Tag: Nick Diaz (Page 2 of 5)

Top 10 Welterweight Rankings

June 22, 2011 / Drew Ellis

This week’s rankings turn to the welterweight division.

It has been a busy couple of months in this division as two of the top 10 suffered losses since my last 170-pound rankings came out.

So, without further ado, here are my top 10 in this division.

1. Georges St. Pierre (22-2) – St. Pierre successfully defeated Jake Shields, but did so by decision. His performance wasn’t great, but it was still enough to end a lengthy win streak by Shields. Instead of moving up to middleweight, St. Pierre will now take on Nick Diaz at UFC 137 in October.

2. Jon Fitch (23-3-1) – Fitch is coming off shoulder surgery and is targeting a return in late 2011. He was originally pushing for a title fight, but is now looking toward a rematch with B.J. Penn. With the UFC implementing five-round main events for non-title fights, Fitch would seem to have the edge there as he got stronger as the first fight with Penn went on.

3. Josh Koscheck (15-5) – Koscheck has been on the shelf for a few months now as he recovers from a broken orbital bone. Koscheck should return in late 2011, and hopefully he can continue to show some solid skills when he gets back. A powerful striker and wrestler, Koscheck has the skills to win it all if he can do the little things to put together the whole package.

Fighters, Rankings, Strikeforce, UFC

B.J. Penn Carlos Condit Dong Hyun Kim Georges St. Pierre Jake Shields Jon Fitch Josh Koscheck Nate Marquardt Nick Diaz Rick Story Strikeforce UFC Welterweight Division

UFC 135 just keeps getting better: Gomi vs. Nate Diaz booked

June 21, 2011 / Drew Ellis

UFC 135 is already shaping up to be a pretty interesting event with Jones vs. Rampage and Hughes vs. Sanchez, but now it is even better.

MMAFighting.com is reporting that Nate Diaz is making the move back down to lightweight and will face Takanori Gomi.

What has me and other fans excited about this is the legendary matchup between Nick Diaz and Gomi back at Pride 33. Diaz won via submission, but the bout was ruled a no contest after Diaz failed a drug test after the fight.

Still, it was a very entertaining fight, which you can see below. Hopefully Nate Diaz and Gomi can recreate this bout to a certain level.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC, Videos

Nate Diaz Nick Diaz Takanori Gomi UFC 135

With Diaz vs. GSP in place, many new options open in UFC

June 2, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null Wednesday night, Dana White made a big announcement by saying Strikeforce welterweight champion, Nick Diaz, will now face UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, at UFC 137 in October.

Apparently White was able to tear up Diaz’ old contract and sign him to a new one that basically allowed White to make any matches involving Diaz that he pleased in either organization.

If White can do it once, he can do it as many times as he would like.

How about Gilbert Melendez?

The Strikeforce lightweight champion has been campaigning for a unification bout with the UFC champion and now, the planned order of contenders in the UFC seems to be shifting.

It appears that Anthony Pettis, who was the No. 1 contender after winning the WEC title, will now have to win two fights before getting a crack at the UFC strap, according to Fighters Only Magazine.

“That kid’s in a bad position. He’s supposed to be the next in line. All this craziness happens. [Edgar and Maynard] both get hurt, and it gets pushed back again. The first one is a draw, then they get hurt, and it gets pushed back again. But this is one of those things that happens in a sport like this,” says UFC president Dana White.
“I respect [Pettis] for stepping up and taking on a tough guy like Guida, and he’ll probably have to fight again before he gets a shot at one of those guys. Sucks for him. It’s a shi–y position for him to be in.”

If Pettis is fighting Guida before Edgar-Maynard III even takes place, why would he have to fight again? This tells me that White has someone else in mind as the next challenger for the UFC belt.

Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

Anthony Pettis Clay Guida Frankie Edgar Georges St. Pierre Gilbert Melendez Gray Maynard Jim Miller Nick Diaz Strikeforce UFC

Diaz opting out of boxing match, is match with GSP set to happen?

May 23, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Nick Diaz made it pretty clear that he wants to get paid.

To get paid, the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion was set to enter the boxing ring or accept a champion vs. champion match against UFC welterweight kingpin, Georges St. Pierre.

On Monday, Diaz’ boxing manager, Don Chargin, said in a press release that Diaz will stick with MMA and not enter the boxing ring.

Diaz’ manager, Cesar Gracie, told MMAFighting.com’s Ray Hui that an opportunity has come along that Diaz couldn’t pass up.

“[Boxing] wasn’t just out of nowhere but at this point in time, there’s a certain chance that comes along once in a very long while and it only makes sense to stick to MMA as of right now,” Gracie said. “Nick’s been working really hard to get to this point in his MMA career and it wouldn’t make sense for us to make that transition into boxing right now. If this were a couple months ago or if certain fights had played out differently, we’d definitely be ready to go into boxing, but that’s not how it played out. Don Chargin is a great boxing promoter and he understood our dilemma completely and I thank him for that.”

After meeting with Dana White recently, it seems pretty obvious that Diaz may be getting a bout with St. Pierre in the future. That, or White offered Diaz a big pay increase. My guess is a little bit of both.

Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

Cesar Gracie Georges St. Pierre Nick Diaz Strikeforce UFC

UFC eying returns to Montreal, Abu Dhabi in 2011

May 20, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The UFC is quickly filling out its dance card for the rest of 2011 and it appears that there will be two stops coming outside the U.S. to end the year.

Mike Chiappetta of MMAFighting.com is reporting that the UFC is looking into possible events in Montreal and Abu Dhabi for December of this year.

Sources with knowledge of the situation said there is “a good chance” the company returns to the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, likely in December, but that nothing is confirmed.
The promotion had been expected to host a show there in March before venue issues nixed the idea. Because there are no indoor arenas and the region has a hot climate, the timing of athletic events requires extra consideration. December through February is historically the coolest month in Abu Dhabi, with daytime high temperatures averaging around 80 degrees.
A December return engagement would bookend a rapidly filling 2011 calendar, as events have already been scheduled late into the year. On Thursday, UFC director of Canadian operations Tom Wright told Montreal radio station The Team 990 that the company could return to the city’s Bell Centre in December.

Rumors are swirling that Georges St. Pierre could face Nick Diaz at the event in Montreal, which would make three-straight events that the welterweight champion would be fighting in Canada.

As far as Abu Dhabi goes, the last time the UFC appeared there was UFC 112 where Anderson Silva had his embarrassing showing against Demian Maia and Frankie Edgar upset B.J. Penn for the first time to win the lightweight championship.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Anderson Silva B.J. Penn Demian Maia Frankie Edgar Georges St. Pierre Nick Diaz UFC