BJ Penn Vs Nick Diaz - UFC 137

[edman5555]

ah ok. that is the way to go. specialize.

[sbjj]

Why? Did you hear that? Also on a sidenote, what sports do you bet on SBJJ?

I thought I heard it somewhere.

Only bet Boxing and MMA.

[edman5555]

Why? Did you hear that? Also on a sidenote, what sports do you bet on SBJJ?

[sbjj]

I think the -365 was a mistake.

[edman5555]

yeah I think the bookies know that too. That is why BJ opened at -365. The good thing is that the betting public doesnt know. That is why they are even now.

[MMA_scientist]

I don't think there are a lot of top guys in the UFC that Diaz can beat easily. I mean, GSP, BJ, Condit, Fitch, Piestorbrenneellenricks, Rory McD, Diego, Kampmann- I think all of them could beat Diaz (and most of them would IMO). Matching him up with someone irrelevant makes no sense. I think Diaz's tenure will be short.

[edman5555]

yeah diaz will lose to bj then hopefully get someone he can obliterate

[sbjj]

Yea Edman. I am with ya. this might sound crazy, but I think Diaz had as great a chance at beating GSP in a title fight as he does BJ in a 3 round fight. Diaz would be champ if we had no time limits.

[edman5555]

Yeah Diaz is definetly overrated. He is really good, dont get me wrong. He will just get beat by a lot of UFC fighters. I think a shit-ton of guys can beat him in a 3 rounder, especially guys that can wrestle. A 5 rounder is a different story. Maybe we will get lucky and he will lose to BJ then get some favorable matchups. Anyone that can't take him down and has to fight him for 5 rounds is going to be in for a lot of trouble. That can lead to some more hype on him. Then when he fights some guy that can grind and land td's, that guy will be a big dog. That is my dream anyway.

[sbjj]

Oh yea, no doubt. He had the excuses after Joe F'n riggs and Sherk both beat him. hell, Sherk outstruck him. I have a feeling after the BJ fight people are going to say "Was that the same Diaz in Strikeforce". i think he had some really good style match ups there.

[MMA_scientist]

Nah, BJ is gonna beat the shit out of him. Then he is gonna go on a 2 week bender and then jump off a freeway overpass screaming "I aint scared homey"

That kind of denial never dies... he will just claim that the judges screwed him (or the fight was stopped prematurely or whatever).

[Ludo]

"I'm not trying to make all these little excuses," Diaz today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "If I'd have known the fight was going to be off, I would have [expletive] gone to the press conference, or I would have told somebody, 'Hey, if I don't make it to this stupid [expletive], I'm not fighting.' I think that people would have gotten me there. I think people would have come and gave two [expletive] and gotten me to that press conference."

...

"I didn't even know there was a press conference," Diaz said. "I thought it was some PR thing. People were trying to tell me, 'You're going to do this skit' and that I was going to be a part of some PR skit where I had this part where I was walking through a hall, kind of like that scene Jake Shields did. I was like, 'What the [expletive]? Are you kidding?' So I'm thinking, 'Somebody better come over here and tell me what I'm doing and get me ready to go do it so I don't look like an [expletive].' That's how I feel when you're coming to get me ready for something I'm not ready for."

If everyone else knew for days that there was a press conference, it is entirely on Nick and his camp's shoulders if he truly "did not know" that this was a press conference. It wasn't a super secret meeting in a back room, it was a media event. The UFC can be criticized for many things, but being disorganized in media relations is not on that list.

Diaz goes on to explain why it shouldn't really matter anyway:

"I just don't think it's that big of a deal. We make it like this huge deal, and I'm like, 'If it's such a big deal, then where the hell are all the people and the cameras?' It's not like there's people banging on my door trying to get an interview or something - snap pictures of me. Nobody gives a [expletive]. I can train all day long anywhere and everywhere, and nobody wants to film me. No one wants to come see any of that. I enjoy watching training. I enjoy watching good people sparring in the gym. I've never shut my door to anybody that wanted to come in and watch my training or film or anything like that."

Yes, for us as fans, watching a guy spar and seeing him in camp is interesting. But we're the people who will order a pay-per-view or buy tickets regardless. Your average undecided customer is not seeking out videos of guys sparring, they are enticed into buying tickets or a PPV by things like local media coverage.

The UFC would have eventually "come knocking" to get video of Nick in camp for use promoting the event on Countdown and YouTube, but what mattered at that time was the press conference and getting the media involved in talking about the fight early. The difference between 700,000 and 800,000 PPV buys is over $5,000,000 and press events, when done right, can be that difference. So, yes, it is "that big of a deal."

Diaz is also upset that Georges didn't fight harder to keep Nick in the fight:

"The bottom line is Georges is being a little bitch," Diaz said. "He didn't step up and say anything when the UFC pulled me out of this fight. I understand sometimes you have to do what you're told, but why wouldn't you tell the media you still want to fight me? If I was Georges, I would want to fight the best. I would have asked for the Anderson Silva fight. I would have asked to fight the Strikeforce champ. But he sits there like a robot and doesn't say anything at all, just like he's not going to say anything about me calling him a bitch now. If I saw B.J. Penn walking down the street and called him a bitch, we would be fighting right there on the spot.

"The truth is Georges doesn't want to fight me in the street or in a cage. He knows who I am, and he knows where I came from. I don't have the commitment? I'm younger than him, I have more wins in my career than he does, and I've worked harder to get where I am. He knows the truth, and he didn't say anything and won't say anything because he doesn't want to get his ass whipped by me the same way he got his ass whipped by Jake - the night we went to the press conference and Georges went to the hospital."

[sbjj]

Nah, BJ is gonna beat the shit out of him. Then he is gonna go on a 2 week bender and then jump off a freeway overpass screaming "I aint scared homey"

[sbjj]

How is it somehow someone else's responsibility to "get him there"? It's not like you carpool to a fucking UFC press conference. It seems like it's all on everyone else. Nick didn't know the shit he was supposed to know, Georges didn't step up and "make" the UFC keep Nick in the fight, etc etc etc. It's such an immature view on things. Like calling GSP a bitch after you didn't show up for the shit you needed to show up for helps the situation any.

+1

[MMA_scientist]

^^ oh he is clearly mentally handicapped. He acts exactly like a junior high bully "GSP won't do shit even though I am calling him a bitch." OK. I bet GSP is terrified.

That is why I want him to succeed.