Count UFC President Dana White among the many interested suitors interested in possibly securing the services of 25-year-old mixed martial arts veteran, Nick Diaz (18–7), now that Elite XC is no longer.
That is, of course, if the Stockton, Calif., native can cool his temper outside the cage.
“I think Nick Diaz is a bad ass. Nick Diaz is a tough kid,” White said in a recent radio interview with TapouT Live. “Nick Diaz doesn’t handle himself right all the time in public. I like him — I respect him as a fighter. I love his attitude. I love the way that kid fights. But you can’t do the stuff that this kid does in public. You can’t get into fights when the fight is over … you can’t do that stuff.”
White is perhaps referring to an incident in the wake of UFC 57: “Liddell vs. Couture 3” in 2006 when Diaz was so fired up that a decision didn’t go his way in a fight against Joe Riggs that he dropped “Diesel” in the hospital afterwards.
He remained with the promotion after the post-fight fisticuffs, going on to lose his next bout against Sean Sherk via unanimous decision. The defeat to the “Muscle Shark” was his third straight inside the Octagon; however; Diaz, felt at the time that he should have won all the fights during that rough stretch.
Diaz would go on two fight twice more under the UFC banner, collecting stoppages over Josh Neer and Gleison Tibau, before signing on to challenge Pride FC golden boy, Takanori Gomi, once his contract with Zuffa expired.
He initially defeated the “Fireball Kid” with a thrilling submission (gogoplata), ending a explosive clash that up until that point was an absolute war. However, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) changed the result to a “No Contest” when Diaz tested positive for marijuana in his post-fight drug test.
Diaz signed with upstart promotion Elite XC quickly thereafter in early 2007, emerging as one of its most marketable stars. And while he failed in his attempt to capture the vacant 160-pound title, Diaz put together a solid record (4-1) while with Elite XC (and one fight with DREAM).
Of course, Diaz — who had been a staple in the UFC 170-pound division for several years — would be an instant force in the lightweight division if he were to return to the organization and compete at 155.
His younger brother, Nate Diaz, currently competes in the category and has enjoyed tremendous success, including winning the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
90 Comments »
A no-brainer that Diaz should come back. He is talented. Period.
Yep. That pretty much sums it up.
Heck yes. Diaz is a great fighter and never just tries to eek out a win. He may not have a lot of finishing potential against top talent, but even when it goes to decision his fights are great to watch.
Diaz vs. Diego Sanchez is on of my favorites.
Diaz VS Lawler is a classic too…He should not have been cut from the UFC in the 1st place.
UFC shouldn’t have cut him in the 1st place!
I have been so busy at work all day that I havent gotten a chance to post since this morning. I normally dont post when I get home, but I had to get Jiggy on this thread. Its a juicy one (thanks mania).
I am a bigtime fan of both the Diaz brothers and their are both positivbe and negatives about diaz coming back to the
UFC.
The obvious positive aspect of Nick coming back to the UFC is that their would be some pretty interesting match ups for him in the lightweight division of the UFC and we would all get to see him front and center on ppv’s that we
ALL order. The 1st thing that came to my mind was BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz! WOW!!! Could you imagine those to boxing against each other? If tHe fight hit the mat we would be in store for some of the sickest jits exchanges in all of the sport. it would be amazing to see, but one little problem. His little brother is a serious up and coming star in the UFC. Is their room for both brothers in the same division? I say No because those k ids are meantr to shine as fighters and I feel that both would be legit contenders in no time, so I basically dont want to see either take a back seat to the other.
For those who want to throw out the argument that he could fight at welterweight. I know he could, but I dont want to see him do it. Lightweight is perfect for him.
Nick signing with the UFC would mean that he could no longer compete in Japan, and I dont think I want to see that happen yet. IMO, most of the best lightweights are fighting outside of the UFC, mainly Japan. I would much rather see him fight guys like Hellboy, Alvarez, Aoki, JZ, Mach Sakurai and especially a rematch with Gomi.
Why see the diaz brothers in the same division fighting the same opponents when we can see how one does agaist the UFC’s elite, and see how the other does vs. the rest of the top lightweights sprinkled throughout Japan.
Also, I really think that we will see Gilbert Melendes sign with the UFC as soon as his deal expires (1 more fight I believe). Gilbert and Diaz are friends and training partners. I dont want to see Nick, Nate and Gilbert all fighting in the UFC’s lightweight division because then it will become an AKA situation like with Fitch, Kos, and Swick that dont ever want to fight each other.
I would love to see NIck Diaz vs. Kenny Florian!
Anyone know where Huerta is? He fell off the face of the earth since he was UFC bashing!
This is the latest on the situation. I just got done reading an artickle with interviews from his trainer Gracie. It said that Nick will be fighting in Japan’s K-1 Dynamite(DREAM) or NYE Segoku shows.
As for Sheilds, Gracie said that looks like Dana White will be signing Jake in late November
Diaz vs. KillFlo, that’s what i’m talkin about John
Huerta is probably trying to negotiate a bigger contract with Dana White… and Dana’s answer is… NO!… so Huerta isn’t signing and White isn’t in the mood to promote Huerta’… White’s thinking,.. “that ungrateful little punk”.
Huerta is MIA…Must be in the desert too…
lmao
And he can also be a big liability. I’d love to see him back in the UFC myself, but he also a risky business move.
I cannot argue that fact but his appeal far outweighs his flaws.
There are just so many good match ups for Diaz in the UFC. I would assume he would fight at 170 because his brother is at 155.
Does any one know how Pro-Elite can hold these guys into a contract they have no intention on fulling, seeing as they have closed their doors?
nick diaz already said that he wasn’t going to the ufc cause of money problem. diaz is a good fighter but the ufc is only signing shields, brent rodgers, and a 185 fighter to be named later
when did he say that? he said that his money problems were with dream, and have since been resolved. I don’t think it will happen because he likes the option of fighting in japan between fights in U.S. But I hear the UFC wants to hit the japanese market, so maybe this would be good for Diaz and the UFC. The UFC only signing 3 fighters sounds wrong to me sir!
i can believe that. the ufc isnt going to pay him a 100k per fight like dream or 90k like elite. when nick was in the ufc he was an exciting fighter, but he was also a small fish in a big pond. plus they already have nate at 155 and nick has not had an easy time making 160. so that leaves 170 and all the talented ww’s the ufc already has(probably will include shields before long). i dont see the ufc in his future to be honest, but i have been wrong before.
b.w., I guess it would also depend how heavily losses weigh on his mind. He could possibly avenge losses to Karo and Diego in the UFC. Those would be awesome match ups as all the fighters have evolved over time, except for maybe Karo.
very good point bnf!
BNF. i would love to see those 2 rematches as well, i just dont think the ufc will be willing to pay him what he can get in japan or maybee from Affliction. he fought for the ufc quite a bit and never really made it past mid-level status. i do admit he has gained in popularity since leaving the ufc, so if dana can make it happen, im down with it. 170 is definetly where he should be.
Talent and Skill level required has gone up leaps and bounds since he last left the UFC. He won’t cut it. Add his antics and it’s not worth it.
You’re right that talent and skill required have gone up, but so have his. He is never in a dull fight and he’s always trying to finish. He has very similar skills to Nate, who’s been very successful so far. I don’t see how you can say a fighter who submitted Gomi doesn’t have the necessary skills to compete in the UFC. And as far as his antics go, fans love the Diaz brothers attitude, and I don’t think he’s done anything wrong in a while.
what exactly is risky about a 25 year old kid with 25 mma fights who is exciting to watch? he’s fine, his attitude in japan isn’t what it was in elite, you guys who only watch mma in america, or only what the UFC shows you, really need to broaden your mma watching. I’m a fan and passionate about the sport, and don’t think affliction offers much, but there is more than ehat the UFC says and does out there! And I’m a huge UFC fan!
I’m so glad you are here to enlighten us kevin. It must be difficult for you to dialogue with the rest of us MMA simpletons. I, for one am glad that you and john are so willing to pontificate on this website all day. Keep up the good work fellas.
Who needs needs a life when you have mma.
what did I say wrong now? sorry I can afford to take months off of work and sit and be bored on the computer with ESPN playing in the background while playing poker. stop being jealous and realize I’m just a fan..
I just looked up (pontificate) and Im LMAO!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pontiff or Pontificate is a title of certain religious leaders, now used principally to refer to leaders such as the Pope of the Catholic Church and of the Coptic Orthodox Church.[1] Pontiff refers to the person in office, while Pontificate refers to the period in which the office is held by that singular person.
The UFC should sign Nick…just add a little security clause in his contract that keeps his post fight antics in check. If he messes up outside the Octagon, his breeches his contract and is out the door.
what does he do? other than going to confront noons under direction from elite, what has he done? someone please explain this to me??!!
Sign him and keep him at 170.
He is very disrespectful,look at his antics before and even directly after the deigo fight ,he is an absolute douche bag.Look at what happened the last time Nate fought ,they had to kick them out of the press conference.He has absolute no respect for the sport,or the other fighters,how can you not see that ,you act like he is an alright guy but on other blogs you act like Tito is a douche ,when has Tito ever been as disrespectful as Nick ,besides the birds he put in Shamrocks face ,a long,long time ago
truethat
+100000000000
Scott, Tito and Nick are both douch bags in their own way. Personally I like both those guys, but just ’cause I like ‘em doesn’t mean they aren’ knuckleheads or that I support their over the top antics.
He is no more of a risk then someone like Junie Browning. Plus he is the real deal you know what kind of performances you are going to get from him inside the cage!
He is a telent no doupt… but how do you think he would do in the welterweight division in ufc today?
I’d love to see either him or his brother against Kenny Florian. Nate needs another big win, and if Kenny gets through Stevenson, you could set that up as a stay busy fight before BJ is ready, or if BJ stays at 170, have Kenny or Joe fight Nate, and sherk fight maynard with the winners fighting for the vacant belt.
little off track there but i wanna see kenny fight a Diaz
are you implying nate is ready for a title shot? cmon crowls, you’re nuts!
no, that’s exactly what i’m not saying. I’m just saying at some point i would like to see kenny fight a diaz. Nate has a way to go so it would be like a yr away from happening, maybe longer. I was just thinking originally…let’s say kenny loses to bj, which he most likely will, then nate looks like an attractive fight. but what if BJ beats GSP, which I think he will…will he stay up at 170 to fight Alvez? If he does, does that vacate the 155 strap and if so, then you’ve gotta put some fights together and come up with a title fight. that’s where i was coming up with kenflo and sherk getting back at it via going thru some other guys.
He can’t hang with any top ten welterweight. He would get killed in the UFC. It’s like people don’t remember his performance against noons, corbry or denny.
I think Dana realizes that wasn’t his doing, and elite (shaw) had him go out into the ring.
I’ve said this from the beginning of the end of elite, Nick Diaz was by far their hottest commidity!
Shields is second, which is big for the caesar gracie/team stockton!
Even more so than Alvarez, i don’t think so. He was an average fighter at best in a division with three guys at Elite.
WAR Diaz!! bring him back, baby! and while you’re at it, bring Lawler back too. I wanna see a rematch!
I said that months ago adam, and these guys jumped all over me saying lawler would kill him, I disagreed. watch, no one will disagree when you say it. I’m starting to agree with john (wow), there are a ton of haters here! I’m writing to about a dozen “regulars” on this site. I don’t care what the rest of you think!
i don’t necessarily think Diaz would knock Lawler out again, but i do think he’d win by submission or pull out a decision. regardless, it’d be a great fight!
I can’t agree more!
what weight would diaz fight in the UFC? elite was 160, so he could not cut and fight ww or cut to lw. lw, he’d be unstoppable, ww he’d be smaller than most. Lawler is a mw.
yeah kevin style wise..its diaz fight all over again. lawlers attitude and work ethic have changed a ton but his overall skils havent made leaps and bounds in years. it be agood fight to watch i would think it would end in a submission this time around rather than a KO seeing as how diaz’ strikign has become a lil more power conservative.
if diaz could get it to the ground, then advantage to him, but he has’nt looked like he can bring fighters down like he used to. i wonder why he does’nt use more judo throws like nate does?
Problem with Diaz is that he doesnt use his ground skills as much as he should. And his boxing is weak! Alot of good fights for him, but I dont think he’ll do anything big?
he needs to fight another jits guy. fighters are on to him.
good question B.W. we all know he has the skillz but he doesnt always apply them but when he does..he isnt consistent. and JV- Nick’s boxing is not weak…it isnt great. but it far from weak. his style is very unorthodox and you dont necessarily have to hit hard with every punch in order to have good boxing. man he can do big after what we say in gomi..you just have to give him the right fights to fire him up.
Kev: THats what I started doing. I only write and respond to the regulars. Too much extra stuff going on between the rest of the people. If anyone wants to talk mma and not be petty, HOlla at me!
He is talented but when you get to this stage you are first and foremost a professional and you need to conduct yourself as such. You can still be a crazy badass in the cage, but you need to conduct yourself as you are representing a company that has chosen to employ you.
All I can say is Nick Diaz Vs BJ Penn is one of the very best possible fights that can be made today.
1. Both guys have crazy good BJJ
2. Both guys talk shit and are very cocky
3. Both guys will bang out a war on there feet.
BJ would be a big favorite but this would be a very fun fight and build up.
BJ VS GSP
BJ VS Nick Diaz
GSP Vs Alves
man those are some amazing fights.
Nick diaz won’t be competitive in any of those matchups. His BJJ won’t help him against anyone.
Sorry but BJ by whatever he wants,and i’m a Diaz fan
I’ve been patiently waiting for the day he would be back in UFC …
Sweet, I like seeing Diaz fight. I’m still dissapointed that Diaz/Alvarez fight is off. Is there any news if Eddie Alvarez might go to UFC? If that fight could be resurrected I would be a happy man.
Diaz vs Sanchez 2???
I would LOVE to see that one.
Good looking out, Phil.
Marcus Davis vs Nick Diaz in Ireland, make it happen Dana.
i hate nicks personality.
the kid has issues.
with that being said, he puts asses in seats and he’s tough as nails.
zuffa should scoop him up asap.
Nick should have been promoted in Elite XC way more than he was…probably the most talent they had on their roster.
Dana is a right about Nicks out of cage antics though…he needs to cool it a bit (although Nick didn’t run from police and sideswipe a pregnant woman’s car in the process…so Dana is a bit hypocritical with his “out of cage” talk). I do however like his antics in a fight…makes for some good tv.
I’d give Shields and Eddie Alvarez the distinction of being the most talented on their roster. Although Alvarez was mainly busy fighting in Japan before the collapse.
Both the Diaz brothers make for good fights … but with the constant Wig-Wag, better keep them on a very short leash.
Dana should say, “Don’t be a dumbass, homey.”
I think the problem with him coming back is that he is too small for 170 and his brother competes at 155. So what division does he enter in? There is a reason Elite created a 160lb class directly for him.
i would definatly wanna see davis vs diaz or diaz vs sanchez.
They should make him a TUF coach.
Sign him Dana!!! So he can lose and everyone can see just how overrated he is.
Yes, because everyone in the UFC LW division has beaten Gomi.
(this is me…rolling my eyes)
No, but pretty much everyone in the ufc lw division would beat kj noons, and wouldn’t get gifted a decision vs Mike Aina
He lost by cut….wow, huge victory.
I will tell you why Diaz has lackluster performances (occasionally). Its because he was fighting in America and the Japan on short notice with not a lot of time between fights. Nick probably hasnt gone through a complete UFC worthy training camp in a while now. If he were to sign with the UFC he would have to fight with them only and it would eliminate this problem!
But I want him to stay in Japan!
So you think Diaz can beat Penn,Sherk,Franca,Florian,Stevenson,Heurta.I do not even think he can beat his brother,unless he has a psychological edge over him,you tell me who can he actually beat in LW.
He lost a very good fight with SEan Sherk, who wiped the cage clean with the aforementioned fighters. Nick Diaz swept Sherk just about every time he got a take down and was able to control most of the standup. Sherk did win but I was suprised it was not a split decision. It could have been listed as a draw, since sherk was unable to do to much with his takedowns. With the game he showed against Sherk I thin he could give any of these great battle and beat Huerta, Franca, and Stevenson, and I think Sherk and FLorian would completely have their hands full with Diaz. Penn vs. Diaz I think would be a grapplers fan wet dream. The transitions, sub attempt, and sweeps would be insane.
I wanna see nick vs nate now that would be interesting
Nick by older brother intimidation.
What ever happened to having some craziness and legitimate “bad blood” between fighters and fight camps? IMO, that was what made the old days of the UFC so much more exciting. If a guy from Miletich beat a guy from AKA, it would mean excitement between future fighters in those camps. I’ll say this, I much rather a fighter being genuine in his dislike of an opponent and stirring up controversy, then the bs pre-fight hype we have to go through that never lives up to the actual fight itself.
How does Diaz think he should have won any of those fights? The Sanchez and Sherk fights were clear cut 30-27 decisions. In fact, anyone who thinks Diaz has amazing standup needs to see Sherk outbox him with his little t-rex arms.
I wouldn’t mind seeing him back, though. Don’t think he could make lightweight, but he’s be an exciting gatekeeper at welterweight. A fight with Leites might be pretty solid. Or maybe Swick. His last fight with Karo was an awesome war, and I’d love to see that rematch as well.
Nick is good fighter,but way ,and I mean way over rated fighter.If he could even make weight for 155,Penn would destroy him,Sherk would destroy him,Tyson Griffen,Kenny Florian,actually let me stop who wouldn’t beat him .170 that is laughable as of right now ,he could come in get beat 3 straight,and go to Japan,that is if he is still able to fight.His one shining moment in UFC was him catching Lawler,and that would never happen again
Um…one would think a gogoplata on Gomi would be a little bit of a shining moment for any fighter.
This is huge, I been waiting this for a long time. Nick can straight up brawl! Dude doesn’t stop and can fight on his feet or on the ground. His fights with Deigo and Karo are in my DVD collection and are one of the best as far as overall skill sets with all fighters. Nick would be a great addition to the 170s in the UFC. He would be a great fit to face Kos, Lytle, Swick and a rematch with Deigo.
War Nick back in the UFC!
i hope to see him back inside the octagon
he might not hang with top ufc ww standing up but on the ground he is a different animal. his only problem (even though it makes his fights exciting) is he thinks he is a bad ass on his feet.
Why all the negativity?? Id love to see him back, he may not be in everyones eyes the perfect fighter, but hes exciting, and no doubt has skills!! Plus hes only what…25?? it would be great for the division if you ask me, I said before id like to see him fight GSP and i stick by it, plus there are loads of grudge matches that would be appealing to the fans!! He would certainly make some cards look a little more appealing, no harm in signing a guy that is skilled, exciting, contraversial and young!!
I’ve got it!!!!!!
Nick vs Karo II
+
Nate vs Manny
Back to back…same card
Japan it is….for now……..
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=7455&zoneid=13
Killflo would fuck Diaz up.