There is an age old analogy in sports that if somebody is the best at what they do, they are anoited as the "GOAT" or Greatest Of All Time. "Goat" is also a word used by sports fans to describe a scapegoat for a defeat, loss or something that goes against their team/player in an unfavourable way.
Following Nick Diaz's first exit from the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2006, Diaz had been on a tear. He had won 11 straight fights with one no contest, defeating DREAM mainstay Marius Zaromskis in January 2010 to win the newly minted Strikeforce Welterweight Championship. With the UFC's purchase of Strikeforce in March 2011, a defense by Diaz over former UFC fighter Paul Daley by TKO proved to the Zuffa brass that ultimately, he was the best candidate for a fight between Diaz and their champion, that being Georges St. Pierre. Diaz had been scheduled to fight former WBC champion Jeff Lacy in a boxing match, prompting UFC president Dana White to mediate and ultimately offer him a fight with St. Pierre, in lieu of his boxing aspirations. After 5 years and beating a who's who outside of the UFC (including a Strikeforce 2010 Fight of the Year against KJ Noons), Diaz was finally back at the top of the mountain.
So this week, all Diaz had to do was show up for a pair of press conferences in Toronto, Canada and Las Vegas, wave his middle finger and answer a few questions, and the fight was on.
When he didn't show up to Toronto, many people worried as to the wareabouts of Diaz. From perhaps a family member dying or some other personal tragedy, White gave Diaz the benefit of the doubt and was assured by Diaz manager, trainer and mentor Cesar Gracie that Diaz would be in Las Vegas for that press conference. When he went AWOL in Las Vegas, White promptly removed him from the contest in favor of Greg Jackson product and GSP teammate Carlos Condit, who's also a former World Champion (WEC) and is riding a 4 fight winning streak. On Youtube videos, White had been describe as "not being able to trust Nick Diaz again", and Gracie went so far as to say his fighter "got what he deserved".
White wasn't sure what to do with Diaz. But when Condit was elevated to the main event, his opponent for the night, BJ Penn, needed a dance partner. White obliged....by putting Nick Diaz in his place.
So instead of having the opportunity of a lifetime after working so hard, Diaz now has to get his shot at the world title the old fashioned way : He has to earn it. In my humble opinion, the only thing Diaz should have been able to earn was his outright release.
MMA is a sport, as much as it is a business. Going to a press conference and answering questions from the media scrum that congregate in front of them is part of the business side of things. Like it or not, even fighters like BJ Penn and Josh Koshcheck, both fighters who are notorious for drawing attention to themselves, have shown up and answered questions. Even Cesar Gracie product Jake Shields has done so. So why not Diaz?
This isn't the first time Diaz has gotten into hot water. His one no-contest in 2006 in PRIDE fighting championships was initially a victory. It became a no-contest when Diaz tested positive for Marijuana following his fight against Takanori Gomi. Diaz, also if you remember, was the catalyst for the infamous Strikeforce : Nashville brawl following his teammate Shields' victory over Dan Henderson. He pushed Jason "Mayhem" Miller (who jumped the cage and asked for a rematch vs. Shields), prompting a scrap seen live on national television on CBS in primetime. This third incident shows what little respect Diaz has for both the sport and the business, and although he posted a Youtube video (shot by himself from his car, while driving on the highway, no less.) apologizing for missing the "Beauty Pageant" and saying he would be willing to "fight anybody, anywhere" and his demotion from the main event means "he's left out", he's getting off far less harsh than he should have.
He had a desire to "get paid", and Dana White should have ensured this was a chance he was able to "get paid". After going AWOL, White should have ensured his desire to might happen, just not in the UFC.
I guess we'll see what happens to Diaz after his fight against Penn.
-In other news, the most famous man to ever grace the cage in Fruit of the Loom's is getting another fight. Dennis Hallman, fresh off his fight with Mike Ebersole which he showed up wearing fight shorts akin to underwear (and having his equipment subsequently exposed on Pay per view) will meet John Makdessi at UFC 140 in Toronto, as reported by MMAJunkie. For you people afraid to show up to the ACC, I assure you...Hallman isn't going to wear a G-string in December. They're now illegal thanks to Dana White.
-SPIKE has announced that all Bellator prelims will now be available on their website, starting with Bellator 49, also reported by Junkie. A source close to Viacom is also saying that Bellator going to the soon to be former home of the UFC is not a matter of "if" but "when". I suppose my first question on my season 5 preview was answered.
-All fighters have made weight for the Strikeforce : World Heavyweight Grand Prix semis set to air this weekend on Showtime, as reported by ESPN/Sherdog. Semi-finalists Josh Barnett and Sergei Kharitonov weight in at 261 and 256.5 lbs, respectively, while Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and Daniel Cormier weighed in at 264.5 and 247. this means that Silva will out weigh Cormier by at least 20 lbs on fight night. My guess is Cormier is immensly strong.
-Former UFC middleweight kingpin Rich "Ace" Franklin will undergo surgery on his shoulder and will miss approximately 2 to 3 months of training, also reported by ESPN. The procedure will be on his right labrum, with Franklin injuring it promptly 10 days ago while training. All I want to know is, was he taking notes from Lil Nog? Nog pulled out their fight at UFC 133 citing a shoulder injury of his own. Coincidence?
-Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida has opened up about why he turned down an opportunity to fight Rashad Evans last month. In a video on Sherdog, Machida has stated there was "nothing to gain" from a rematch with "Sugar", and while it would have moved him up to a world title shot, he wasn't training hard and he hadn't been prepared to step in when Phil Davis pulled out. Evans, if you remember, instead fought Tito Ortiz. Sure, preparation is nice Lyoto, but I'm sure fans would have dropped 60 bucks to see a repeat performance of "The Stanky Leg".
Questions? Comments? leave one at the bottom of the page or email me at mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com You can also follow me on twitter, at twitter.com/mmarmaggedon
Until next time, fight fans!
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