Tag: Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz Drops to Lightweight to Face Takanori Gomi at UFC 135

Nick Diaz Takanori Gomi don't be scared MMA PRIDE
(Yeah, we know that’s a different Diaz, but that doesn’t make the message any less valid. Props: jaylibbb)

After suffering back-to-back decision defeats in his last two fights against Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald, Nate Diaz will be dropping back to his original home at lightweight, according to UFC.com. Diaz’s return opponent will be Japanese MMA icon Takanori Gomi at UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage, September 24th in Denver. Gomi is coming off a submission loss to Clay Guida at UFC 125 in January, and has gone 1-2 overall in his current stint with the UFC.

Nate’s brother Nick previously faced Gomi at PRIDE 33 in one of the greatest bouts in MMA history; Diaz wore Gomi down in a gritty slugfest before tapping him in round 2 via gogoplata. The win was overturned and ruled a no-contest when Diaz tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight drug test. But come on, bro, we all saw what happened.

Nick Diaz Takanori Gomi don't be scared MMA PRIDE
(Yeah, we know that’s a different Diaz, but that doesn’t make the message any less valid. Props: jaylibbb)

After suffering back-to-back decision defeats in his last two fights against Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald, Nate Diaz will be dropping back to his original home at lightweight, according to UFC.com. Diaz’s return opponent will be Japanese MMA icon Takanori Gomi at UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage, September 24th in Denver. Gomi is coming off a submission loss to Clay Guida at UFC 125 in January, and has gone 1-2 overall in his current stint with the UFC.

Nate’s brother Nick previously faced Gomi at PRIDE 33 in one of the greatest bouts in MMA history; Diaz wore Gomi down in a gritty slugfest before tapping him in round 2 via gogoplata. The win was overturned and ruled a no-contest when Diaz tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight drug test. But come on, bro, we all saw what happened.

The Diaz brothers already have three opponents in common. Nick has scored victories over Joe Hurley (sub R1), Koji Oishi (KO R1), and Josh Neer (sub R3), while Nate has gone 2-1 against the same opposition, dropping a decision to Oishi in his second pro fight before defeating Joe Hurley (sub R2) and Josh Neer (split dec.).

A month after Nate takes on Gomi, Nick will challenge Georges St. Pierre for the UFC’s welterweight title.

Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi Booked for UFC 135

Filed under: UFC, NewsFour years ago, Takanori Gomi fought Nick Diaz in one of the best fights in the history of Pride. Now Gomi is slated to get a crack at Diaz’s little brother.

The UFC has announced that Gomi will face Nate Diaz at UFC 135, adding …

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Four years ago, Takanori Gomi fought Nick Diaz in one of the best fights in the history of Pride. Now Gomi is slated to get a crack at Diaz’s little brother.

The UFC has announced that Gomi will face Nate Diaz at UFC 135, adding what should be a very entertaining lightweight fight to the September 24 card in Denver.

Gomi’s fight with Nick Diaz was a classic. Gomi, the Pride lightweight champion, entered as the favorite, but Diaz wore him out with his wild striking and his activity off his back, eventually submitting Gomi with a gogoplata in the second round. The bout was later changed to a no contest because Diaz tested positive for marijuana, but fans still remember it as a great fight, and as the performance that put Diaz on the map.

UFC President Dana White made a point of commenting on the previous Gomi-Diaz fight in announcing the next Gomi-Diaz fight, and you can bet highlights from that 2007 Pride bout will be shown regularly in the run-up to UFC 135. We can only hope Nate Diaz, who’s moving back down to lightweight after looking sluggish at welterweight, can look half as good against Gomi as his brother did.

Here’s how the UFC 135 fight card looks right now:
Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson
Matt Hughes vs Diego Sanchez
Kid Yamamoto vs Damacio Page
Ben Rothwell vs Mark Hunt
Travis Browne vs Rob Broughton
Takanori Gomi vs Nate Diaz

 

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Dana White’s UFC 130 Video Blog # 1

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

Dana White’s fight week video blogs are back for UFC 130 this weekend, but the most interesting part of this edition is something that happened at UFC 129 last month in Toronto.

At around the 1:00 mark, White has a brief interaction in the locker room with Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz and to say it was awkward would be a major understatement. Dana tries to make smalltalk with Nick and it seems like he’s trying to talk to a child.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

Dana White’s fight week video blogs are back for UFC 130 this weekend, but the most interesting part of this edition is something that happened at UFC 129 last month in Toronto.

At around the 1:00 mark, White has a brief interaction in the locker room with Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz and to say it was awkward would be a major understatement. Dana tries to make smalltalk with Nick and it seems like he’s trying to talk to a child.

Seriously, does it get any more uncomfortable than this?

White: Did you guys go over to the thing today….the expo?

Diaz: Yeah, we were at it.

White: Yeah? Was it fucking crazy over there?

Diaz: Yeah.

White: Yeah?

Diaz: We couldn’t get anywhere.

White: No? Taking pictures and signing shit?

Diaz: *awkward silence*

And people wonder why The Baldfather isn’t sold on having Diaz coach opposite GSP on the next season of TUF. It would be a subtitled uncomfortable mess. And just imagine if Diaz beats GSP (if they fight), which is a good possibility. There goes one of the UFC’s most marketable assets if he does.

It’s amazing how much more socially adept Nate is than his brother. He makes eye contact, smiles and nods his head to show that he’s listening.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 129

Filed under: UFCFor those of us who tuned in all the way from the Facebook prelims to the Spike prelims to the pay-per-view card, UFC 129 made for a long and sometimes repetitive night.

There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that. A good knockout…

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For those of us who tuned in all the way from the Facebook prelims to the Spike prelims to the pay-per-view card, UFC 129 made for a long and sometimes repetitive night.

There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that. A good knockout is still a good knockout the second (and third) time you see it, just like ‘UFC Central’ is still an ‘MMA Live’ rip-off whether you’re watching on a laptop or a TV. But am I alone in feeling just a tad overwhelmed by it all?

When you attend a live UFC event, it’s a full evening’s worth of entertainment to begin with. But when you sit through it all from home and still end up rewatching several of those fights again later in the night, at some point they all blur together in the mind. Granted, the UFC can’t assume that its entire audience is hardcore enough to tune in early, but at a certain point it becomes difficult to keep straight who did what to who, and when. Or maybe I’m just easily confused.

Now that we’ve all had a while to digest and decompress Saturday night’s action, let’s look at the big winners, losers, and everything in between after UFC 129.

UFC 129 Live Blog: Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald Updates

Filed under: UFCTORONTO — This is the UFC 129 live blog for Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald, a welterweight bout on tonight’s Spike TV portion of the card at the Rogers Centre.

Diaz (13-6) fought earlier in January and lost to Dong Hyun Kim via unanimou…

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Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald is a fight on the UFC 129 undercard.TORONTO — This is the UFC 129 live blog for Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald, a welterweight bout on tonight’s Spike TV portion of the card at the Rogers Centre.

Diaz (13-6) fought earlier in January and lost to Dong Hyun Kim via unanimous decision. MacDonald (10-1) is coming off the first loss of his career, a TKO at the hands of Carlos Condit at UFC 115 last June.

The live blog is below.

Rory MacDonald Used Carlos Condit Loss as Motivation for UFC 129 Bout

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TORONTO — Watch below as Rory MacDonald talks about his UFC 129 fight against Nate Diaz, what he learned from his devastating loss to Carlos Condit, his time away from MMA dealing with injuries, moving to Montreal, his thoughts on Diaz and much more.

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TORONTO — Watch below as Rory MacDonald talks about his UFC 129 fight against Nate Diaz, what he learned from his devastating loss to Carlos Condit, his time away from MMA dealing with injuries, moving to Montreal, his thoughts on Diaz and much more.