Is Nick Diaz the UFC’s Evil Twisted Villain? Is he the closest thing MMA has to The Joker? A brilliant, but broken person drowning in the waves of resentment and paranoia inside him.
I’ve never been so confused about how to feel about a fighter.
On one hand the thug-ish persona he throws down, the anger and disrespect he shows to other fighters and members of the media, the mob fights he starts after a fight inside the cage, are all pretty indefensible. This is the kind of nonsense that blows up the reputation (and slows the growth) of the only sport I give a crap about. This is a sport is already struggling to get into the mainstream and when fighters start acting like criminals and goons – well that just makes the UFC look like the NFL – which ain’t helpin’ the issue!
I also see Diaz casting blame for things that are ultimately his responsibility on everyone but himself. You know little stuff like showing up for contractually specified press conferences to promote fights – so that that fights will have more viewers – so the fights will make more money – for the UFC, Georges St. Pierre – AND NICK DIAZ!
This crap about it being Cesar Gracies fault, or “…some lawyer making $100K for doing nothing”, or Georges Saint Pierre’s fault for not sticking up for him or really wanting to fight him or Carlos “Cond-u-it” (as he calls him) for taking the title fight that was offered him is just garbage and I’m not buying it.
Diaz not showing up for flights and press conferences was just a good ol’ F* you to the man. You know the man right? The man is the “they” that he keeps referring to like a paranoid schizophrenic. You know the “they” that keeps screwing him over and keeping him from getting the things he wants in life.
I think he was just trying to skate like he did at Strikeforce. What Diaz didn’t count on was the UFC putting his nuts in the contractual vice like they did. They could have just cut him and been done with it. The fact he didn’t read his contract is not the UFC’s problem. It goes like this: a. read the contract, b. agree to the contract, c. sign the contract. In that order mah’ brotha’. Plus, you ain’t working for Scott Coker anymore! Just check the Org chart at UFC HQ.
But he’s a young guy and the lesson was learned…I hope.
Now, on the other friggin’ hand Diaz is without a doubt one of the greatest fighters I’ve ever watched. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all his bouts and I honestly can’t think of another fighter who brings it like he does. He’s fights with so much heart it’s astonishing.
Well Leonard Garcia fights with astonishing heart too right? Just zero technique…Diaz has both in spades. His boxing may be unorthodox, but he’s not wasting energy flinging haymakers and yelling out Ki-ais. He’s putting together combinations, throwing more body shots than I’ve seen any other MMA fighter throw, all while keeping a murderous pace. And while we haven’t seen much of his grappling lately, just go back and watch his match with Karo Parisian if you want to see guys fighting like 2 tom cats with 5 testicles each.
Do yourself a favor and watch this video after the jump please! It’s an excerpt from the UFC 137 post fight press conference.
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