Nick Diaz (16-7) will fight Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (32-8-2) for the first-ever DREAM welterweight title at the Osakajo Hall in Osaka, Japan, on July 21, accordingly to MMAWeekly.com.
Diaz earned the right to challenge for the vacant strap with a first round technical knockout of Katsuya Inoue at DREAM 3 this past weekend. It was a fight that almost scrapped but was given the green light at the last minute by ProElite officials, which turned out to be a wise decision in hindsight.
He is healthy enough to challenge Muhsin Corbbrey at the Elite XC show slated for the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 14 (a cause for alarm prior to the fight) and he is a possible star in the making overseas — Diaz was involved in a sensational bout with Takanori Gomi … something more than likely still fresh in the minds of Japanese MMA fans.
Sakurai, on the other hand, is coming of a surprise submission loss to David Baron at Shooto: “Tradition 1″ earlier this month. “Mach” — who was recently courted by the UFC to no avail — has already competed under the DREAM banner, defeating Hidetaka Monma via technical knockout in the inaugural event back in March.
This should be an extremely exciting fight, which will punctuate the finals of the 2008 Dream Lightweight Grand Prix … what a night for mixed martial arts it is shaping up to be.
43 Comments »
Awesome, I’ll be pulling for Diaz. Should be a good fight.
Now THAT is a fight between two FIGHTERS. These two don’t cry about injuries - they FIGHT. That’s going to be like 3 fights in 70 days for Diaz. Nate would be fighting at that pace as well if the UFC would let him! STOCKTON
I would gladly pay for that fight alone on PPV. Too bad its already on HDnet which the majority of people do not have access to.
The fight between Diaz and Sachurai will be a war of contrission. These men will leave the ring looking they just went to hell and back. Hopefully the scar tissue removal surgery will begin to pay in dividends.
Its going to be a crazy exciting fight 100% of the time, whether they are standing, on the ground, or of course, scrambling.
I am VERY QUICKLY becoming a BIG fan of Gary Shaw. Just look at what he’d done with Nick’s career since leaving the UFC. Nick is getting paid better, competing all over the world, and fighting just as often as he’d like to.
Gary Shaw plus Nick Diaz equals a big smile on my face!
“The fight between Diaz and Sachurai will be a war of contrission”
FYI..It’s a war of attrition. Contrission is not a word. Figured I’d better let you know in cause you’re throwing that word around in conversation.
LOL, thanks Jay! It sounded right in my head as I typed it.
I’ll just call that one a “Goldy Moment”
All former Pride fighters say that they get paid much better in the UFC. The fighters who deserve it get well paid in the UFC so don’t bitch around
@ Lyoto; Ofcourse they’ll say that - saying anything other than this wouldn’t exactly please Dana White & his cronies..
Sakurai for the win!
3 fights in under 3 months, that’s the kind of fighter I respect and love. He is one of the most exciting fighters, win or lose, and never backs down!
WAR DIAZ!
In a world were UFC titles are held up for a year, its great to see EliteXc allowing Diaz to compete in 3 fights over 3 months.
As for the Mach vs. Diaz fight, this will be a very tough fight for Diaz….It will not be as easy as the gomi fight was for him. I am a big fan of both fighters, but I will be rooting for Diablo…But Mach worries me…He is No JOKE! Wait till you see what nasty leg kicks he will unleash on Diaz…Regardless this will be a great fight that wont be over quickly. I will be shocked if this fight ends in the 1st round!
I am still waiting to see Diaz soccer kick someones head off in Japan, or atleast a nice flying head stomp!
Are the Dream rules the same as Pride allowing soccer kicks and head stomps? Just curious.
Yes! Dream rules are the same as the PRIDE rules…Long Live PRIDE!!!
actually you are both wrong. You will never see Diaz soccer kick or head stomp.. read below from yahoo sports article on DREAM
There were some rule changes, as there are no yellow cards for stalling, nor are stomps or soccer kicks allowed. Unlike MMA in the U.S., knees are to opponents who are down are allowed but elbows on he ground are not.
hey John, I heard they can no longer stump nor soccer kick once someone is on the ground. I also thought it was the same Pride rules in the beginning, but I think we just got confirmation when Diaz threw that kick to Inoue’s head when he was on the ground and the ref called him on it. No more soccer kicks, no more stumps :(, but at least we still have the knees to the head when someone is on the ground and the opening 10 minute round :).
the outlawing of stomps and soccer kicks is fine by me. that was one of the pride rules i didn’t agree with.i think its cowardly to kick a downed opponent IMHO.
I agree with the rules. Kicking and stomping a guy’s face when he’s laying on his back seems more like what we should be moving away from, to keep people from saying how brutally barbaric the sport is.
Linx: THats terrible news, just terrible (in my charles barkley voice)…hyou are right though as long as we still get to se ethe knees to the head and the 10 minutes first round..I will still be happy…I understand doing away with the head stomps but they could let the soccer kicks go…I loved watched Shogun kick dudes faces of, he reminded me of Ronaldinho out there…it was beatifull… I will always miss PRIDE, I am pissed I never went to see an event live!
I agree, I wish the rules were the same. there is nothing shameful about kicking someone’s face when they are on the ground, it’s part of fighting and it’s also a strategy. People think it’s barbaric and I disagree, no serious injuries were caused to ppl getting hit with foot stumps nor soccer kicks. The ppl that calls this move barbaric in a way act as those ppl that knows nothing of MMA and call it a barbaric sport, they are not educated in the sport and the same way these fans that knows the American rules are not educated with the Pride rules and still calls it barbaric. Second point I’d like to make is that elbows to the face is WAY more barbaric than foot stumps or soccer kicks, there is nothing more damaging to the sport of MMA than having someone fighting 5 rounds with a bloody face non-stop (I mean, the whole head not just a regular cut). when the action hits the floor and the blood is literally dripping into the other competitor’s face, I mean, what’s more barbaric than that?
i don’t know what I’ll miss more, the headkicks or the shouting PRIDE lady ring announcer. about a dead even tie.
The stomping requiered no strategy or skill. Shogun used stomps to find a way out of fights a bunch of times. Even if it doesnt injure it looks barbaric and needs to be gone.
I disagree, stomps are not as easy as you think. jumping in mid air aiming at someone’s head on the ground while their in constant movement and hit them with pin point accuracy does take skills and it is not easy to execute. you can also get hit by upkicks in the ba||s (which he did in a few occasions). JRV, I really don’t think you watched Pride at all, I could be mistaken, but I’d bet you didn’t and your just talking nonsense about something you don’t know.
i’m pulling for diaz, but taking out mach is a tall order.
Awesome fight. This should really be a big test for Diaz, see if he’s back 100% from the surgery for sure. A win over Mach will be HUGE! Especially in Japan after he beat Gomi already too.
DREAM + EliteXC = Good stuff…..unless you’re Dana White.
i agree that this will be an awesome fight, but i dont think dana white will have to worry about anyone else hurting the ufc. the only person who could do that is dana himself, digging his own grave.
Diaz should win it.Mach hasn’t looked as good as he is lately.It’s that barbeque food.
dream is coming along and starting to do some great things that last card was great and if they keep going that way they will replace what pride was.
wow great match up
I would love to see lots of these promotions succeed. Really though UFC is OK but its starting to get watered down and a champ should have to defend his title twice a year. I hate it when they do the TUF with title holders. Why not have multiple coaches say 4 teams of 5 LW. And randomly spin a wheel to see which team has to square off. it would be cool to see Huerta, Diaz, Grey & K-FLOW do it up and have them actually fight at the end of the thing. With a follow-up fight to determine title contention. Stevenson, Guida, J-Lau, Grey could all make guest appearances and make The decisions instead of spinning a wheel (What they think would make the best fights)
How about even a PPV and do it up like this…
Take top 4 out of USA fighters fight for a title shot. Do this with each Division.
Advertise the names and it shouldnt take more than a month to shoot it and dress it up right.
Sweeten up a mega contract for each guy who pulls through.
hell yea! this could be fight of the year. all the real mma fans who don’t just follow the high profile names know wuts up in this 1. i wish there was a hour long UFC-countdown-like video out there on these guys including interviews of what they think about each other and highlight reel footage. that would be sweeeet.
elitexc really came through for these DREAM fights. i’m crossing them out my sh*t list again. somebody back there is to thank. its funny because jake already beat sakurai. and nick already beat fickett. i hope ceaser gracie’s whole camp runs a train on everybody in that division. it don’t get much better than diaz sakurai.
WAR DIAZ!! KICK’EM WHILE HE’S DOWN! KICK’EM WHILE HE’S DOWN! KICK’EM WHILE HE’S DOWN!
QUICK QUESTION: If Nick Diaz was in the UFC, would he be getting more attention on the forums?
QUICK ANSWER: yes because UFC is mainstream. why?
That’s what I say too. I just put it with your post because I liked it, and I don’t really like to post at the bottom of a thread, no other reason…
I say because a thread annnouncing a fight between Nick Diaz and Mach Sachurai is HUGE and these people act like they don’t know who either one of them are. Hayoto, I can understand if you’re new or just watch the UFC, but how do people not know Nick???
Oh yeah, and Question is for anyone of course,…
I really don’t know what other answer there could be unless some Diego nuthugger cried his way to sleep after the post fight comments by Diaz after the Ultimate Fight Night fight that was free on Spike.
lol @ Diego nuthuggers. they are out there and they’re angry too. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that UFC is a marketing monster to my demographic because they’re on spikeTV, especially with the Unleashed show reminding us about fighters. They make it really easy access to good fights & know stuff about the fighters(unlike IFL cuz they suck, & WEC cuz they don’t market their fighters that good). DREAM & eliteXC are on HDNet & Showtime so far. Who the hell can watch that sh*t? Comcast doesn’t even carry HDNet (mostly everybody has comcast). Basicly HDNet target audience is the few PRIDE fans who have Satelite. lol. DREAM needs to eventually get the ppv going again like PRIDE was. As for elitexc, I’m NOT about to subscribe to a package of channels that carrys Showtime to watch 1 program on it periodically. waste $.
Once eliteXC starts broadcasting on CBS, I think they’ll start raking in more cash although they’re still lacking credibility. I can’t wait for the future Kimbo fans to start arguing on this site with the “martial artist lovers”. Its gonna be gooood. lol. There goes my thoughts on why nobody knows about guys outside the UFC like Sakurai, Nick, Mahem, Gomi, Melendez, Fedor, Barnett etc. People want ESPN news to tell them who is good instead of going online and looking up the fights.
VM…Contrission???? How about attrition chachi. Reminds me of the skit on “In Living Color” when Damon Wayans tried to sound intelligent by making up words.
But yes, this will be a good fight. Diaz rarely disappoints.
This is going to be a great one.
If Diaz wins they should set up a Gomi rematch.
Elite XC
HD Fights
Dream
Affliction
All these promotions are working together sharing their fighters. I wonder what the UFC thinks about the RAF
{rent a fighter} strategy. Looks to be working pretty good for the fighters and the promotions.
GET THAT MONEY
i am a huge Diaz brothers fan, but Nick was beating the hell out of sub-par competition at dream3. IMO his oppoenent was making him look better than he actually was.there is no way he could strike like that against guys - Alves,Davis,Lytle,Swick. i would love to see him back in the UFC.a rematch against the Nightmare or the Heat would awesome.
Nick is a real fighter, I believe he allowed his problems with Dana, cause him to loose by not being focused. He was the first guy to bring up the way ufc vets were being treated. Props to this guy for being real, wasn’t always a big fan but quickly being swayed.
very good fight i think diaz can definatly take it.
i have always been a fan of nick diaz. he has always been an exciting fighter. ive been watching him almost his whole career. i can’t wait to see what he can do when he steps up to take on legendary sakurai.
i dont know if you guys would believe me but my friends don’t even know who sakurai is.
No it’s believable alright, he only fought in pride which only more then casual fans heard of, and then after pride did, most the fighters that did not sign with UFC dropped off the face of the earth, Mach has not been in a fight forever as far as I know, havnt kept up very well thought outside the Octogon ill admit.
Like previously stated, this is gonna be a bomb fight reminiscent of Gomi/Diaz I say.
DIAZ BY GOGOPLATA!!!!!!!!!!
This will be a great test for both warriors. If Nick Diaz fights like he’s fought in his last fights he should have no problems. As long as the Mach doesn’t gas like Gomi we will find out who the top lightwhieght in the world is.