Nate Diaz has fought a who’s who of lightweight talent inside the Octagon, but the man that tested him the most may surprise you. The Stockton Samurai has been a fan favorite ever since his days as a young up-and-comer on the fifth season of the UFC’s long-running reality series, The Ultimate Fighter. He would […]
Nate Diaz has fought a who’s who of lightweight talent inside the Octagon, but the man that tested him the most may surprise you.
The Stockton Samurai has been a fan favorite ever since his days as a young up-and-comer on the fifth season of the UFC’s long-running reality series, The Ultimate Fighter. He would go on to win the tournament, earning a contract with the promotion and beginning what would become a 15-year journey of fighting some of the biggest names in the sport.
During an appearance on Bradley Martyn’s Raw Talk, Nate Diaz was asked who he labels as his toughest opponent. Some expected to hear him call out names like Rory MacDonald, Benson Henderson, Anthony Pettis, Leon Edwards, or Conor McGregor. Instead, Diaz called out a name that fight fans have not heard in some time.
“There’s a guy I fought named Josh Neer,” Diaz revealed. “He’s my boy now. We’re homies, but Josh Neer fought my brother (Nick Diaz). My brother’s the dopest fighter you ever met in your whole life. Better than anyone and I seen Nick do the craziest stuff in my whole life. He fought Josh Neer and Nick was murking everybody. Like, whooping a** all over, and Josh Neer popped up like, ‘What’s up?’ And they fought. This fool fought him for three rounds hard and Nick’s doing his thing, hitting him a lot.
“I was like, this f*ckin’ guy is crazy. Nick ended up finishing him in the third round though. Most of the people Nick finished were in the first round, maybe the second round, and then he fought Josh Neer. And I was like, this dude’s crazy.
“Anyway, time went by and [Neer] went down to 155 where I was fighting at, and I asked for a better opponent. That’s when I first got to the UFC. I was beating people and I was like, yo, I need some contenders. I need some top guys because I ain’t trying to play around in here. And so they gave me Josh Neer who was one of the top five guys right when I started to fight top people. And it was my hardest fight.”
Nate Diaz Looks Back on His 2008 Instant Classic with Josh Neer
Josh Neer and Nate Diaz stepped inside the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 15 in 2008. At the time, Diaz was riding a four-fight win streak, including his win over Manny Gamburyan at The Ultimate Fighter 5 finale. Neer walked into the bout as a winner in seven of his last eight contests, though only one of those victories came under the UFC banner.
“I watched him fight hundreds of times, and I’m like, f*ck, this dude’s not playing or anything,” Diaz said. “Angry white dude just sits there, don’t say nothing. He just sits there hella mad and fights people, just like Nick.”
He continued, “Nick already beat him once so he wants to whoop my a**. Most people were just like, ‘Yeah, whatever. I’m just here to do my thing. Good luck.’ This guy was p*ssed. We ended up fighting and I watched his fights so much. I trained so perfect for him that everything… He’d throw punches, I slipped right under it, grabbed him, but he countered everything. If you watch that fight with me and Josh Neer, it was 100 miles an hour. It’s a good fight.”
Nate Diaz walked away with his hand raised, scoring a split decision over Josh Neer that night. Diaz would go 8-8 following the fight against Neer before scoring a truly star-making submission victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 196.
The World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation has inked deal’s with two former UFC fighters and a former TUF contestant for their first ever show later this year.
The World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF) signs two more former UFC fighters as bare-knuckle promotions continue to be the latest trend in combat sports.
The upstart promotion will host its first event later this year in October. The (WBKFF) made headlines last month when they officially announced a contest between Chris Leben and Phil Baroni. The promotion took to Instagram to announce the signing of two more UFC veterans- Josh Neer and Melvin Guillard. The (WBKFF) also inked former TUF 26 contestant Christina Marks.
Neer (36-16-1) hasn’t competed in MMA since getting knocked out by surging UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith at Victory FC 47 back in 2016. “The Dentist” posted a record of six wins and nine defeats in his two runs with the UFC.
Guillard (32-21-2, 3 NC) has competed in nearly every relevant combat sports promotion during the last ten years. However, “The Young Assassin’s” best days may be behind him. Guillard has gone 0-8 with one NC in his last nine fights dating back to a 2014 defeat to Justin Gaethje.
Marks (8-10) lone appearance in the octagon was a loss at the hands of Montana De La Rosa during The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale.
The (WBKFF) will debut this fall, and with an already promising stable of fighters, it should prove to be an exciting night of fights.
By now, you’ve probably seen the video of UFC/Bellator veteran Josh Neer brutalizing Patrick Martin, a non-professional fighter who was talking a whole heap of mess to Neer on the social medias, in his Iowa-based gym. Reactions have ranged from “Dude got what was coming to him” to “Neer is a scumbag who should be brought in on assault charges”, so we figured we might as well weigh in on the story in the most cynical way possible. Starting with…
By now, you’ve probably seen the video of UFC/Bellator veteran Josh Neer brutalizing Patrick Martin, a non-professional fighter who was talking a whole heap of mess to Neer on the social medias, in his Iowa-based gym. Reactions have ranged from “Dude got what was coming to him” to “Neer is a scumbag who should be brought in on assault charges”, so we figured we might as well weigh in on the story in the most cynical way possible. Starting with…
1. Dude *did* have it coming to him
Look, if I don’t want a chef to spit in my food, then I sure as hell don’t spend the time between appetizers and entree berating him for not being able to properly poach a goddamn egg. It’s Newton’s Third Law in its most basic form. When you show up to a professional fighter’s place of business looking for an unsanctioned/street fight, you can’t exactly play the victim when he inevitably grants you what you were asking for.
Anyone can talk all the trash they want online without fear of repercussion — its what makes the Internet both a hilarious and oft depressing place — and Neer should have simply ignored Martin rather than playing into his trollish game. The moment Martin stepped foot into Neer’s gym, however, he became a threat.
2. Patrick Martin does not seem like a particularly respectable/smart person
According to several reports, Martin stands at 6’6″ and clocks in at around 250 pounds. That he chose to pick a fight with a lifelong 155er through Facebook and continue to talk trash after the fact says more about his mental stability than anything else. Look at it from Neer’s perspective: You’re a 51-fight veteran and a guy who has fought for the 2 biggest MMA promotions in the world. You undoubtedly have a bit of an ego because of this. All of a sudden, a guy twice your size shows up to your gym looking to fight you. You know next to nothing about this man (Martin had taken a few classes at Neer’s gym prior to their confrontation) other than that he wants to “put you in an ambulance.” Walking away is no longer an option at this point.
For what it’s worth, here’s Martin’s side of the story (via BloodyElbow):
My side is that we had a 3 minute sparring round that he couldn’t score or take me down! He threw wild punches I dodged and counter and with my 16oz gloves I did all the punching also mixed a couple kicks in! Everything you see is after the round bell sounded as I turned away from him picking up my mouth piece I dropped after the round!
He’s adding all this talk, that I talk shit about MMA fighters when I talked shit to him after disrespecting me about a wrestling drill I was tired in! So I left it alone till I saw him out and I bought him a couple beers and then he walked of talking shit to his buddy about me! So I blew up on him on Facebook demanding a full contact spar! I said I’ll bring 16oz. So the beef is with him and a couple other of his gyms fighter who was talking shit on my page!
I’m not scared of fucking Josh Neer! Nor any man! He don’t wanna show the full video so I’ll let him think he won! I seen his game plan fighting me and that’s not gonna work!
I hate to break it to you, Pat, but you don’t show up to a street fight (especially one set in your opponent’s home turf) demanding rules and regulations as if it were a sanctioned bout. Three minute rounds? 16 oz gloves? And now you want a rematch? My God, dude. Neer didn’t hit you hard enough.
3. Then again, neither does Neer
Here’s Neer’s side of the story, also via Bloody Elbow:
Basically the guys a dumbass and been talking shit about MMA fighters for a month. On and on, I usually ignore him but this Saturday he wrote me on Facebook the message i gave. He had written 10 messages to me talking shit which I ignored, but this time I said if you really want to fight come to the gym Monday at 5:30.
He showed up at 6:10, 40 mins into my practice. And then I asked him if he wanted to fight Rakim or me and Rakim is bigger then me so of course he chose me.
The idea that the majority of MMA fighters are (or are supposed to be) these zenlike, death-before-dishonor practicing “artists” is laughable enough, but especially so in the case of Neer. Here’s a guy who has been arrested multiple times for DUI, including one incident where he led police on an 80+mph chase after hitting a car from behind at a stoplight.
You say Josh should have just done the “honorable” thing and brushed Martin off? Well go ahead and tell him that after you inform the Diaz brothers that not every fighter in the world is out to get them.
4. Nothing will come of the IAC’s “investigation” of Neer
In the time since Neer’s ill-posted video has gone viral, the Iowa Athletic Commission has launched an “investigation” of Neer to see if any punishable actions can be taken against him. This while admitting that they “hold no regulatory authority over what happens in gyms, where such informal fights are not uncommon.” (via Sherdog):
Josh Neer is reportedly under investigation by the Iowa Athletic Commission (IAC) after a video was posted online showing the UFC and Bellator veteran allegedly beating up another man in a gym fight.
“We are aware of the situation. I have our legal team taking a thorough look at our rules,” said IAC Executive Director Joe Walsh. “We’re checking to see if we have anything on the books that covers this.”
Of course, if the Iowa Commission is run anything like NSAC, nothing of importance will actually happen to Neer. Hell, they probably haven’t even found the rulebook yet.
So what have we learned today, kids?
1) Don’t pick a fight with a professional fighter, and if you must, make sure it remains within the realm of the Twittersphere where you stand a chance of winning.
2) If your said fighter being targeted, don’t feed the trolls.
3) Mixed martial artists are not Bruce Lee and need to stop being treated as if they are comparable to him in any way, shape, or form.
All that said, Neer’s soccer kick after the fact was probably unnecessary. Probably.
That’s from the 168-pound catchweight fight between Jozette Cotton and Holly Lawson. If you ask us, the GIF is the most (and only) entertaining one of the night.
Here are the complete Bellator 129 results:
Main Card
Paul Bradley def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Houston Alexander vs. Virgil Zwicker ruled majority draw (29-28 Alexander, 28-28, 28-28)
Andre Santos def. James Terry via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joe Vedepo def. Davin Clark via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:27
Preliminary Card
John DeVall def. Chris Lane via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:40
Eric Howser def. Tim Bazer via submission (elbows) – Round 1, 4:11
Michael McBride def. Kevin Morris via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:32
Martin Brown def. Bryan Corley via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:42
Jozette Cotton def. Holly Lawson unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Anthony Smith def. Brian Green via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-26)
Victor Moreno def. Marcos Marquez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Over the weekend, welterweight scrapper Josh Neerpicked up his third straight win since being ousted from the UFC for a third time back in February of 2013 with a first round armbar over Travis Coyle, capturing the VFC (so close!) welterweight title in the process. It was a victory that may very well earn “The Dentist” yet another chance in the octagon, where he may very well washout yet again in four or so fights.
With all due respect, that’s just the level of fighter Neer seems to be; a perpetual gamer with good enough skills to destroy anyone on the local circuit while never quite being able to establish himself in the big leagues — which is saying something for a guy who holds victories over the likes of Melvin Guillard, Duane Ludwig, and Mac Danzig. But while Neer may never be a title holder in the UFC or even a contender, it would be hard to deny that he’s one of the most dangerous guys competing outside of it today.
Here are five more of those guys, listed in no particular order.
A staple of the UFC’s welterweight division during the late aughts, Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman has had the most unexpected non TRT-induced career resurgence this side of Mark Hunt. After receiving his walking papers following a unanimous decision loss to Pete Sell at UFC 90 (with a 5-6 record overall), Burman all but vanished from the public eye. The reason behind his disappearance was similar to that of countless MMA veterans before him: Injury.
(Photo via Getty)
Over the weekend, welterweight scrapper Josh Neerpicked up his third straight win since being ousted from the UFC for a third time back in February of 2013 with a first round armbar over Travis Coyle, capturing the VFC (so close!) welterweight title in the process. It was a victory that may very well earn “The Dentist” yet another chance in the octagon, where he may very well washout yet again in four or so fights.
With all due respect, that’s just the level of fighter Neer seems to be; a perpetual gamer with good enough skills to destroy anyone on the local circuit while never quite being able to establish himself in the big leagues — which is saying something for a guy who holds victories over the likes of Melvin Guillard, Duane Ludwig, and Mac Danzig. But while Neer may never be a title holder in the UFC or even a contender, it would be hard to deny that he’s one of the most dangerous guys competing outside of it today.
Here are five more of those guys, listed in no particular order.
A staple of the UFC’s welterweight division during the late aughts, Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman has had the most unexpected non TRT-induced career resurgence this side of Mark Hunt. After receiving his walking papers following a unanimous decision loss to Pete Sell at UFC 90 (with a 5-6 record overall), Burman all but vanished from the public eye. The reason behind his disappearance was similar to that of countless MMA veterans before him: Injury.
Burkman spent the next year and a half recovering from back surgery, but when he reemerged, he did so as a completely changed fighter. A 5-1 win streak across various promotions would follow before Burkman would sign with the WSOF, where he would score upset wins over fellow UFC alums Gerald Harris, Aaron Simpson, and most impressively, Jon Fitch. Although Burkman’s meteoric rise would be halted in his WSOF title fight against Steve Carl, “The People’s Warrior” would bounce back from defeat with yet another brutal stoppage of Tyler Stinson at WSOF 9. And you better believe it was a walkoff KO.
Speaking of the WSOF, David Branch has built up quite a little streak of his own in the Ray Sefo-led promotion, notching back-to-back-to-back wins over Dustin Jacoby, whatever remains of Paulo Filho, and Daniel Villefort before capturing the middleweight title via a first round submission of Jesse Taylor (who himself has seen a good deal of success outside the UFC) at WSOF 10.
Branch’s last fight in the UFC saw him fall victim to the nightmare scenario that is a Paul Harris kneebar, yet somehow, he was not admitted to a psychiatric facility shortly thereafter and in fact has compiled a 6-1 record in the time since, with the lone blemish coming by way of decision to hulking light heavyweight Anthony Johnson. Not bad for one of the most infamous KO victims in UFC History.
We may rip on Rampage every now and again for being an annoying loudmouth with ever-deteriorating skills, but when it comes right down to it, the former UFC light heavyweight champion still has a lot of fight left in him. Now competing under the Bellator banner, Page has scored three straight victories for the first time since entering the UFC back in 2007 (a comparison we’re sure he’d appreciate), including a first round TKO of current/inexplicable title challenger Joey Beltran and a controversial decision over King Mo at Bellator 120: Dicks Be Ridden.
And while it’s almost certain that we’ll never see the 36-year-old back in the Octagon before he hangs ‘em up, we may very well see him rise to the respectable position of Bellator light heavyweight champion once Emanuel Newton sacrifices Joey Beltran to the MMA Gods. Have I mentioned how confused I am by that fight?
Although he may technically be considered a Bellator washout these days (which really doesn’t help prove our case), Ben Saunders has done a lot to separate himself from countless TUF washouts before him. He went 4-3 in the UFC following his stint on The Ultimate Fighter 6, picking up brutal stoppages of Brandon Wolff and Marcus Davis in the process, and has advanced to two Bellator welterweight tournament finals (and a third semifinal) via scorching knockouts of Raul Amaya and Brian Warren. He also likes to think that he helped get noted dog-killer Bjorn Rebney removed from his throne over at Bellator, which doesn’t exactly lower his stock in our book either.
(I am being told that this is not one of Daley’s recent highlights, but is in fact the lowest lowlight of his entire career. I apologize for the mistake.)
Paul Daley’s decision to cheap shot Josh Koscheck following their fight at UFC 113 has been discussed to the point of nausea (or as Tito Ortiz might put it, “ad museum”). Daley’s apologized for it, repented for it, and probably made a donation to The Human Fund in Koscheck’s name in a last ditch effort to get Karma back on his side. The unfortunate incident is mentioned in every article even tangentially related to him despite happening some four years (and a half dozen or so brutal KO’s) ago, and he’ll arguably never live it down, not even if he cures cancer while saving a baby from a building burning.
But to act as if the cheap shot never happened would be to revise the history of MMA to suit our needs, and we’ll be damned if that’s going to happen under our watch. So let’s talk about it some more.
Honestly, I’m of two minds about Daley’s decision. On one hand, Koscheck is a bit of a turd, and turds sometimes require an uncouth method of expulsion, lest they stick around too long and stink things up for everybody. On the other hand, striking an opponent after the bell is perhaps the most cowardly, punk-ass move in the book, and allowing Daley to return to the octagon would be all but rewarding his despicable behavior.
Oh right, Daley’s record. Since exiting the UFC, “Semtex” has gone 11-4 and 5-2 in the past two years across various organizations, with 7 of those wins coming via uber-violent knockout. A clean bill of (legal) health finally obtained, Daley re-signed with Bellator in July and will likely continue breaking jaws with tremendous aplomb for the foreseeable future.
(Seriously, all he’s missing is a lisp and an army of lawyers to enable his incoherent conspiracy theories and he’d fit right in with the 209 crew.)
We’re not ashamed to admit that — despite his many shortcomings both inside the ring and out — Josh Neer will always be one of our favorite fighters. Embracing an “old school,” entertainment over strategy mentality that saw him score back-to-back Fight of the Night awards during his second run in the UFC, the Iowa native has been throwing caution to the wind since 2003 and holds nearly 50 fights to his credit (including notable victories over Mac Danzig, Melvin Guillard, Duane Ludwig, and Joe Stevenson) despite his relatively young age (30).
Josh Neer (33-13-1) has been released following 3 straight losses inside the Octagon. ‘The Dentist’ a veteran of the sport, was last in action at UFC 157 where he lost a decision to Court McGee. Prior to that Neer had been finished by both Justin Edwards and Mike Pyle.
Also among the fallen…
(Seriously, all he’s missing is a lisp and an army of lawyers to enable his incoherent conspiracy theories and he’d fit right in with the 209 crew.)
We’re not ashamed to admit that — despite his many shortcomings both inside the ring and out — Josh Neer will always be one of our favorite fighters. Embracing an “old school,” entertainment over strategy mentality that saw him score back-to-back Fight of the Night awards during his second run in the UFC, the Iowa native has been throwing caution to the wind since 2003 and holds nearly 50 fights to his credit (including notable victories over Mac Danzig, Melvin Guillard, Duane Ludwig, and Joe Stevenson) despite his relatively young age (30).
Josh Neer (33-13-1) has been released following 3 straight losses inside the Octagon. ‘The Dentist’ a veteran of the sport, was last in action at UFC 157 where he lost a decision to Court McGee. Prior to that Neer had been finished by both Justin Edwards and Mike Pyle.
Also among the fallen…
Brock Jardine: 0-2 in the UFC, was last submitted via a crazy kneebar from the back mount/hiplock at the hands of Kenny Robertson at UFC 157. Prior to that, Jardine dropped a unanimous decision to Rick Story at UFC on FX 4.
Caros Fodor: 0-1, brought over in the Strikeforce acquisition and dropped a split decision to Sam Stout at UFC 157. Damn, that seems kinda hasty.
Jon Manley: Also 0-1, Manley was apparently part of the cast of the already forgotten TUF 16 and faced fellow contestant Neil Magny at UFC 157, where he wound up on the wrong end of a UD loss.
Farewell gentlemen, you may be lost but you will never be forgotten…unless you were on TUF 16.
