed through their Twitter page this afternoon.
Diaz submitted Maynard in the semifinals of TUF 5 in mid-2007, the tournament he would eventually win, though bouts on the show are officially considered exhibition matches.
“The Bully” evened the score at UFC Fight Night 20 in January 2010, earning a somewhat controversial split decision on the judges’ scorecards.
Maynard got his first crack at UFC gold when he squared off with then-champion Frankie Edgar, an opponent he had already beaten, at UFC 125 in January 2011.
The back-and-forth, action-packed title bout ended in a draw, calling for an immediate rematch at UFC 136 in October of the same year.
While Maynard again had “The Answer” in trouble early, the champion managed to weather the storm and finish the challenger with strikes in the fourth round.
The three-time All-American wrestler at Michigan State University rebounded with a lackluster decision win over Clay Guida last June, only to suffer a TKO loss at the hands of upcoming title challenger TJ Grant at UFC 160 this past May.
Therefore, Maynard badly needs a win in his trilogy with Diaz, as he is just 1-2-1 in his past four bouts.
His familiar foe, Diaz, racked up three quality wins in the division between September 2011 and May 2012, earning a title shot against then-champ Benson Henderson.
Diaz took a beating at their UFC on FOX 5 encounter in December, losing a very lopsided decision.
He fared even worse against former Strikeforce titleholder Josh Thomson in his next fight at UFC on FOX 7 in April, suffering the first knockout loss of his career.
Clearly, Diaz also needs a win in this upcoming bout in order to remain a top contender at 155 pounds.
According to the UFC’s official rankings, Maynard is still the No. 4 lightweight in the world, while Diaz is the seventh-best 155-pounder.
Prior to his bout with Thomson, Diaz said he would be returning to the welterweight division, but obviously those plans did not come to fruition, per MMA Mania.
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
As confident as Daniel Cormier is ahead of his UFC 166 bout against Roy Nelson, there appears to be at least one thing that concerns the former Olympic wrestler about his opponent. “The thing about the beard is it doesn’t seem to be well-kept, so I’m going to request that there’s a rubber band in it and that it comes straight down,” Cormier told fans assembled in Milwaukee last Friday for the UFC Fight Club Q&A session he took part in.
According to MMA Junkie, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which will regulate UFC 166 does have a rule stating that “each contestant must be clean and present a tidy appearance.” Like him or not, no one can ever claim that Nelson presents an appearance anywhere near “clean” or “tidy.”
Cormier seems to be implying that he’ll ask the Texas commission to intercede and ensure Nelson’s tidy appearance. “Also, I’m going to ask that they put his hair in two plaits off to the side,” Cormier says, seemingly describing pig tails.
“Part it down the middle, plait it on the sides. I don’t want it all in my face.”
As confident as Daniel Cormier is ahead of his UFC 166 bout against Roy Nelson, there appears to be at least one thing that concerns the former Olympic wrestler about his opponent. “The thing about the beard is it doesn’t seem to be well-kept, so I’m going to request that there’s a rubber band in it and that it comes straight down,” Cormier told fans assembled in Milwaukee last Friday for the UFC Fight Club Q&A session he took part in.
According to MMA Junkie, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which will regulate UFC 166 does have a rule stating that “each contestant must be clean and present a tidy appearance.” Like him or not, no one can ever claim that Nelson presents an appearance anywhere near “clean” or “tidy.”
Cormier seems to be implying that he’ll ask the Texas commission to intercede and ensure Nelson’s tidy appearance. “Also, I’m going to ask that they put his hair in two plaits off to the side,” Cormier says, seemingly describing pig tails.
“Part it down the middle, plait it on the sides. I don’t want it all in my face.”
We don’t yet know if Cormier has filed a formal request with the Texas commission or whether he is just trying to get inside of Nelson’s head. If Cormier does file a request with regulators to style Nelson’s hair a particular way, he’ll be following in the foot steps of Gray Maynard’s camp who complained about Clay Guida’s wild mane before they fought in 2012.
As much as we love Cormier and Maynard, complaining about another man’s hair and trying to control how he combs it before facing him in a fight is a punk move. Only time will tell if this distracts or helps motivate Nelson. Will friendly Santa or angry Santa show up to fight Cormier, is what we’re saying.
Cormier also told fans that he is definitely planning to drop down to light heavyweight after the Nelson fight. He says he’s walking around shy of 230 pounds these days. Do you think the lost weight will help him or hurt against Nelson, nation? For his part, Cormier thinks it will help but is also taking a longer view.
“I’ve got two young kids now, and I want to try and live a little healthier,” he explained.
“I was kind of opposed to dieting for a long time, and now I’m doing those types of things.”
There is an art to matchmaking in combat sports.
While some fights come together with a natural ease, the majority of bouts are formed through a hectic process of evaluation where several aspects need to be evaluated on each side of the table before co…
There is an art to matchmaking in combat sports.
While some fights come together with a natural ease, the majority of bouts are formed through a hectic process of evaluation where several aspects need to be evaluated on each side of the table before committing to the matchup.
Whether or not a fight makes sense in the greater scheme of the divisional picture, timing and making sure both fighters stand to gain similar rewards from the bout are the most pressing issues that come to mind. Then, of course, there is the most important aspect of a potential fight: Will both competitors be willing to mix it up and put on a show?
The unfortunate part of the process comes when all of the previously mentioned criteria are met and the fight fails to deliver. That being said, there are far more exciting tilts than flat fights these days under the UFC banner, which goes to show just how good Joe Silva and Sean Shelby are at their jobs.
With a chaotic second-half-of-the-year schedule well underway and title races heating up in nearly every division, the magicians behind the scenes at the UFC are going to have their hands full. Nevertheless, here are a few potential matchups that not only make sense in the greater scheme of things, but also would be exciting dust-ups fight fans could get behind.
The heavyweight title picture is tied up with the Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos trilogy and Fabricio Werdum apparently waiting on the sidelines for next. In order to keep things moving in the “big man” weight class, Joe Silva is going to have to keep the top-level fighters busy.
With that in mind, a matchup between Travis Browne and Josh Barnett would make for a perfect scrap to determine who remains in the hunt.
“Hapa” is coming off the biggest win of his career when he knocked out former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem at Fight Night 26 in Boston. The Jackson’s MMA fighter got off to a rugged start and appeared to be on the verge of defeat, but he bounced back strong and leveled an exhausted Overeem in the first round of their heavyweight tilt.
Browne’s victory over “The Reem” makes it two in a row for the 31-year-old Hawaiian and put him firmly on the title radar in the heavyweight division. But with that particular picture somewhat cluttered at the present time, a bout with Barnett would make sense.
“The Warmaster” thundered back into the UFC fold Saturday night when he crumbled former two-time champion Frank Mir in the opening round of their bout at UFC 164. The win over Mir was his first inside the Octagon in 11 years, and it made a clear statement that Barnett deserves to be considered a legitimate title contender in the heavyweight division.
At 35 years old, Barnett is thriving where the majority of his peers from the early days of MMA have either retired or fallen off the map. This isn’t the case with the former UFC champion and his dominant victory over Mir should guarantee his next opponent comes from the upper tier of the weight class.
On another interesting note, the 19th installment of The Ultimate Fighter is set to get underway, and Barnett vs. Browne would make for some interesting television.
Frankie Edgar vs. Urijah Faber
The title opportunities in the UFC can be tricky affairs, and Frankie Edgar and Urijah Faber have had their fair share. While both have seemingly been in a title shot loop for the past three years, it doesn’t take away from the fact they have each established themselves as top-shelf fighters in whichever division they choose to compete.
The 31-year-old Toms River native earned lightweight gold by pulling off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory as he dethroned 155-pound juggernaut B.J. Penn at UFC 112 back in April of 2010. Following his victory over “The Prodigy”, and one more for good measure in their rematch at UFC 128 four months later, “The Answer” would spend his next five outings competing with a UFC title on the line.
While Edgar would lose the lightweight strap and come up short of taking the featherweight strap over this run, his victory over Charles Oliveira put him back into the win column for the first time in 17 months. With an electric title race at 145 pounds in full swing, one victory will not bump the former lightweight champion to the front of that particular line.
That is why a bout with Urijah Faber makes perfect sense. Much like Edgar, “The California Kid” has been hovering around the title tier of two divisions for the past few years, and he has come up short of getting his hands on UFC gold with every attempt.
Since losing the WEC featherweight title he held for two years and having an impressive 13-fight winning streak brought to an end at the hands of Mike Brown, the Team Alpha Male leader has competed for a title on four occasions with two coming in the featherweight fold and two in his current home of the bantamweight division.
That being said, while Faber hasn’t been able to claim a title under the UFC banner, it doesn’t take away from the fact he’s been steamrolling everyone he faces outside of championship bouts. The former WEC poster boy has collected three consecutive victories over top-level competition and made a strong case for another title opportunity in the process.
Yet with the 135-pound title picture currently in a state of chaos, there is nowhere for Faber to go. Interim champion RenanBarao is set to defend his title against Eddie Wineland in two weeks at UFC 165, and champion Dominick Cruz still does not have a concrete date set for his return.
With these circumstances in place, a tilt between Edgar and Faber would be beneficial for both fighters. Their respective styles would make for an interesting clash and their name recognition with the UFC fanbase would be an easy draw to capture attention during a hectic run.
It is also worth noting the idea of a potential bout between the two former champions proves Skyping with fellow journalist E. Spencer Kyte serves some sort of a purpose.
Gray Maynard vs. Donald Cerrone
The lightweight division may have crowned a new champion Saturday night in Anthony Pettis, but that doesn’t mean the race for the next title opportunity will be slowing down any time soon.
A handful of would-be contenders are all jockeying to line themselves up for the next crack at UFC gold, and two fighters who are looking to hold on to their elite status in the 155-pound gold are Gray Maynard and Donald Cerrone.
The former title challenger is coming off a rough outing back in May at UFC 160 where he suffered a first-round knockout at the hands of T.J. Grant. Prior to his bout with the scrappy Canadian, “The Bully” battled through two hard-fought scraps with Frankie Edgar and one bizarre affair with human live wire Clay Guida at UFC on FX 4 back in June of 2012.
While the 34-year-old former three-time All-American wrestler from Michigan State has had difficulty regaining his footing in the lightweight title hunt, there is no doubting he is one of the top 155-pound fighters on the UFC roster. Maynard has been a staple in the upper-tier of the division for the past three years, but he will need a win over a big name to keep those championship dreams alive.
That same rings true for Donald Cerrone. “Cowboy” has risen to contender status on multiple occasions since coming over from the WEC, but he has failed to win the big fights that would propel him forward. The 30-year-old Jackson’s MMA fighter’s first bid for title contention was thwarted by Nate Diaz at UFC 141 in December of 2011 and once again by Pettis at UFC on Fox 6 back in January.
Following the loss to “Showtime,” he appeared to be gearing up for another run when he battered K.J. Noons at UFC 160 in May, but he suffered another back step in his most recent outing against Rafael dos Anjos last week at Fight Night 27 in Indianapolis.
Both Maynard and Cerrone have proven time and time again why they are considered two of the top lightweights on the roster. Yet with the lightweight division being one of the most talent-rich collections under the UFC banner, both are in a position where they need a victory to keep a foothold in the elite tier of the weight class.
Nate Diaz will make his return to the UFC this fall according to a GracieMag.com report.
Diaz was suspended for 90 days and fined $20,000 for using a homophobic slur on Twitter. Diaz was last seen in the Octagon in April. He was knocked out by Josh Tho…
Nate Diaz will make his return to the UFC this fall according to a GracieMag.com report.
Diaz was suspended for 90 days and fined $20,000 for using a homophobic slur on Twitter. Diaz was last seen in the Octagon in April. He was knocked out by Josh Thomson in San Jose. The Stockton native remains ranked in the top 10.
Diaz‘s value, fighting style and ranking should earn him another top lightweight. However, many of the top 10 are already currently booked. That does not leave too many quality options on the table for Diaz.
The No. 7 ranked lightweight will try to regain his footing in the division and make another trek toward the top.
Here are five possibilities for Diaz‘s return bout.
There is an art to matchmaking in combat sports.