UFC 143 - If Nick Diaz Wins, Cesar Gracie Wants Him To Wait For GSP

by Earl Montclair on Jan 30, 2012 4:32 PM EST in UFC News

On the latest episode of The MMA Hour Cesar Gracie said the following about the possibilty of Nick Diaz defending the Interim Welterweight Title should he defeat Carlos Condit:

"If we're fortunate and we win this fight, I would advise Nick to not take another fight before the GSP fight unless it was in different weight class," he said. "We want to wait for that 170-pound thing. The people I speak with, they want to see the GSP fight if Nick is able to defeat Condit. That's where I'm at with it. I'd advise Nick to not take another fight."

This is in stark contrast with what Carlos Condit's manager, Malki Kawa said on the topic:

.........if and when he wins this belt, if [the UFC] wants to put him back out to fight again, Carlos is going to fight again and defend his belt against anyone who challenges him. We're not going to sit around and wait for anyone, not Georges or anybody. If there's fights out there, Carlos wants them.

I am actually not very surprised that Nick, for all his bravado and tough guy attitude would turn down a fight. He did it with Mayhem Miller. I understand that GSP is the big money fight and not wanting to jeopardize that. It really is a double edged sword because if he loses the interim title defense, the fight with GSP doesn't happen and a huge opportuinity and a ton of money is lost, again.

If my time here at HKL has taught me anything, it is that Nick Diaz doesn't give a damn about anything other than fighting. He is real, he is tough and all he wants to do is fight and beat people up. So with that in mind, if you are so confident in your skills and toughness, step up to the plate and defend your belt. In other words....

Don't be scared, homie.

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Hes always scared

He made excuses not to fight mayhem that made no sense, talks crap on gsp for being hurt then says he understands what hes going through, now hes gonna run scared if he wins that belt. And thats a huge if. Condit crushes him 2nd rd tko

by TheSloth on Jan 30, 2012 6:26 PM EST via Android app reply actions

fresh off injury

Diaz wants to fight GSP right after his return after fixing his injured knee. He wants to fight the weakest GSP he can get so he’s not going to take any fights in the mean time that could give GSP additional recovery time.

by V C on Jan 31, 2012 9:50 AM EST up reply actions

The difference here..

..is that should he win he’d be advised to wait for the fight people actually want to see, unlike the Mayhem situation where it was the other way around.

by ToffeeA on Jan 30, 2012 7:01 PM EST reply actions

In this case, Cesar is giving the best advice as a manager to Nick. The Diaz/GSP matchup has a lot more interest that a Condit/GSP fight does.

The last person other than Georges St. Pierre that Nick Diaz should want to fight, in my estimation, is Jake Ellenberger. Jake would probably be the best guy to fight for the interim belt following Diaz/Condit. I think they are taking that into consideration which is another reason why waiting works out for them.

Nick refusing to take the Mayhem, fight was absurd. He wasn’t fighting top shelf guys in SF so it’s not like that would have been a step down for him. It honestly would have kept him on the same path as fighting the likes of KJ Noons and Evangelista Santos.

I just think that creating an interim belt while GSP is out for a year and then icing the interim belt for 7-9 months is a moronic idea. Why even bother?

Writing things on occasion @ Head Kick Legend.
Team Captain for Ruining Your Special Night. That's what we do.

by Earl Montclair on Jan 30, 2012 7:10 PM EST up reply actions

I mean Jake Ellenberger?

Probably doesn’t have shit for Nick on the ground. He’ll get him there if he even wants to get it to the ground. Jake might want to bang it out with Nick, at least til he starts getting busted up, and not shoot right away.

But once he gets him down, how is he gonna do anything to Nick? He’ll do some rabbit punches but Nick will tie him up or submit him. By the third round, he’ll be tired. Fourth round or fifth round TKO for Nick, easy game.

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by Luke Nelson on Jan 30, 2012 10:54 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

then there is no problem for him in taking that fight then, yes?

Writing things on occasion @ Head Kick Legend.
Team Captain for Ruining Your Special Night. That's what we do.

by Earl Montclair on Jan 30, 2012 11:07 PM EST up reply actions

Well I’d have no problem seeing that happen. May 5th on Fox if both Nick and Jake win their upcoming fights. It’s got built in drama with Jake beating Nick’s top training partner in Shields, plus the Diaz brothers together on FOX would be incredible. Think of the ratings spike for Nick after casuals see Nathan fight Jim Miller.

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by Luke Nelson on Jan 31, 2012 1:43 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

I'm a little surprised by Cesar's comments

But they’ve had GSP vs Diaz booked twice so he probably doesn’t want to risk losing it for a third time, whether to injury or yes, losing a fight.

I’m sure he isn’t scared of Nick losing to Ellenberger, since GSP basically does what Ellenberger does both sharper and with better technique. Ellenberger might have the power edge thou. If Cesar is scared of Nick losing to him, why even take the GSP fight?

Unless he thinks GSP is a fraud?

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by Luke Nelson on Jan 31, 2012 1:51 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

I think the reason to take the GSP fight is simple.

Writing things on occasion @ Head Kick Legend.
Team Captain for Ruining Your Special Night. That's what we do.

by Earl Montclair on Jan 31, 2012 3:35 AM EST up reply actions

Putting the Diaz brothers on Fox is a really risky move.

I think Nate is a lot safer than Nick in that regard but it is still pressing your luck

Writing things on occasion @ Head Kick Legend.
Team Captain for Ruining Your Special Night. That's what we do.

by Earl Montclair on Jan 31, 2012 3:36 AM EST up reply actions

Montclair - u dont like the guy

“feel sorry for Nick”, “scared of fighting”, cmon dude, that is weak, What u wrote about is personal opinion of Nicks manager. Don’t judge the guy on his manager words.

by dekciw on Jan 31, 2012 10:19 AM EST reply actions

I also said that business wise it was a double edged sword.

Cesar is making the right call from a management perspective, as is Malki Kawa because the two guys’ situations are quite different. Condit would really benefit from a title defense with almost no drawback.

I am just saying that the management decision is completely contradictory to the image he and his fighter present. That is all. I do understand it though, completely.

Writing things on occasion @ Head Kick Legend.
Team Captain for Ruining Your Special Night. That's what we do.

by Earl Montclair on Jan 31, 2012 2:39 PM EST up reply actions

i don't see

how cesar gracie’s comments translate to a judgment on nick diaz’s willingness to fight. there is a clear bias in the article writing, as much as you try to hide it. we haven’t heard what nick has to say yet, so until then, let’s not start treating this as a sign of cowardice.

You cannot walk if you fear to crush the ant in your wake.

by hanboxer on Jan 31, 2012 5:46 PM EST reply actions

Wouldn't you agree that icing the interim WW strap for 7-9 months is a really really bad idea?

Writing things on occasion @ Head Kick Legend.
Team Captain for Ruining Your Special Night. That's what we do.

by Earl Montclair on Jan 31, 2012 6:01 PM EST up reply actions

I think it isn't so much icing the interim strap for 7-9 months....

…it’s that if they had made the Diaz/Condit fight just a number one contender fight, the WW title would have been on the shelf for 16-18 months by the time GSP came back.

It’s been 9 months since the title was last fought for. From that perspective, they could get away with waiting another 9.

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by Luke Nelson on Jan 31, 2012 6:16 PM EST up reply actions