Tag: Nick Diaz

UFC 137: Nick Diaz Names BJ Penn as His Favorite Fighter

It’s been a crazy ride over the last few weeks of Nick Diaz’ life. The former Strikeforce welterweight champion was brought back into the UFC fold a few months ago, following his dominant performance against former contender Paul Daley, …

It’s been a crazy ride over the last few weeks of Nick Diaz’ life. 

The former Strikeforce welterweight champion was brought back into the UFC fold a few months ago, following his dominant performance against former contender Paul Daley, finishing off the knockout artist on strikes in the first round of their April tussle.

Diaz was later slated to take on Georges St-Pierre, the reigning 170-pound kingpin, at UFC 137, which takes place on October 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

After a pair of no-shows preceding the pay-per-view event, Diaz was pulled out of the main event slot and eventually re-booked to take on BJ Penn in the co-headliner.

Now, GSP has fallen to injury and will not be meeting Carlos Condit—who took Diaz’ place in the evening’s headliner. Instead, both Penn and Diaz will now be meeting as the main event tilt.

While the Stockton native is usually well-reserved, he has also been known to be one of the most unfiltered fighters in the sport. He’s unapologetic for his actions or the words that come out of his mouth, but he’s honest, to say the least.

“I know who’s in this sport and they haven’t done (expletive)—not what I did”, said the UFC contender in his pre-fight interview.

While few fighters have earned the respect of the world-ranked Diaz, former two-time champ BJ Penn has more than coveted those accolades for the Californian. 

“He is my favorite fighter”, said Diaz, who shares a camaraderie with Penn, who also began his career from the humble beginnings of the Gracie family—the Hawaiian serving under the tutelage of Ralph Gracie and Diaz under the wing of Cesar Gracie.

“He’s better than they are. He’s better than everybody.”

“I know where he came from; he came from my school as far as I’m concerned. He came from what I came from and that’s why he’s good.”

Both men are well adept strikers who hold black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Evenly matched men with a penchant for exciting fights, it’s a bout that has piqued the interest of Penn, Diaz and the mixed martial arts community alike. 

“I think we have some of the same style, therefore we have some of the same fans and I respect his style of fighting”, said Diaz.

“MMA fans in general are looking forward to this fight.”

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UFC 137 Fight Card: Nick Diaz, B.J. Penn And the 10 Biggest Attractions

UFC 137 will go ahead without welterweight king Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit.Instead Nick Diaz and B.J. Penn will take centre stage as the main eventers of the evening.In less than a fortnight’s time UFC 137 will be making its way to the M…

UFC 137 will go ahead without welterweight king Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit.

Instead Nick Diaz and B.J. Penn will take centre stage as the main eventers of the evening.

In less than a fortnight’s time UFC 137 will be making its way to the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

And with it a host of supreme warriors will follow suit—seeking to showcase their skills whilst ensuring the end result culminates in them being victorious.

Even without St-Pierre and Condit headlining the main event, the show is still stacked to rafters with fights that could easily blow the roof off the Bay Center.

Here’s a sneak-peek at the match-ups that could emerge as the main attractions of the evening…

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UFC 137 Fight Card: Audio of Nick Diaz’s Late Arrival on Media Call

“What happened? I didn’t even know there was a call,” Nick Diaz said after calling in late to the prefight media call for UFC 137. After squandering a welterweight title shot due to missing multiple press conferences, Nick Diaz was once again noti…

“What happened? I didn’t even know there was a call,” Nick Diaz said after calling in late to the prefight media call for UFC 137. 

After squandering a welterweight title shot due to missing multiple press conferences, Nick Diaz was once again noticeably absent from a media conference. This time, however, Diaz eventually showed up and had an excuse for his tardiness, stating that he had not been informed of the call.

After an injury forced his originally scheduled opponent, Georges St-Pierre, out of UFC 137’s main event, Diaz will again serve as one of the headlining fighters at the event. Instead of St-Pierre, Diaz is now matched up against B.J. Penn, who was first expected to fight Carlos Condit, the fighter who replaced Diaz as top welterweight contender.

Diaz has woven a tangled web that has muddled the welterweight title picture. With a loss to Penn at UFC 137, Diaz may never be afforded another opportunity to compete for a UFC title.

 

Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com, LowKick.com and TheMMACorner.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.

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UFC’s Nick Diaz: "There’s a Whole World out There, and No One Can Beat Me"

Punctuality may not be Nick Diaz’s forte, but he actually showed up to the prefight media call for UFC 137 on Wednesday.The former Strikeforce welterweight champion has been in hot water as of late for missing two previously scheduled UFC press confere…

Punctuality may not be Nick Diaz’s forte, but he actually showed up to the prefight media call for UFC 137 on Wednesday.

The former Strikeforce welterweight champion has been in hot water as of late for missing two previously scheduled UFC press conferences, which cost him a title shot and got him demoted to the co-main event of the UFC 137 fight card.

Just as the media thought Diaz was going for the hat trick, the Stockton native suddenly appeared about 40 minutes into the call. MMAFighting.com was on the scene. 

“Nobody called me in the last week or couple of days or anything and said there was a call,” explained Diaz.

This is nearly an identical excuse to the one Diaz gave for missing the other two press conferences. The only difference this time is that it actually wasn’t Diaz’s fault for almost missing the call. UFC President Dana White took to Twitter and backed up Diaz’s claims.

“I’m hearing UFC dropped the ball on the Nick Diaz no show today!! SUCKS,” posted White.

When Diaz took his seat, the media wasted little time in delving into the reasons behind his absence from previous press conferences.

Diaz initially snubbed the question, but he decided to give an answer when it was brought up again. The question revolved around whether or not Diaz regretted his actions that cost him a shot at UFC champion Georges St-Pierre.

“Well yeah, of course I have regret,” Diaz said. “I’ve got all these people, business people and big money people around me trying to make deals. I don’t know anything about that. All I know is somebody’s getting paid like over a hundred grand just to tell me what I’m supposed to do and what I’m not supposed to do.

“I’m like, for that much money, I think I could’ve had somebody standing around and telling me, ‘Hey, you can’t miss this conference. That voids the whole contract, and then you’re out. You’re not making (expletive). You’re not fighting (expletive). You ain’t making no money. So you have to be at this thing.’ It’s simple,” he said.

Under the circumstances of the Diaz drama, Diaz’s opponent, BJ Penn, is quietly taking everything in.

“Nick is Nick,” stated Penn. “He’s going to do what he does. For me, it’s just that’s what he does. I enjoy watching the stuff that Nick Diaz does. He doesn’t change. He’s just always himself.”

Penn, who is coming off a first-round knockout win over Matt Hughes and a draw with Jon Fitch, has positioned himself to possibly make another run at the welterweight title.

A win over Diaz would go a long way in vaulting “The Prodigy” to perhaps a third bout with St-Pierre or a showdown with Carlos Condit.

“It’s no problem, none of this,” said Penn. “The only thing that’s going to be bothering me is when Nick Diaz is probably punching me in the middle of the octagon. That’s the only time he’s going to be bothering me.”

While the world criticizes him for past mistakes, Diaz is working hard to silence his critics and leave no doubt that he is the No. 1 welterweight in the world.

“You’ve got to know I’m not sitting here with my phone, waiting for a call,” said Diaz. “I’m waiting for some training. I’m trying to get some relax time before I have to go back for another four hours of training.

“I’m training hard. I train harder than these guys. I fight harder than these guys. I look better than these guys, and that’s why,” he said.

“I don’t get no help, and I don’t worry about no help,” Diaz said. “That’s what takes up all my time, training and trying to become the best in the world here. And that’s the best in the world! That’s what you’re dealing with here.

“This is a whole world out there and ain’t nobody can beat me? That’s pretty bad.”

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UFC 137: Lucky Nick Diaz Regains Headliner, with More Beatable Opponent BJ Penn

Nick Diaz, after unilaterally imposing his will—actually unwillingness—over those two fateful press conferences for UFC 137 a while back, has already won two rounds before October 29, 2011. Round 1: Regaining the headline billing which was …

Nick Diaz, after unilaterally imposing his will—actually unwillingness—over those two fateful press conferences for UFC 137 a while back, has already won two rounds before October 29, 2011.

Round 1: Regaining the headline billing which was originally his and Georges St-Pierre’s in the first place.

Round 2: Regaining the headline billing, and this time in a more winnable match against B.J. Penn.

By a fortunate twist of fate and St-Pierre’s knee, his makeshift and face-saving fight versus Penn has risen from co-main event to become the event itself come the final Saturday of this month at Mandalay Bay.

After the dizzying love-hate roller-coaster ride this Cesar Gracie protege gave MMA fans, he still comes back to the UFC as a headliner. Only this time, he is opposite a fighter who has lost his belts and not as daunting as the one who wears one.

This is more palatable to the more exacting fans who believe that this comeback kid does not deserve a title shot in MMA’s top organization—yet. And that his original title fight versus St-Pierre was a tad premature and pretentious for “little” Nick.

“You a Strikeforce champion? Huh, Strikeforce ain’t a force to contend with, while GSP is and will blow you away!” they say.

Versus Penn, he faces a former champion who is a lesser wrestler, threatens “only” with boxing rather than with the whole striking arsenal, and hails from a lower weight class.

This doesn’t take away the fact that Penn is only the second fighter in UFC history to win titles in two different weight classes. He remains a first-class submission artist and is still regarded by many as a top welterweight.

Diaz without a doubt will make the most of his chance to make a loud statement by beating The Prodigy. And this time we can count on him to show up. (Right?)

Lucky guy, this Nick “I Hate Beauty Pageants” Diaz. Who knew how the UFC 137 main fight card would end up after that poor imitation of a Houdini stunt?

In hindsight, Diaz is more psychic than psycho.

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UFC 137: St-Pierre Out: A Look Back at the 2011 Fights That Could Have Been

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was set to take on Carlos Condit in less than two weeks at UFC 137.Now St-Pierre will be out thanks to a knee injury.St-Pierre is one of the long list of fighters who have been taken out of major fights this …

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was set to take on Carlos Condit in less than two weeks at UFC 137.

Now St-Pierre will be out thanks to a knee injury.

St-Pierre is one of the long list of fighters who have been taken out of major fights this year thanks to injuries, opponents changes, or other issues.

Although fight changes are common in MMA, nearly every event this year has had a major fight taken off the card.

Here’s a look back at some of the fights that could have been. 

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