Tag: Nick Diaz (Page 3 of 5)

Diaz lined up for boxing match unless offered GSP

May 7, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Nick Diaz seems adamant about one thing. He wants to get paid.

The Strikeforce Welterweight Champion is seeking either a high-paying super fight with UFC champion, Georges St. Pierre, or he is going to enter the boxing ring in hopes of earning a big payday.

The good folks at MMAJunkie.com put together a story featuring boxing promoter, Don Chagrin, who has a deal in place to have Diaz face IBF super-middleweight champion, Jeff Lacy in the boxing ring.

Today’s announcement that Diaz and Lacy will box this fall was met by a caveat from Diaz manager Cesar Gracie, who said the fight could be shelved if the UFC offered the Strikeforce welterweight champ a fight with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
“I don’t want to get into a thing,” Chagrin today told MMAjunkie.com “I’ve got a contract. If the UFC fight comes up, then we can talk.
“But they were the ones that wanted me to go ahead, and I’ve gone and acted in good faith. I’m thinking that they will.”
Gracie said today that he’s waiting to hear from the UFC on the potential Diaz vs. St-Pierre superfight. UFC president Dana White said this past week that he would meet with the Strikeforce champion in his hometown of Stockton, Calif., to discuss the fighter’s future.
“Barring something like (UFC president) Dana White telling us, ‘Hey, we really need you to fight GSP at such-and-such a date and it conflicts with [boxing] – barring that, we’re going to fight Lacy,” said Gracie.

This boxing match would be very risky for Diaz as a loss could not only hurt his future there, but it would certainly hurt his chances to fight St. Pierre.

The choice isn’t to the same extreme as James Toney stepping into the octagon, but Diaz is entering another world. His ability to strike with MMA opponents won’t be the same as fighting a man with the boxing skills that Lacy has.

Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

boxing Dana White Georges St. Pierre Jeff Lacy Nick Diaz Strikeforce UFC

St. Pierre’s camp likes GSP at the size he is

May 5, 2011 / Drew Ellis

It looks as if Georges St. Pierre may not be moving up to middleweight after all.

In an interview with ESPN.com, GSP’s trainer, Firas Zahabi, had this to say about St. Pierre putting on more weight for a move to 185 pounds.

“He’ll be very small for a middleweight,” Zahabi told ESPN. “If I balloon him up to over 200lbs, it won’t do any good. There’s a point where you can have too much muscle, and it’s not a good thing.
“I think he’s got the maximum amount you can put on his body without it starting to be detrimental.
“I’d probably push him up to 200lbs for that fight [with Silva],” said Zahabi, who saw GSP enter the Shields fight at around 193lbs. “He still wouldn’t be as big as Anderson and it wouldn’t be natural, but it would be better. If you do get on Anderson Silva, having any extra pounds on you is good.”
“If he goes up, I would recommend he stay the same size. You don’t want Georges to go in there bulked up and unable to perform in the mechanical way that he does.”

What Zahabi says makes sense. But if St. Pierre wants to be remembered as the best ever in MMA, he is going to have to take some chances in terms of fighting in other weight classes.

The only reasonable fight left for GSP in the welterweight division is Nick Diaz. But, after that, it wouldn’t help his legacy to fight the same guys over and over again.

Hopefully St. Pierre is not shying away from a super fight with Silva, as it could be the biggest fight in UFC history.

Fighters, News, UFC

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Is Nick Diaz the man that can beat GSP?

May 3, 2011 / Drew Ellis

It didn’t take fans long after Georges St. Pierre beat Jake Shields at UFC 129 to start clamoring for St. Pierre’s next opponent.

Despite talk of a super fight between GSP and Anderson Silva, the fans are requesting a champion vs. champion showdown between St. Pierre and Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, Nick Diaz.

Diaz’ ~~hype man~~ trainer, Cesar Gracie, had some very strong thoughts about the fight that he told MMAMainia.

“Nick is a superstar already. He is. Wherever we go with the guy, everybody, fan support, whether you love him or hate him, you have to respect his fighting style.”

“You got a guy like GSP and he’s fighting to just win and you’ve got a guy like Nick Diaz, who’s fighting to beat your ass. The fans, I think know the difference now and I think that’s why if you go to forums, if you wanted to talk about after this particular show, look at all the amazing things that happened: Randy Couture retiring, that’s huge. You had that great kick from Machida, you had so many things happen that were phenomenal but what most people were talking about is Nick Diaz and he didn’t even fight.”
“You want to talk about superstardom? Nick Diaz IS the superstar right now and he didn’t get there by playing any games. He’s not gonna play the game. He is who he is and I think people are finally getting sick and tired of the BS and the polished answers. These guys are great athletes but they’re not fighters and a guy like Nick captures the imagination of what MMA is truly about or was supposed to be about.”

Diaz has been impressive, but I think the level of competition for both fighters has been vastly different.

Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

Georges St. Pierre Jake Shields Jon Fitch Josh Koscheck Nick Diaz Thiago Alves UFC 129

Maybe this is why GSP couldn’t see

May 2, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Well, I knew while I was watching Georges St. Pierre take on Jake Shields on Saturday night that St. Pierre’s eye issue didn’t come from a ~~rabbit punch~~ jab by Shields.

Here is clear video evidence of a pretty ugly eye poke during the fight.

Let me just state for the record that I don’t think this was intentional, but it was a pretty sloppy way of striking in a title fight at the UFC level. It almost looks as if Shields was trying to lay down an infamous Nick Diaz “Stockton slap.”

But, given the troubles Alan Belcher has had getting back into the octagon due to an eye injury, you hope that this won’t plague St. Pierre for a long time and he will be able to get back to training soon.

Events, Fighters, UFC, Videos

Alan Belcher Georges St. Pierre Jake Shields Nick Diaz UFC 129

Despite poor showing, St. Pierre still one of the best in MMA

May 1, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null Let me start by once again stating that I am a Georges St. Pierre fan (pictured, AP Photo).

I know this article may come off as fandom, but I am merely sticking up for a great fighter.

While I will even admit that St. Pierre’s performance at UFC 129 was anything but impressive against Jake Shields, I don’t think that the long-reigning UFC Welterweight Champion deserves to be as criticized as he has been.

Finishing fights is a big aspect of MMA and a big part of the reason why fans love fighters like Anderson Silva. However, everyone has their flaws or even their bad fights.

I would compare GSP’s performance on Saturday night to the likes of Silva’s performances against Demian Maia or Thales Leites.

Clearly St. Pierre was the better fighter on Saturday, but he didn’t go for the kill when it was there. And after his eye was damaged, he balled up into somewhat of a shell.

But, I don’t think that his performance at UFC 129 was typical of his other performances.

Events, Fighters, UFC

Anderson Silva B.J. Penn Dan Hardy Georges St. Pierre Jake Shields Jon Fitch Josh Koscheck Lyoto Machida Nick Diaz Thiago Alves UFC 129