Tag: Interview

Nick Diaz: GSP is on Steroids, The UFC is Covering it Up/Wants Me to Lose, & I May or May Not Pass My Drug Test Saturday


(No Wolf Tickets)

Nick Diaz put on a wonderful show at yesterday’s UFC 158 pre-event press conference. He called Georges St. Pierre a whiny, phony, ‘roided up point-fighter but then basically shrugged his shoulders when asked if he would pass his own drug test Saturday.

In case he was too vague in his accusations of St. Pierre, Diaz clarified and expanded while on the Tim and Sid radio show shortly after the presser. In addition to his allegations of St. Pierre, Diaz decided to throw his employer under the bus as well.

It all started with Nick saying that he believes the UFC wants him to lose to St. Pierre Saturday night. “I would imagine that they do,” he laughed.

As for St. Pierre, Diaz confirmed that the champion was indeed the strong steroids guy that he alluded to during the presser. “I believe that he’s on plenty of steroids,” Diaz casually said before implicating Canadian and UFC officials.


(No Wolf Tickets)

Nick Diaz put on a wonderful show at yesterday’s UFC 158 pre-event press conference. He called Georges St. Pierre a whiny, phony, ‘roided up point-fighter but then basically shrugged his shoulders when asked if he would pass his own drug test Saturday.

In case he was too vague in his accusations of St. Pierre, Diaz clarified and expanded while on the Tim and Sid radio show shortly after the presser. In addition to his allegations of St. Pierre, Diaz decided to throw his employer under the bus as well.

It all started with Nick saying that he believes the UFC wants him to lose to St. Pierre Saturday night. “I would imagine that they do,” he laughed.

As for St. Pierre, Diaz confirmed that the champion was indeed the strong steroids guy that he alluded to during the presser. “I believe that he’s on plenty of steroids,” Diaz casually said before implicating Canadian and UFC officials.

“I don’t think they test around here, I doubt I’ll be tested either [*ed note* We’re betting you will be, now, Nick]. I don’t care what [the UFC is] saying…to the media. I don’t think either one of us is going to be tested. And, if so, he’s probably got a bottle of piss in his pocket. I doubt they are standing over him making sure he’s not on steroids.”

The 209 solider was then asked,”You’re suggesting that the face of the franchise is on steroids and that Dana White is complicit on that?

Nick didn’t hesitate. “Sure, why not?”

And no, Diaz isn’t naive. He knows that the UFC’s President will not be happy with him for saying he’s probably involved in a scheme to break the law and circumvent proper regulation.

“I’m sure [White] will [be mad], but like I said in the press conference…I will always tell you the truth…I will never sell you a handful of wolf tickets.”

You got that, people? No Wolf Tickets, ever, from Nick Diaz. He told you once at the presser, no Wolf Tickets, and he’s telling us again – No. Wolf. Tickets.

I have no idea what Wolf Tickets are. Urban Dictionary claims to, however. So go learn something.

And, just to be clear, Diaz is sure that St. Pierre is using banned substances and will be protected by regulators and the UFC in a fraudulent way, but he has no idea whether or not he himself will pass his own test. You know, on account of the weed.

“Hell no, I’m not guaranteeing anything…if I don’t pass the test, I’m sorry,” Diaz said sarcastically. “But I could probably use another year off, vacation. It’s not like I enjoy this – taking punches to the mouth. I need to feed my family that one day I can acquire.”

So, bring it on UFC and athletic commissions. Diaz is coming off of a year suspension for testing positive for marijuana metabolites but he’ll totally take another year of forced vacation because, you know, maybe he’ll have a family one day.

Saturday can’t come soon enough. Join us at 10 PM EST here for our play-by-play live blog as things finally get serious between Georges and Nick.

One day left to wait, folks. Just one day.

– Elias Cepeda

Quote of the Day: Dana White Says Nick Diaz Chased GSP Around a Hotel in 2011, Presumably to Pick a Fight


(This guy, a bully? Fahgettaboudit.) 

If you think Nick Diaz does what he does only for attention and not just because its part of his innate Stockton charm, then consider a new interview on The Jim Rome Showfrom UFC President Dana White where he detailed what Diaz did out from under the bright lights and cameras. Remember UFC 137, where Diaz called out Georges St. Pierreafter pissing away his title shot against the champion and being forced to beat up his hero BJ Penn?

Turns out that Diaz’s best harassment of St. Pierre came outside of the Octagon.

“Nobody has talked about this, I haven’t said anything about it, but at one of the fights, the one where he really starts calling Georges out, he was chasing Georges around the hotel and like yelling at him,” White told Jim Rome.

“Georges thought he was going to try to fight him in the hotel. He was just waiting for the elevator doors to open and see Nick Diaz…he was really messing with Georges bad at the fight, like trying to fight him at the hotel. That really pissed Georges off.”

For all the wonderful, riotous moments he’s given us in the ring, Diaz’s most violent moments often seem to come outside of it and soon become the things of legend thereafter. What long-time fan of the sport can ever forget the accounts of Diaz starting a brawl with Joe Riggs in the hospital they were taken to after fighting one another at UFC 57?


(This guy, a bully? Fahgettaboudit.) 

If you think Nick Diaz does what he does only for attention and not just because its part of his innate Stockton charm, then consider a new interview on The Jim Rome Showfrom UFC President Dana White where he detailed what Diaz did out from under the bright lights and cameras. Remember UFC 137, where Diaz called out Georges St. Pierreafter pissing away his title shot against the champion and being forced to beat up his hero BJ Penn?

Turns out that Diaz’s best harassment of St. Pierre came outside of the Octagon.

“Nobody has talked about this, I haven’t said anything about it, but at one of the fights, the one where he really starts calling Georges out, he was chasing Georges around the hotel and like yelling at him,” White told Jim Rome.

“Georges thought he was going to try to fight him in the hotel. He was just waiting for the elevator doors to open and see Nick Diaz…he was really messing with Georges bad at the fight, like trying to fight him at the hotel. That really pissed Georges off.”

For all the wonderful, riotous moments he’s given us in the ring, Diaz’s most violent moments often seem to come outside of it and soon become the things of legend thereafter. What long-time fan of the sport can ever forget the accounts of Diaz starting a brawl with Joe Riggs in the hospital they were taken to after fighting one another at UFC 57?

White also continued to push the “dark side of GSP” narrative with this story, saying that “When [St. Pierre] was younger he used to get bullied. That’s what got him into martial arts. He just has this crazy thing about bullies and he thinks Nick Diaz is a bully.”

White went on to say that, when he spoke with the champion last week, GSP told him, “‘Dana, you have no idea what I’m going to do to this kid, I wanna make him retire.’”

We rarely recommend that anyone listen to Jim Rome, but to check out all of White’s fascinating interview with him, click here.

…And oh yeah, there were indeed scheduled open workouts in advance of UFC 158 today. Georges St. Pierre showed up for his, Nick Diaz did not.

St. Pierre was not impressed. Neither was White.

Johny Hendricks, however, was ecstatic, we assume. $200 says Hendricks is going to try and lure Nick into a room full of primo bud and lock him in there tomorrow so that Diaz misses the press conference and Johny gets to replace him against St. Pierre.

– Elias Cepeda

[VIDEO] Countdown to UFC 158: Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz is Actually, Totally Happening, Y’all, For Reals


(In order to ensure that Diaz made all of his scheduled video interviews, the UFC told him that he was in a triathlon that started at his home and ended at the studio.)

We told you to watch it, but you never listen to us. Fine. We’ll bail you out again.

Last night, Countdown to UFC 158 premiered on Fuel TV. And although approximately less than 4% of MMA fans actually get Fuel TV according to our studies, CagePotato readers can now watch the special any time they want, you entitled sons of bitches. There’s a very good chance that the couple years of intrigue, drama, and trash talk between UFC champion Georges St. Pierre and challenger Nick Diaz will end up having been much more competitive than the actual main event that takes place Saturday, but still, the trash talk and drama is pretty dang good so we’re enjoying it to the last drop.

Countdown to UFC 158 has much, much more of all that good stuff for you; Diaz alternately screaming and quietly mumbling, GSP doing back flips, GSP restraining his anger behind a forced calm face, gritted teeth, and adorable French Canadian accent, etc.

For those needing to catch up, Blair Butler (Yeah, we know, but she’s a funny chick who is cute and who writes a pretty dope MMA-themed comic book, so she’s cool with us) and Cesar Gracie aka. Nick Diaz’s hook up re-hash the last year and a half or so of Nicky boy calling out Georges, then blowing those opportunities once he was given them. Doctor BJ Penn even stops by to diagnose Diaz with Social Anxiety Disorder, so join us after the jump for all the hilarity.


(In order to ensure that Diaz made all of his scheduled video interviews, the UFC told him that he was in a triathlon that started at his home and ended at the studio.)

We told you to watch it, but you never listen to us. Fine. We’ll bail you out again.

Last night, Countdown to UFC 158 premiered on Fuel TV. And although approximately less than 4% of MMA fans actually get Fuel TV according to our studies, CagePotato readers can now watch the special any time they want, you entitled sons of bitches. There’s a very good chance that the couple years of intrigue, drama, and trash talk between UFC champion Georges St. Pierre and challenger Nick Diaz will end up having been much more competitive than the actual main event that takes place Saturday, but still, the trash talk and drama is pretty dang good so we’re enjoying it to the last drop.

Countdown to UFC 158 has much, much more of all that good stuff for you; Diaz alternately screaming and quietly mumbling, GSP doing back flips, GSP restraining his anger behind a forced calm face, gritted teeth, and adorable French Canadian accent, etc.

For those needing to catch up, Blair Butler (Yeah, we know, but she’s a funny chick who is cute and who writes a pretty dope MMA-themed comic book, so she’s cool with us) and Cesar Gracie aka. Nick Diaz’s hook up re-hash the last year and a half or so of Nicky boy calling out Georges, then blowing those opportunities once he was given them. Doctor BJ Penn even stops by to diagnose Diaz with Social Anxiety Disorder, so join us after the jump for all the hilarity.

Diaz and his coach also talk about his struggles with weed/society’s struggles to accept his need for weed and various other persecution complexes and struggles that the fighter may or may not need in order to fuel his fighting career. Between the lines, fascinating stuff, really.

Tune in this Saturday to see GSP and Diaz finally settle their differences in a fight that will totally go off without a hitch and whose results will definitely not be over turned due to a failed drug test. We promise.

– Elias Cepeda

Understatement of the Day: Stephan Bonnar “F*cked Up” Taking Steroids Prior to UFC 153


(“I swear to God, you guys, I had an injury THIS BIG.” Photo courtesy of Getty Images.) 

It’s weird to think about, but the fallout from Stephan Bonnar’s second post-fight steroid bust at UFC 153 has almost been completely washed over by the MMA community. Although his one-year suspension was obviously negated by the fact that he retired from the sport shortly thereafter, even UFC President Dana White — who has been in Bonnar’s corner ever since his legendary fight with Forrest Griffin at the TUF 1 Finale — has all but refused to comment on the situation.

And as for Bonnar? Well, the normally outspoken light heavyweight has been similarly silent — likely due in part to the birth of his son — since exiting the UFC on such terrible terms. Until now, that is.

For the first time since the fight itself, Bonnar addressed the factors that led him to get popped for Drostanolone following UFC 153 during an interview on The MMA Hour (Author’s note: WHAT ABOUT US, STEPHAN?). Although Stephan took full responsibility for his actions, his reasoning for why he fell back on the juice yet again didn’t exactly absolve him of all guilt (via MMAFighting):

…after being shelved for months and being advised to retire by UFC president Dana White, he had given up hope of closing out his career with a major fight…But then, out of the blue, the semi-retired fighter got the phone call he never thought was coming. After about 10 months without a fight, he was being asked to compete against the the sport’s pound-for-pound king, Anderson Silva.

Believe it or not, there are some therapeutic uses to some of the banned substances,” he said. “Bottom line, I wanted to get my strength back. I was very weak. My body didn’t feel good, my joints didn’t feel good. That was my goal.

Poor Stephan; the dude spent upwards of seven years fighting for the UFC and never realized that there was a completely legal way to deal with the aging process.

More from the interview after the jump. 


(“I swear to God, you guys, I had an injury THIS BIG.” Photo courtesy of Getty Images.) 

It’s weird to think about, but the fallout from Stephan Bonnar’s second post-fight steroid bust at UFC 153 has almost been completely washed over by the MMA community. Although his one-year suspension was obviously negated by the fact that he retired from the sport shortly thereafter, even UFC President Dana White — who has been in Bonnar’s corner ever since his legendary fight with Forrest Griffin at the TUF 1 Finale – has all but refused to comment on the situation.

And as for Bonnar? Well, the normally outspoken light heavyweight has been similarly silent — likely due in part to the birth of his son — since exiting the UFC on such terrible terms. Until now, that is.

For the first time since the fight itself, Bonnar addressed the factors that led him to get popped for Drostanolone following UFC 153 during an interview on The MMA Hour (Author’s note: WHAT ABOUT US, STEPHAN?). Although Stephan took full responsibility for his actions, his reasoning for why he fell back on the juice yet again didn’t exactly absolve him of all guilt (via MMAFighting):

…after being shelved for months and being advised to retire by UFC president Dana White, he had given up hope of closing out his career with a major fight…But then, out of the blue, the semi-retired fighter got the phone call he never thought was coming. After about 10 months without a fight, he was being asked to compete against the the sport’s pound-for-pound king, Anderson Silva.

Believe it or not, there are some therapeutic uses to some of the banned substances,” he said. “Bottom line, I wanted to get my strength back. I was very weak. My body didn’t feel good, my joints didn’t feel good. That was my goal.

Poor Stephan; the dude spent upwards of seven years fighting for the UFC and never realized that there was a completely legal way to deal with the aging process.

According to Bonnar, the hardest thing he has had to deal with since leaving the UFC in disgrace hasn’t been the dirty looks or vehemently-worded tweets from fans, but the distance that has grown between himself and the organization he called home for the majority of his MMA career:

You know, there’s no way if I thought there was any possibility of it showing up, that I would have taken the fight. I finally get the opportunity I’ve been begging for in vain for so long. I thought I’d go out there and put on a better fight, but then stuff like this happens. It’s like I came to his house and took a s— on his carpet. It just kills me. I’m like, ‘Come on, Dana, give me this opportunity,’ and then I make him look like that. I’m really sorry.

The only question that remains is: Where does Bonnar go from here? Well, he’s come up with a simple solution for that:

I feel the best thing for me to do is to respectfully piss off. It’s not to sit there and go, ‘Oh, come on Dana, give me another chance.’ I f—– up and I’ll put my tail between my legs and leave you guys alone for a while. 

Farewell for now, dearest Stephan. At least we’ll always have these memories…

–J. Jones

Georges St. Pierre Officially On the Chris Weidman Train – Says Challenger Will Finish Anderson Silva

(Video by Sports Net Canada)

During a recent interview with Sports Net Canada, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre took a moment to shit on UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. St. Pierre was called out publicly for months by Silva, who wanted the welterweight champion to come up in weight and fight him in a super fight.

St. Pierre will instead fight Nick Diaz Saturday at UFC 158. Silva will finally fight Chris Weidman later this year. St. Pierre trains regularly in New York City with Phil Nurse and Renzo Gracie boys. Weidman’s Jiu Jitsu lineage goes back to Renzo and GSP calls the #1 middleweight challenger his friend.

And he thinks his relatively unknown friend will smack around Silva with ease.

“I believe he’s going to beat Anderson Silva. I believe it’s a bad match-up for Anderson Silva. Very bad,” he said with a smile. “Not only he’s going to beat, I believe he’s going to beat Anderson Silva. I believe it’s not going to be too long, that fight.”

GSP does leave himself one out, though. He implies that Silva intentionally signed to fight Weidman only now because the challenger will be coming off of major surgery and a long layoff. “Anderson Silva is smart,” Georges says.

“The time to fight [Weidman] is now.”

What do you think, ‘taters? Will GSP be as giddy as Floyd Mayweather was after Manny Pacquiao got knocked out in his last fight if Weidman manages to dethrone Silva? Do you agree that Weidman has a good chance at not just beating Anderson but doing so quickly and with ease?

– Elias Cepeda


(Video by Sports Net Canada)

During a recent interview with Sports Net Canada, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre took a moment to shit on UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. St. Pierre was called out publicly for months by Silva, who wanted the welterweight champion to come up in weight and fight him in a super fight.

St. Pierre will instead fight Nick Diaz Saturday at UFC 158. Silva will finally fight Chris Weidman later this year. St. Pierre trains regularly in New York City with Phil Nurse and Renzo Gracie boys. Weidman’s Jiu Jitsu lineage goes back to Renzo and GSP calls the #1 middleweight challenger his friend.

And he thinks his relatively unknown friend will smack around Silva with ease.

“I believe he’s going to beat Anderson Silva. I believe it’s a bad match-up for Anderson Silva. Very bad,” he said with a smile. “Not only he’s going to beat, I believe he’s going to beat Anderson Silva. I believe it’s not going to be too long, that fight.”

GSP does leave himself one out, though. He implies that Silva intentionally signed to fight Weidman only now because the challenger will be coming off of major surgery and a long layoff. “Anderson Silva is smart,” Georges says.

“The time to fight [Weidman] is now.”

What do you think, ‘taters? Will GSP be as giddy as Floyd Mayweather was after Manny Pacquiao got knocked out in his last fight if Weidman manages to dethrone Silva? Do you agree that Weidman has a good chance at not just beating Anderson but doing so quickly and with ease?

– Elias Cepeda

Quote of the Day: Past Steroid Users Like Vitor Belfort Will Probably Not Be Receiving TRT Exemptions in Nevada


(“I don’t really get what this whole TRT debate is even about, Vitor. As if my thyme-roasted tilapia is the sole ingredient behind your success.”) 

Although testosterone replacement therapy hasn’t been a topic of debate for all that long in the MMA world, it has more than worn out its welcome with the sport’s fans and more than a few fighters to boot. It’s been criticized so much that even Dana White has flip-flopped on the issue, now vowing to “test the shit” out of fighters on TRT out of fear that they will abuse it. The general dislike for this newfangled “therapy” is only intensified when it involves past steroid abusers like say Vitor Belfort, who tested positive for 4-Hydroxytestosterone following his Pride 32 loss to Dan Henderson in 2006.

As you surely recall, Belfort was granted a TUE for TRT prior to his UFC on FX 7 victory over Michael Bisping. Although most of us were willing to give “The Phenom” a pass for that event because he was able to shut up Michael Bisping for a minute or two, it looks like NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer will not be so lenient should Belfort and past dopers like him fight in Nevada any time soon:

I don’t see Vitor Belfort getting a TRT exemption from us. I really don’t and I feel kind of bad for him in some ways because if he has learned from his mistakes and now he’s trying to do it the right way and his levels are low with the treatment good for him and I hope he is doing that. 


(“I don’t really get what this whole TRT debate is even about, Vitor. As if my thyme-roasted tilapia is the sole ingredient behind your success.”) 

Although testosterone replacement therapy hasn’t been a topic of debate for all that long in the MMA world, it has more than worn out its welcome with the sport’s fans and more than a few fighters to boot. It’s been criticized so much that even Dana White has flip-flopped on the issue, now vowing to “test the shit” out of fighters on TRT out of fear that they will abuse it. The general dislike for this newfangled “therapy” is only intensified when it involves past steroid abusers like say Vitor Belfort, who tested positive for 4-Hydroxytestosterone following his Pride 32 loss to Dan Henderson in 2006.

As you surely recall, Belfort was granted a TUE for TRT prior to his UFC on FX 7 victory over Michael Bisping. Although most of us were willing to give “The Phenom” a pass for that event because he was able to shut up Michael Bisping for a minute or two, it looks like NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer will not be so lenient should Belfort and past dopers like him fight in Nevada any time soon:

I don’t see Vitor Belfort getting a TRT exemption from us. I really don’t and I feel kind of bad for him in some ways because if he has learned from his mistakes and now he’s trying to do it the right way and his levels are low with the treatment good for him and I hope he is doing that. 

In May of last year, Kizer likened TRT to “the new Viagra” amongst combat sports athletes upon granting Chael Sonnen a TUE for UFC 148. But before you jump on Kizer for playing both sides of the fence by granting Sonnen a TRT exemption, you should first understand the difference between past users like Belfort and guys like Sonnen, at least according to Kizer:

He handled himself well and some people handle themselves well. Some guys are going to have to jump through some additional hoops, but even Chael wasn’t a prior steroid (user) that could have caused the deficiency like Vitor. 

Whether or not Kizer stands by his word remains to be seen, especially considering that Belfort hasn’t fought in Nevada since getting front-kicked into a living death by Anderson Silva at UFC 126. At the same time, it’s great to see guys like Kizer and Dana White finally labeling TRT for what it really is: legalized cheating. Now if only we could get them to ease off on the whole “marijuana” thing. It’s saving our annoying children’s lives, dammit!

–J. Jones