(Shirtless Saturdays just aren’t going to be the same around the gym without Nick.)
MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani caught up with UFC on Fox 3 headliner Nate Diaz today at the press conference today in New York for the New Jersey event and the lightweight contender revealed that he thinks his brother Nick’s days in the Octagon are over.
“Triathlon season is starting so he’s just training, getting in shape for that. [He’s] concentrating on being in shape, being healthy, helping me out and coaching me for my fights. Right now, I don’t think [we’ll ever see him back]. He’s just big on, like I said, just being healthy and staying in shape and not worrying about [fighting] and thinking about it. I think he’s retired. He hasn’t been into this whole fighting thing for some time, you know? Since everything that goes on with the funny wins and losses — for not just him — for me and for people on our team. I think he’s just relaxed right now and he’s pretty set on his retirement. I kind of agree with him, you know? It’s hard to say, especially when it’s somebody like my brother,” Nate explained.
Check out the video and the rest of what Nate had to say about the situation after the jump.
(Shirtless Saturdays just aren’t going to be the same around the gym without Nick.)
MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani caught up with UFC on Fox 3 headliner Nate Diaz today at the press conference today in New York for the New Jersey event and the lightweight contender revealed that he thinks his brother Nick’s days in the Octagon are over.
“Triathlon season is starting so he’s just training, getting in shape for that. [He’s] concentrating on being in shape, being healthy, helping me out and coaching me for my fights. Right now, I don’t think [we’ll ever see him back]. He’s just big on, like I said, just being healthy and staying in shape and not worrying about [fighting] and thinking about it. I think he’s retired. He hasn’t been into this whole fighting thing for some time, you know? Since everything that goes on with the funny wins and losses — for not just him — for me and for people on our team. I think he’s just relaxed right now and he’s pretty set on his retirement. I kind of agree with him, you know? It’s hard to say, especially when it’s somebody like my brother,” Nate explained.
“I’m not going to tell him to go fight somebody. I think he’s doing the right thing, you know? Whatever. He made enough money to just chill back, sit back and relax, you know? People don’t understand, Nick never had nothing. He came from not much, so… He complained a lot about not making much money because there’s so many people making more money than him that he works 10 times harder than, so. But they definitely paid him enough money to not have to do anything. He don’t need to fight,” he told Helwani.
So there you have it, unless Nick simply isn’t one for sharing his feelings with his friends and family, which we highly doubt, we may have seen the last of the ornery Stockton native in the cage. At least there’s still a chance we might see him join the thoughtful and caring business of boxing, where I’m sure he’ll have no problems with promoters or reporters.
“Come on, Nick. Tell us how you *really* feel.” (Video: ZombieProphet)
Though he fought in a cage only ten yards wide, Nick Diaz must have felt like he was fighting on a football field last night. For five rounds he stalked Carlos Condit but was unable able to pin him in any of the Octagon’s eight corners. In true Stockton fashion, he never stopped pressing forward and was always the aggressor, but did he exhibit ‘Octagon Control’? As we generally define the term, yes. As it’s actually defined, no. Diaz didn’t want to keep circling and chasing Condit; he wanted to trap him against the cage and unload merciless combinations–basically, to fight him in a phone booth. The reason he didn’t was because Condit executed his game plan perfectly and dictated the flow of the fight. Even if that wasn’t the case and Diaz was in full control of the bout, let’s not start pretending that we love nothing more than a fight full of ‘Octagon Control’. As fans we value effective striking and grappling above position and pace. So too should the judges.
“Come on, Nick. Tell us how you *really* feel.” (Video: ZombieProphet)
Though he fought in a cage only ten yards wide, Nick Diaz must have felt like he was fighting on a football field last night. For five rounds he stalked Carlos Condit but was unable able to pin him in any of the Octagon’s eight corners. In true Stockton fashion, he never stopped pressing forward and was always the aggressor, but did he exhibit ‘Octagon Control’? As we generally define the term, yes. As it’s actually defined, no. Diaz didn’t want to keep circling and chasing Condit; he wanted to trap him against the cage and unload merciless combinations–basically, to fight him in a phone booth. The reason he didn’t was because Condit executed his game plan perfectly and dictated the flow of the fight. Even if that wasn’t the case and Diaz was in full control of the bout, let’s not start pretending that we love nothing more than a fight full of ‘Octagon Control’. As fans we value effective striking and grappling above position and pace. So too should the judges.
Some of you will undoubtedly feel that you can’t win a fight moving backwards. You may be right, but there are a host of other things that you can do in retreat. You can set a record for leg kicks landed in a UFC fight (not that those count, right?). You can out-strike your opponent in both total strikes and significant strikes by a 30% margin. You can land more power shots to the head.
There’s a good reason last night’s main event is so controversial—it was a damn close fight. Despite what I’ve written, I’m not actually here to convince you that Condit deserves the interim belt or his shiny new hog. If you think that Diaz won the fight, I won’t tell you that you’re wrong (again, stats never tell the whole tale, and it was a really close fight). That being said, let’s not confuse “The Natural Born Killer” with Kaleb Starnes. Condit picked his shots wisely and got the hell out of dodge. It wasn’t the balls-to-the-wall throwdown I’d hoped for, but it was an entertaining fight.
For the time being at least, Diaz says he’s had enough. He may be as tough and as talented as they come, but he’s only happy fighting his kind of fight. His bouts would be vastly more entertaining if everyone limited their offense and defense to match his strengths, but I don’t see that happening in the upper-tiers of the division. His distaste for wrestling, specifically lay and pray, is understandable, but to respond to a flashy Condit elbow with, “We’re throwing spinning shit now?” makes me think that he’ll never adjust his game to deal with those who won’t play it. If he sticks around, we can expect plenty more wars and plenty more victories, but his record will be spotted with losses he refuses to accept.
Diaz is one of the most entertaining fighters out there and I pray he doesn’t call it quits, but he’s clearly had his fill of this sport. In no uncertain words, the Stockton native expressed his disillusion with MMA’s scoring system and proclaimed that he doesn’t “need this shit.”
Straight forward, to the point, and no punches pulled. That’s Nick Diaz.
(DO NOT run an unfiltered image search for ‘Matt Hughes’. EVER. This photo is nothing. Learn from my mistake, kids.)
Just four months after putting himself “on a shelf”–a euphemism for the dreaded ‘R-word‘–Matt Hughes is ready to glove up once again. After suffering back-to-back first round knockouts to BJ Pennand Josh Koscheck, the UFC Hall of Famer made a non-committal pledge to walk away from the sport, a move he’d pondered openly while winding down his career.
As we’ve seen time and time again, getting your head bashed in is surprisingly difficult to walk away from. Hughes has undoubtedly made enough money to retire comfortably, has plenty of hobbies to occupy his time, and with nine UFC titles to his name he has nothing left to prove. But Hughes didn’t start his MMA career in search of fame or fortune; the man simply loves to compete, and pounding his brother behind the barn just doesn’t cut it these days.
Ultimately, his fate lies in Dana White’s hands, not his own, and most certainly not his wife’s. During an interview on FUEL last night, Hughes established the pecking order in his household: “I think Dana could be the final decision maker. My wife’s a great lady, but she’s not going to tell me when Matt Hughes retires.” Well, I guess we know who’s cooking up the country breakfast this morning.
(DO NOT run an unfiltered image search for ‘Matt Hughes‘. EVER. This photo is nothing. Learn from my mistake, kids.)
Just four months after putting himself “on a shelf”–a euphemism for the dreaded ‘R-word‘–Matt Hughes is ready to glove up once again. After suffering back-to-back first round knockouts to BJ Pennand Josh Koscheck, the UFC Hall of Famer made a non-committal pledge to walk away from the sport, a move he’d pondered openly while winding down his career.
As we’ve seen time and time again, getting your head bashed in is surprisingly difficult to walk away from. Hughes has undoubtedly made enough money to retire comfortably, has plenty of hobbies to occupy his time, and with nine UFC titles to his name he has nothing left to prove. But Hughes didn’t start his MMA career in search of fame or fortune; the man simply loves to compete, and pounding his brother behind the barn just doesn’t cut it these days.
Ultimately, his fate lies in Dana White’s hands, not his own, and most certainly not his wife’s. During an interview on FUEL last night, Hughes established the pecking order in his household: “I think Dana could be the final decision maker. My wife’s a great lady, but she’s not going to tell me when Matt Hughes retires.” Well, I guess we know who’s cooking up the country breakfast this morning.
A likeable person who retired from MMA is now seen with a baseball bat? It’s like a photo negative of Jose Canseco!
Far too often, an athlete will stick around past his or her prime, clinging to the idea that he or she can still dominate if given the opportunity. While this isn’t exclusive to mixed martial arts by any means, it’s especially notable in the sport. Fighters are practically bred to believe that when they’re losing, it’s just because they’re in a rut, and when they snap the losing streak, it’s a sign that things are going right for them again. Our acceptance, and often encouragement, of this idea only makes it easier for the fighters themselves to accept it. The end result is usually cringing after watching an older, slower fighter suffer yet another vicious knockout in a half empty arena known for housing a minor league sports team.
Fortunately, Jorge Rivera knows his limits as an athlete, and has officially retired from our sport. He first announced his intention to retire, regardless of the outcome of his fight with Eric “Red” Shafer, on Friday’s edition of MMAJunkie.com radio. After punching out Shafer in the second round of their undercard tilt last night, Rivera made the move official to announcer Jon Anik.
A likeable person who retired from MMA is now seen with a baseball bat? It’s like a photo negative of Jose Canseco!
Far too often, an athlete will stick around past his or her prime, clinging to the idea that he or she can still dominate if given the opportunity. While this isn’t exclusive to mixed martial arts by any means, it’s especially notable in the sport. Fighters are practically bred to believe that when they’re losing, it’s just because they’re in a rut, and when they snap the losing streak, it’s a sign that things are going right for them again. Our acceptance, and often encouragement, of this idea only makes it easier for the fighters themselves to accept it. The end result is usually cringing after watching an older, slower fighter suffer yet another vicious knockout in a half empty arena known for housing a minor league sports team.
Fortunately, Jorge Rivera knows his limits as an athlete, and has officially retired from our sport. He first announced his intention to retire, regardless of the outcome of his fight with Eric “Red” Shafer, on Friday’s edition of MMAJunkie.com radio. After punching out Shafer in the second round of their undercard tilt last night, Rivera made the move official to announcer Jon Anik.
It’s fitting that Jorge Rivera would retire in a manner similar to Chris Lytle’s retirement, as both fighters had similar careers. Much like Lytle, Rivera was a fan favorite known for his exciting finishes, even though he was a mid-level fighter throughout his career. Jorge Rivera had three runs in the UFC- including a spot on The Ultimate Fighter Four– and finished with an 8-7 record in the promotion (20-9 overall).
A fighter in and out of the cage, Jorge Rivera is a military veteran who still volunteers to visit and train with soldiers overseas. Also, in 2008, his oldest daughter, Jessica, died after a reaction to her medication. Despite nearly retiring from the sport after her death, Rivera went on to win three straight fights against Nissen Osterneck, Rob Kimmons and Nate Quarry.
In celebration of Rivera’s recent string of off camera antics, we’ve posted two of our favorites, as well as an interview filmed after last night’s event. Enjoy.
So it’s official: horse meat > beef jerky. (Photo: UFC.com)
There was a time when the UFC had trouble drumming up any interest at all in their heavyweight division—can you say ‘Arlovski vs. Buentello for the title!!!’?—but those days are long gone. One could point to the growth of the sport attracting big men from other sports, or credit training camps for churning out well-rounded fighters, but much of the interest in the revitalized division has been carried by the broad, skull-tatted shoulders of one man.
Brock Lesnar’s 2008 debut in the Octagon brought interest, intrigue, and—most importantly—eyeballs. Lots of them. Speculation over whether the big man could survive against a real fighter was rampant, but before long we were asking if anyone could survive in a real fight against him. He quickly smashed his way to the top of the 265 lb. heap, but his skid down that mountain was just as fast. Following two brutal, first-round losses to Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem, Brock is ready to hang up the gloves. Looking back at his brief career, if it is truly over, one thing becomes painfully clear: Brock Lesnar doesn’t love fighting; Brock Lesnar loves beating people up. While those two interests often intertwine, they quickly diverge when you start getting tagged. For all of the debates over Brock’s questionable chin and concerns for vegetable-rejecting body, the real downfall of his MMA career was his heart. He doesn’t love this fighting game, and MMA is a cruel mistress. If you can’t fully commit to her, you can expect to find a pile of shredded “Clutch Gear” shirts on the doorstep when you get home from the bar. Brock seems to have gotten that message and is packing his things and moving on with his life.
So it’s official: horse meat > beef jerky. (Photo: UFC.com)
There was a time when the UFC had trouble drumming up any interest at all in their heavyweight division—can you say ‘Arlovski vs. Buentello for the title!!!’?—but those days are long gone. One could point to the growth of the sport attracting big men from other sports, or credit training camps for churning out well-rounded fighters, but much of the interest in the revitalized division has been carried by the broad, skull-tatted shoulders of one man.
Brock Lesnar‘s 2008 debut in the Octagon brought interest, intrigue, and—most importantly—eyeballs. Lots of them. Speculation over whether the big man could survive against a real fighter was rampant, but before long we were asking if anyone could survive in a real fight against him. He quickly smashed his way to the top of the 265 lb. heap, but his skid down that mountain was just as fast. Following two brutal, first-round losses to Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem, Brock is ready to hang up the gloves. Looking back at his brief career, if it is truly over, one thing becomes painfully clear: Brock Lesnar doesn’t love fighting; Brock Lesnar loves beating people up. While those two interests often intertwine, they quickly diverge when you start getting tagged. For all of the debates over Brock’s questionable chin and concerns for vegetable-rejecting body, the real downfall of his MMA career was his heart. He doesn’t love this fighting game, and MMA is a cruel mistress. If you can’t fully commit to her, you can expect to find a pile of shredded “Clutch Gear” shirts on the doorstep when you get home from the bar. Brock seems to have gotten that message and is packing his things and moving on with his life.
While the UFC is losing their biggest draw in the form of Lesnar, they may have found a future star in Alistair Overeem. He may not cut a polarizing promo, but he’s built like an Adonis and is capable of delivering incredible pain with each of his limbs. He shirked off Lesnar’s takedowns with ease, but they didn’t have the desperate commitment behind them that they should have, not even close. If you believe Overeem to be an unstoppable force then your fire was fueled last night, and if you doubt his place at the top of the food chain you’ll undoubtedly focus on Brock’s uninspired performance rather than those destructive knees and kicks. You can argue over how he’ll do against the rest of the field, and frankly we hope you do.
If Lesnar’s wild ride in the heavyweight division resembled a violent tsunami, Jon Fitch’s dominance over the welterweight landscape has spread like continental drift. After 145 consecutive minutes of anti-climactic fighting, the sport’s least celebrated grinder was toppled in the blink of an eye. If rebounding from a gutsy loss to GSP—his only defeat in twenty two consecutive bouts–with five straight wins and a hard fought draw did nothing to place his name back “in the mix” for a second shot at the belt, it’s hard to imagine what it will take for Fitch to earn one now. For Johny Hendricks it’s the sort of victory that a fighter can build his name on, but despite the divisional upheaval caused by GSP’s injury it’s a little premature to be calling for a title shot. While Diaz and Condit fight for the interim strap, he can kill some time spending that $75k ‘Knock Out of the Night” bonus.
Lightweights Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone also picked up some spending cash with their “Fight of the Night” bonuses. Nate cooked up the Diaz family recipe of 11-punch combinations and trash talk, and he served it to Cerrone for a full three rounds. “Cowboy” was overwhelmed by Diaz’s trademark punches in bunches, but did little to change up his game plan and alter his attack. He found success with kicks, sweeping the Stockton tough’s legs out from under him on several occasions, but then it was back to accepting the short end of the stick in a lopsided boxing match. For Cerrone it was a sour ending to a tremendous year, and for Diaz another imposing performance at 155 lbs.
After missing with a couple of wild strikes, Matyushenko charged right into a perfectly timed jab. Gustafsson dropped him with the strike and followed it up with ground and pound to end the bout in just over two minutes. It was the lanky Swede’s fifth win and fifth stoppage in the Octagon. The twenty-four year old’s long frame and composed dominance over a veteran like Matyushenko should raise some eyebrows at 205 lbs.
And what can you say about Jim Hette’s performance that the scorecards didn’t? 30-25, 30-25 and 30-26 pretty much sums it up. He sent Nam Phan flying repeatedly and beat him up on the ground. He needs to bring his cardio in line with the rest of his game, but he’s a perfect 10-0 with two impressive wins in the UFC and looks to be a very promising prospect in the featherweight division.
Main Bouts (on Pay-Per-View): -Alistair Overeem def. Brock Lesnar by TKO at 2:26, R1
-Nate Diaz def. Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
-Johny Hendricks def. Jon Fitch by KO at :12, R1
-Alexander Gustafsson def. Vladimir Matyushenko by TKO at 2:13, R1
–Jim Hettes def. Nam Phan by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)
Preliminary Bouts (on Spike TV):
-Ross Pearson def. Junior Assuncao by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
-Danny Castillo def. Anthony Njokuani by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary Bouts (on Facebook): -Dong Hyun Kim def. Sean Pierson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Jacob Volkmann def. Efrain Escudero by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Matt Riddle vs. Luis Ramos: CANCELLED due to Illness
-Diego Nunes def. Manny Gamburyan by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Just like that, a brutal kick from Alistair Overeem sent Brock Lesnar into retirement. OK, maybe the diverticulitis had something to do with it, but either way, the baddest man on the planet’s return to the ring was far too short lived. While man…
Just like that, a brutal kick from Alistair Overeem sent Brock Lesnar into retirement. OK, maybe the diverticulitis had something to do with it, but either way, the baddest man on the planet’s return to the ring was far too short lived. While many expected Overeem to come away with a victory, it’s hard to […]
