Tag: UFC 154

Nick Diaz is Treating His Retirement Like a Bargaining Tool, But Should We Care Anymore?

(A loaded bowl, nunchucks, and a ball on a string. In Stockton, this is how you go gently into that good night.) 

I just can’t anymore with Nick Diaz, you guys. I just can’t.

Earlier today, Diaz’s (likely overpaid) attorney, Jonathan Tweedale, told MMAMania the following:

Right now Nick is retired, unless he gets rematch with Georges St. Pierre or the big Anderson Silva fight. Apparently, if he doesn’t get those, he’s going to remain retired.

As a longtime fan of Diaz (his fighting style, at least), this “news” did not come as a shock to me, but was disappointing to hear nonetheless. Not because it means we won’t be seeing Diaz in the octagon anytime soon, but because this “I won’t play unless you pass me the ball,” retirement-as-a-bargaining-tool mentality represents the straw that has finally broke this camel’s back.

Look, I could set aside Diaz’s glaring mental deficiencies and overall jackassery back when he was laying waste to the Strikeforce welterweight division (or kicking Frank Shamrock’s ass…especially when he was kicking Frank Shamrock’s ass). When Diaz returned to the UFC after a five year absence, I was generally excited that we would have a new player at 170 lbs. Hell, when Diaz screwed himself out of a shot at St. Pierre, then dropped his next fight to Carlos Condit, then tested positive for marijuana metabolites and subsequently “retired” for the first time, I was still willing to hold onto the hope that Diaz vs. GSP would become a reality just so we could finally put all the debate to rest.

But then, it did happen, and let’s face it, Diaz choked.


(A loaded bowl, nunchucks, and a ball on a string. In Stockton, this is how you go gently into that good night.) 

I just can’t anymore with Nick Diaz, you guys. I just can’t.

Earlier today, Diaz’s (likely overpaid) attorney, Jonathan Tweedale, told MMAMania the following:

Right now Nick is retired, unless he gets rematch with Georges St. Pierre or the big Anderson Silva fight. Apparently, if he doesn’t get those, he’s going to remain retired.

As a longtime fan of Diaz (his fighting style, at least), this “news” did not come as a shock to me, but was disappointing to hear nonetheless. Not because it means we won’t be seeing Diaz in the octagon anytime soon, but because this “I won’t play unless you pass me the ball,” retirement-as-a-bargaining-tool mentality represents the straw that has finally broke this camel’s back.

Look, I could set aside Diaz’s glaring mental deficiencies and overall jackassery back when he was laying waste to the Strikeforce welterweight division (or kicking Frank Shamrock’s ass…especially when he was kicking Frank Shamrock’s ass). When Diaz returned to the UFC after a five year absence, I was generally excited that we would have a new player at 170 lbs. Hell, when Diaz screwed himself out of a shot at St. Pierre, then dropped his next fight to Carlos Condit, then tested positive for marijuana metabolites and subsequently “retired” for the first time, I was still willing to hold onto the hope that Diaz vs. GSP would become a reality just so we could finally put all the debate to rest.

But then, it did happen, and let’s be honest, Diaz choked. You can say whatever you want about GSP deceiving us with his threats to unleash his “dark side” on Diaz, but at the end of the day, it was Diaz’s fight to win. He was the one who called GSP out, who needled and prodded the champ through whatever media outlet he could during his suspension, who chased Georges around a hotel in 2011 to pick a fight. He wanted this fight, he wanted it bad, and he even leapfrogged actual contenders in order to get it. However, at UFC 158, gone were the crisp boxing combinations that saw Diaz physically break the likes of Penn, Shamrock, Paul Daley, and K.J. Noons to name a few. Gone was his much talked about grappling game, his relentless aggression, etc. Diaz brought little more than apathy and listlessness to his shot at glory, and when it was all over, all he was left with were excuses. Terrible, damn-near incomprehensible excuses.

It was at this point —  at least in my mind — that the mysterious, “fascinating” (as Dana White put it) facade that was Nick Diaz began to fade away, leaving behind a man who was more content to post conspiracy theories about “Canadian loopholes” than acknowledge the fact that he (or perhaps Cesar Gracie) is his own worst enemy.

And it’s a shame, because given the right training camp and a different mentality, Nick Diaz could be a champion. The problem is, I don’t think he really wants to be one. And the most frustrating thing of all is that nowadays, Diaz doesn’t seem like he even wants to earn the right to fight a champion — as if he should be able to fight whoever he chooses based on his credibility alone — hence his current hostage treatment of his own retirement. Diaz was given his shot at GSP, he choked, and of the over one million people who bought the first fight, how many of you would throw down another 50 dollars for the second? The same goes for a Diaz/Silva fight, which would only further our theory that fighters who unretire often look like a shell of their former selves upon doing so.

At just 29 years old, Diaz has already proven as much as he can in the sport of MMA — given his current “exception to the rule” attitude, at least. The fact that he will never become a UFC champion should not detract from what has been an incredibly entertaining, if often despairing career for the Stocktonian. But if Nick is not going to get in line like everyone else and fight his way back to the top, then perhaps it is time that he call it quits.

In short, the anti-bullshit superhero has quickly become its greatest villain. Or the bullshit superhero; your choice. In either case, I have officially stopped caring. How many of you are in the same boat, Potato Nation?

–J. Jones

‘Do-Over’ Alert: Patrick Cote vs. Alessio Sakara II Booked for UFC 158 in March [UPDATED]


(“Move along folks, there is nothing to see here!” Photo courtesy of Getty Images.) 

If the title of this post sounds familiar, it might be because Alessio Sakara has kind of become a master of the do-over during his time in the UFC. Back in 2010, Sakara was scheduled to face the now-retired Jorge Rivera at UFC 118, but the bout was eventually cancelled when both men pulled out due to injury. The fight was rescheduled for UFC 122, but was cancelled again at the last second when Sakara came down with some Jamie Varner-esque flu symptoms that may or may not have been caused by tuna fish. The fight was then tentatively rescheduled for an August event but was eventually scrapped altogether.

So perhaps you should take the news that Sakara has been rebooked against Patrick Cote at UFC 158 on March 16th in Montreal with a grain of salt, because if history is any indication, Sakara ain’t making it to this fight in one piece.


(“Move along folks, there is nothing to see here!” Photo courtesy of Getty Images.) 

If the title of this post sounds familiar, it might be because Alessio Sakara has kind of become a master of the do-over during his time in the UFC. Back in 2010, Sakara was scheduled to face the now-retired Jorge Rivera at UFC 118, but the bout was eventually cancelled when both men pulled out due to injury. The fight was rescheduled for UFC 122, but was cancelled again at the last second when Sakara came down with some Jamie Varner-esque flu symptoms that may or may not have been caused by tuna fish. The fight was then tentatively rescheduled for an August event but was eventually scrapped altogether.

So perhaps you should take the news that Sakara has been rebooked against Patrick Cote at UFC 158 on March 16th in Montreal with a grain of salt, because if history is any indication, Sakara ain’t making it to this fight in one piece.

As we all know, Sakara and Cote first met at UFC 154, where Sakara followed an incredibly impressive feat (dropping the iron-jawed Cote with a few well-placed elbows) with an incredibly stupid one (turning the soft part of Cote’s skull into a makeshift ash tray with a series of illegal hammerfists), resulting in a victory via DQ for Cote. Despite the vicious onslaught and the fact that the loss dropped Sakara to 0-3 in his last…three octagon performances (and 6-7 with 1 NC overall), Sakara recently signed a four fight contract extension with the promotion, so we can look forward to seeing him either disqualified or knocked unconscious at least two more times before all is said and done.

Honestly, the Sakara/Cote pairing might be one of the most appropriate pairings in UFC history. Foreign-based fighters known for their striking prowess? Check. Losing records in the octagon? Check. Consistently entertaining despite this? Check. The closest Sakara ever came to a title shot (or ever will) was when he defeated one of the most undeserving title challengers ever in Thales Leites in a snoozer at UFC 101, whereas Cote became the number one contender following a snoozer over Ricardo Almeida at UFC 86 and subsequently blew out his knee in what many fans consider to be one of the least deserving title fights in the promotion’s history at UFC 90. Like Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos before them, these two were destined to engage in a series of decreasingly important fights that all end in some form of disqualification or no contest.

So let’s place our chips on the table, Potato Nation: What will be responsible for the inevitable freak ending of Cote/Sakara II? An axe-kick to the taint? Sudden-onset narcolepsy? Trench mouth? A FRACTURED DICK?!

If it’s that last one, someone is gonna have some splainin’ to do.

[UPDATED] I don’t mean to boast, but…

Via FightersOnly:

Alessio Sakara has been sidelined for three months because of a kidney ailment.

The Italian welterweight has been having pains and other issues for some time and recently underwent testing to try and diagnose the issues. He ended up seeing a kidney specialist and tests confirmed that he has problems with them.

Three days ago I got some test results and the doctor (Nephrologist; kidney specialist) has ordered that I stop everything for three months because of the renal (kidney) stress. Right now my manager is getting the date moved [for the rematch]. I’ll be more motivated with the nutritionist to never again risk my health any more.

–J. Jones

‘St. Pierre vs. Condit’ Earned Up to 700,000 Pay Per View Buys, For the UFC’s Third-Best Showing of 2012


(Being the ‘King of PPV’ has its perks. Photo via CombatLifestyle)

It is no wonder Dana White called Georges St. Pierre the “King of Pay Per View” (PPV) on a conference call tuesday. UFC 154, which featured the return of the welterweight champion, succesfully defending his title against interim champ Carlos Condit, did anywhere between 680,000 to 700,000 buys, according to Dave Meltzer.

Meltzer has used industry sources to report PPV buy estimates reliably and accurately for years. In his latest column for MMA Fighting, Meltzer says that the St. Pierre vs. Condit event was the third-highest performing PPV for the organization this year, behind only UFC 148 which featured Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II, and UFC 145 which was headlined by Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans.

Both UFC 148 and 145 were centered on intense and well-publicized rivalries. UFC 154’s success can likely be attributed more singularly to the personal popularity of the returning Georges St. Pierre. As Meltzer explains:


(Being the ‘King of PPV’ has its perks. Photo via CombatLifestyle)

It is no wonder Dana White called Georges St. Pierre the “King of Pay Per View” (PPV) on a conference call tuesday. UFC 154, which featured the return of the welterweight champion, succesfully defending his title against interim champ Carlos Condit, did anywhere between 680,000 to 700,000 buys, according to Dave Meltzer.

Meltzer has used industry sources to report PPV buy estimates reliably and accurately for years. In his latest column for MMA Fighting, Meltzer says that the St. Pierre vs. Condit event was the third-highest performing PPV for the organization this year, behind only UFC 148 which featured Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II, and UFC 145 which was headlined by Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans.

Both UFC 148 and 145 were centered on intense and well-publicized rivalries. UFC 154′s success can likely be attributed more singularly to the personal popularity of the returning Georges St. Pierre. As Meltzer explains:

“The company’s biggest event of 2012 is believed to have been UFC 148, headlined by Anderson Silva’s middleweight title defense over Chael Sonnen, that did an estimate of 925,000 buys, the company’s best showing since 2010. The latter two matches were the result of strong rivalries between two of the company’s biggest stars, whereas the Condit fight had no real grudge match aspect and Condit was not an established draw.”

St. Pierre’s last three fights did higher numbers, but were all either grudge matches (in the case of his rematch with Josh Koscheck and defense against Dan Hardy) or a part of an historic event that garnered intense media coverage (as was the case with his fight against Jake Shields, which took place at the UFC’s record-setting debut event in Toronto). Meanwhile, highly competitive fights between non-trash-talkers continue to get slept on when it comes to PPV buys — which says a lot about how important storylines are in this sport.

Check out Meltzer’s full column for more numbers and a look towards the possible match-ups in GSP’s future, and how those might look in business terms.

– Elias Cepeda

Blame Canada: Georges St. Pierre, Like, Really Does Not Want to Fight Anderson Silva Right Now


(You should have gotten after him when you had the chance, Anderson. / Photo via Ric Fogel @ ESPN)

It appears that Georges St. Pierre wants to fight Anderson Silva about as bad as ‘The Spider’ wants to fight Jon Jones. That is to say, not at all, right now. We were told by UFC Prez Dana White that should the welterweight champ beat Carlos Condit as he did at UFC 154, he would take on the Brazilian middleweight king next, but St. Pierre revealed all of that to be a cruel tease recently while on Radio-Canada’s Tout Le Monde en Parle, or, Everyone is Talking as we’d say here in civilization. MMA Fighting had the translation.

“[The Anderson Silva] fight is the cherry on the sundae,” St. Pierre explained. “[Silva] wants to fight me so he can then retire. I would like to fight him too, but after I fight him and win the fight, what happens next? These days, yeah, there’s a lot of money to be made, but I don’t fight for the money. My motivation is to be the best. Like we said, to be the Wayne Gretzky of my sport. So if I fight him, what happens next? It will be over. So yes, I want the fight, but I want to take it when I decide the time is right, not when he wants the fight to happen.”

St. Pierre doesn’t want to move at Silva’s schedule just because he’s champion of a lighter division, even though Silva would appear to be much closer to retirement at age 37 than St. Pierre is. Speaking of weight differences, St. Pierre has appeared to have gotten some specific intel on just how much heavier Silva is than him.

More on that, as well as the complete video interview with St. Pierre wearing sunglasses and sipping wine, you know, just to emphasize the whole French thing, after the jump.


(You should have gotten after him when you had the chance, Anderson. / Photo via Ric Fogel @ ESPN)

It appears that Georges St. Pierre wants to fight Anderson Silva about as bad as ‘The Spider’ wants to fight Jon Jones. That is to say, not at all, right now. We were told by UFC Prez Dana White that should the welterweight champ beat Carlos Condit as he did at UFC 154, he would take on the Brazilian middleweight king next, but St. Pierre revealed all of that to be a cruel tease recently while on Radio-Canada’s Tout Le Monde en Parle, or, Everyone is Talking as we’d say here in civilization. MMA Fighting had the translation.

“[The Anderson Silva] fight is the cherry on the sundae,” St. Pierre explained. “[Silva] wants to fight me so he can then retire. I would like to fight him too, but after I fight him and win the fight, what happens next? These days, yeah, there’s a lot of money to be made, but I don’t fight for the money. My motivation is to be the best. Like we said, to be the Wayne Gretzky of my sport. So if I fight him, what happens next? It will be over. So yes, I want the fight, but I want to take it when I decide the time is right, not when he wants the fight to happen.”

St. Pierre doesn’t want to move at Silva’s schedule just because he’s champion of a lighter division, even though Silva would appear to be much closer to retirement at age 37 than St. Pierre is. Speaking of weight differences, St. Pierre has appeared to have gotten some specific intel on just how much heavier Silva is than him.

More on that, as well as the complete video interview with St. Pierre wearing sunglasses and sipping wine, you know, just to emphasize the whole French thing, after the jump.

“On top of that, he weighs 234 pounds; I weigh 188. So there’s a big weight difference,” St. Pierre said. “I’ve fought guys who were bigger. I’m not scared of him, it’s just that I will take this fight when it makes sense for me. I just came back from an injury, there’s money to be made, there are fights in my weight class, other challenges out there, and if I fight him, I will have to gain weight, while he will have to lose weight, and then afterwards, I won’t be able to come back to my weight class.

“First and foremost, I have things to do at 170 pounds. When I am ready and when I want the fight, that’s when it will happen.”

Before you jump on St. Pierre for that “I have things to do in my own weight class even though everyone knows I really don’t have anything else to prove or anyone to beat in my weight class” statement, first remember how identical it is to how Silva has answered calls to move up and compete for the light heavyweight title. He, unlike St. Pierre, has fought in a higher weight class, but has so far refused to campaign for the title.

Video of the full interview below.

– Elias Cepeda

UFC 154: Alessio Sakara’s Appeal Denied, Cote Remains DQ Winner

Canadian middleweight Patrick Cote will retain his victory from UFC 154, despite protests from Alessio Sakara and his camp.During their match, Sakara was on the verge of victory after landing hard elbows to the side of Cote’s head, but the blows quickl…

Canadian middleweight Patrick Cote will retain his victory from UFC 154, despite protests from Alessio Sakara and his camp.

During their match, Sakara was on the verge of victory after landing hard elbows to the side of Cote’s head, but the blows quickly turned illegal as Cote sank to the Octagon mat with Sakara hitting him in the back of the skull with “12-to-6” hammerfists. 

According to French-Canadian newsgroup La Presse, Quebec’s governing board for combat sports refused to hear an appeal from American Top Team, cementing Cote’s disqualification win from November 17th:

However, [the board] refused to consider the application on the [grounds] that the decision of an arbitrator can not be reversed. “The decision of the arbitrator is final and without appeal,” a spokesman of the Board, Joyce Tremblay, confirmed on Friday.

With the Board’s decision, Cote now stands at 5-8 after various runs in the UFC, dating all the way back to an October 2004 bout against Tito Ortiz at UFC 50.

However, “The Predator” is currently 5-1 in his last six career fights, with the lone loss coming at the hands of former Strikeforce middleweight champion and widely-known action star, Cung Le.

For Sakara, the situation is more dire.

A disqualification for “Legionarius” puts him at the dreaded 0-3 slide in the UFC, which typically results in a pink slip from the promotion.

Sakara has claimed in post-fight interviews and follow-up quotes that he wasn’t warned of the illegal blows by referee Dan Miragliotta, who let the bout play out until Cote was no longer able to defend himself.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC and Sportsnet Continue to Cement a Strong MMA Foundation in Canada

The Ultimate Fighting Championship released yesterday that the UFC 154 Preliminary card pulled in the most viewers ever for a prelim card televised on Sportsnet. The action was available on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in English and French Canada and, bol…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship released yesterday that the UFC 154 Preliminary card pulled in the most viewers ever for a prelim card televised on Sportsnet. The action was available on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in English and French Canada and, bolstered by the return of Georges St-Pierre, posted a cumulative reach of more than 1.5 million viewers tuning in to watch all or part of the broadcast.

*In English Canada, the UFC 154 preliminary card was the most-watched UFC prelim ever on Sportsnet, attracting an average audience of 319,000 (two-plus). In French Canada, TVA Sports had an average audience of 177,000 (two-plus).

*Overall, the UFC 154 prelims was the No. 1 sports show of the evening in both English and French Canada on Nov. 17 with an average of 496,000 Canadians watching the entire two-hour preliminary broadcast on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

These numbers seem to support Dana White and many others who say that Canada is becoming the Mecca of MMA.

On the surface, the much-anticipated return of GSP can be attributed to the successful numbers, however, a deeper look will show a lot of strategic spade work being done by the UFC and their partners at Rogers Sportsnet.

Director of Canadian operations Tom Wright was hired in May 2010 to run and steer the UFC ship on this side of the border, and his relentless work is cementing a solid foundation for mixed martial arts in this country.

In an excellent article by John Morgan of MMAJunkie.com, Wright spoke about his strategic approach in Canada.

“I think there are three things,” Wright explained. “First and foremost, we need to develop our fighter base. Canadians are no different than Americans or Brazilians; they love to cheer for their own. We did consumer research, and far and away, that’s one of the major drivers toward watching on television, buying pay-per-views or going to events: to be able to cheer for your own homegrown talent.”

“So that’s No. 1, and that speaks to the goal of ‘TUF.’ No. 2 is an educational thing, and that really is about taking our sport to more and more parts of the country. Then, the third is tied to education and that’s in trying to clear up the uncertainty as it relates to the regulatory environment.”

Wright, the former commissioner of The Canadian Football League, has called on various Canadian UFC fighters such as Mark Hominick and Rory MacDonald to help him lobby and educate the government on the merits and integrity of mixed martial arts legislation in Canada.

Along with Wright’s intelligent strategic approach, the UFC has great media exposure north of the border thanks to it’s broadcasting partner, Rogers Sportsnet. Sportsnet has a comprehensive and passionate team of highly knowledgeable MMA analysts, led by pioneer analyst Joe Ferraro and his UFC Central team, as well as Managing Digital Editor James Brydon.

Ferraro and UFC Central ran a two-hour special on GSP‘s return to the cage in the week leading up to UFC 154, and the ratings for the feature were very successful. Sportsnet is the most recognized sports broadcasting brand in Canada, and its commitment and dedication to UFC content on television, radio and in digital media is largely contributing to a growing audience.

Wright announced that things are only going to pick up in the next couple of years.

“This year we’ll have three: Toronto, Calgary and Montreal. Next year we’ll have four, and in 2014 and 2015 we’ll probably have five events.”

It takes a lot of commitment and hard work to build a Mecca.

*Source: BBM Canada (preliminary data); all audiences are two-plus.

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