Tag: Nick Diaz

Inside the Mind of Mayhem

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse ExclusiveIt’s just after 6 p.m. in an upscale steakhouse in Houston and already Jason “Mayhem” Miller is yelling at me. Maybe it’s not so much at me. More like near me. More like near everyone in the room, and people …

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It’s just after 6 p.m. in an upscale steakhouse in Houston and already Jason “Mayhem” Miller is yelling at me. Maybe it’s not so much at me. More like near me. More like near everyone in the room, and people are starting to notice.

“It’s stupid, all these people who are so worried about communism if we get free health care,” Miller says, his voice rising far past what most people would consider an indoor volume. “What if the fire department made you go through the same steps as the non-socialist health care system?”

Businessmen in ties glance up from their prime rib dinners at the next table. Any thought they may have had of asking Miller to keep it down vanish when they see the source of the commotion – a rangy, cauliflower-eared 29-year-old with a nose that looks as if it’s been broken just for fun on more than one occasion, gesturing spastically as he becomes more agitated.

“Imagine, you call them up and they’re like, ‘Do you have fire insurance?’ And you’re saying, ‘Uh, my house is burning down right now.’ ‘Are you PPO or HMO? ‘The house is on fire!’ ‘What’s your policy number?’ ‘Okay, it’s, uh, 97JK39W2.’ ‘What’s your group ID?’ ‘AHHHHHH! MY HOUSE IS GONE!'”

He erupts into his trademark laugh, an almost cartoonishly maniacal cackle that suggests he might be on the verge of either torturing James Bond or simply flipping the table over on a whim. It’s the kind of laugh that makes me briefly wonder whether this whole dinner idea, where I would sit down with Miller to learn a little about what makes this enigmatic fighter tick, was really such a brilliant notion.

‘Don’t Be Scared Homey’ Is Pretty Much the Official Slogan of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II

(Props: youtube.com/shosports)
It’s not quite Nick Diaz vs. Jason Miller, but Strikeforce is going to do its very best to convince you that Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons — who’s fighting for the title in his Strikeforce welterweight debut…

(Props: youtube.com/shosports)

It’s not quite Nick Diaz vs. Jason Miller, but Strikeforce is going to do its very best to convince you that Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons — who’s fighting for the title in his Strikeforce welterweight debut! — is the grudge match you’ve been begging for. And how do they plan on accomplishing that? By staying on message. As you’ll see, the famous phrase "Don’t be scared, homey" pops up twice in this one-minute hype clip for Strikeforce’s next event at San Jose’s HP Pavilion on October 9th. Which begs the question: If "DBS,H" is the theme of the night, why not hold the event in Stockton? What, too real for you guys? Violent crime rate too high? Pussies.

At this point, only two other fights have been booked for the Showtime broadcast of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II. After earning her employers’ respect with a slam-knockout of Roxanne Modafferi at the last Challengers card, 135-pound champion Sarah Kaufman will make her next title defense against Marloes Coenen, who was sacrificed to Cris Cyborg earlier this year at Strikeforce: Miami. Also, Matt Lindland will follow up his TKO win over Kevin Casey with a bout against hot middleweight prospect Luke Rockhold (7-1), who has ended all six of his Strikeforce appearances by first-round stoppage, including wins over Jesse Taylor and Cory Devela. Christ, good luck Matt.

Strikeforce Confirms KJ Noons vs. Nick Diaz II

Despite Jason “Mayhem” Miller’s recent trash talking efforts, which included throwing down some of his hard earned money on a “Don’t Be Scared Homie” t-shirt, the middleweight will not get a crack at Nick Diaz as his angry heart so desires. Instead, the promotion has announced today that Diaz will rematch KJ Noons, October 9th, in […]

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Despite Jason “Mayhem” Miller’s recent trash talking efforts, which included throwing down some of his hard earned money on a “Don’t Be Scared Homie” t-shirt, the middleweight will not get a crack at Nick Diaz as his angry heart so desires. Instead, the promotion has announced today that Diaz will rematch KJ Noons, October 9th, in San Jose.

Now although Miller’s feud with Diaz may be more current, due to the ‘oh how barbarous’ post-fight brawl in April that involved Mayhem, Jake Shields, the Diaz brothers and crew, it wasn’t that long ago that the Diaz / Noons rivalry was the current feud of the month. Diaz never got over the stoppage loss due to cuts he incurred vs. KJ in November, 2007 (the last time Nick lost), and of course, if you need a little in the cage, post-fight brawl action to make a feud credible, there was this little ‘incident.’

Noons vs. Diaz II will be a great, great fight, and as we just noted, there’s a rather unhealthy history here to make it that much more interesting, but that said, it is somewhat surprising that Strikeforce didn’t roll with Miller on this one no? After all, Miller is a MTV star and can hype up a fight with the best of them. In a report earlier today from MMA Junkie, however, Diaz’s trainer Cesar Gracie said that a fight with Miller wouldn’t happen unless he agreed to a catch-weight. One would think this could have gotten worked out but…It’s going to be interesting to see how Noons looks at 170.

Nick Diaz to Defend Strikeforce Title Against KJ Noons on Oct. 9

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsStrikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz will put his belt on the line for the first time in a rematch against KJ Noons at Strikeforce: San Jose on Oct. 9 at the HP Pavilion, Strikeforce confirmed Wednesday to MMAFighti…

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Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz will put his belt on the line for the first time in a rematch against KJ Noons at Strikeforce: San Jose on Oct. 9 at the HP Pavilion, Strikeforce confirmed Wednesday to MMAFighting.com.

Noons, who defeated Jorge Gurgel last Saturday, will move up to welterweight for this championship bout with Diaz. Noons has been competing mostly at lightweight or around 160 pounds and this past weekend missed weight for the Gurgel fight scheduled for 155 pounds, stepping off the scale at 156.25 pounds.

Noons and Diaz met four years ago in a Showtime-televised fight also with title stakes for EliteXC in Corpus Christi, Texas. Noons emerged the 160-pound champion after stopping Diaz after one round due to cuts. Diaz has since undergone surgery to remove scar tissue in an effort to reduce the chances of cuts on his face during a fight.

Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons Welterweight Title Bout Being Targeted for October 9 Strikeforce Event

 (I think the message was quite clear. I specifically told Nick NOT to be scared.)
It looks like Strikeforce has missed the marketing train once again as the promotion has passed on a self-selling grudge match between Jason "Mayhem Miller&quo…

 
(I think the message was quite clear. I specifically told Nick NOT to be scared.)

It looks like Strikeforce has missed the marketing train once again as the promotion has passed on a self-selling grudge match between Jason "Mayhem Miller" and Nick Diaz and will instead once again pair the latter up with KJ Noons in a rematch of their 2007 EliteXC title bout. In that fight, Noons emerged victorious due to doctor stoppage resulting from a cut sustained by Diaz. More memorable than their bout was the in-cage melee between Team Cesar Gracie and Noons’ father a year later after Noons’ fight with Yves Edwards in Hawaii during which Nick’s immortal "Don’t be scared, homie," line was born. EliteXC brass orchestrated a rematch-hyping staredown between KJ and Nick, but as we have learned, whenever a Diaz is involved, anything can, and usually will happen.

This time around Diaz’s welterweight strap will be up for grabs, which makes perfect sense according to Strikeforce calculus. Anywhere else Noons may have to…I don’t know…win a fight at 170 perhaps before getting a shot for the belt. But this is Strikeforce, where logic is overrated and matchmaking is easy if you have a magic eight ball.

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Why Nick Diaz vs. ‘Mayhem’ Miller Is Fight Strikeforce Needs Now

Filed under: StrikeforceLet’s start with what we know: 1) Jason “Mayhem” Miller really wants to fight Nick Diaz, so much so that he went to the trouble of having a special t-shirt made for the occasion. 2) Both men were central participants in a well-p…

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Let’s start with what we know: 1) Jason “Mayhem” Miller really wants to fight Nick Diaz, so much so that he went to the trouble of having a special t-shirt made for the occasion. 2) Both men were central participants in a well-publicized post-fight brawl on CBS back in April. 3) Diaz will be fighting someone in a Strikeforce event on October 9. 4) Miller’s calendar is clear right about then.

If you’re like me, you did the math on all that and arrived at one answer: “Mayhem” Miller and Nick Diaz should fight each other at Strikeforce’s October 9 event. Case closed, right?

Not so fast, apparently. Here it is late August and Miller insists he’s not been offered a fight with Diaz, nor does he expect that Diaz will agree to fight him at all, despite Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker’s previous assurances that the fight would happen within “eight months to a year.”