There was quite a bit of silliness after K.J. Noons’ impressive TKO of Yves Edwards last night when the Diaz brothers were allowed into the ring to talk some trash and hype the K.J. Noons/Nick Diaz rematch for the Elite XC 160lb belt. Dave Meltzer has more:
K.J. Noons was speaking with Showtime announcer Bill Goldberg, a ’90s pro wrestling icon. The show was promoted around “The Return of the King,” with Noons locally billed as “King Karl,” as the hometown hero, being born and growing up in Hawaii before moving to the mainland as a teenager.
With his father, who groomed him to be a fighter from childhood, by his side, Noons wished his father a happy birthday and happy Father’s Day. Suddenly Nick Diaz, who had stopped Muhsin Corbbrey earlier in the show to earn the next title shot, came out to disrupt the proceedings.
“Don’t be scared, homie,” said Diaz, with a scowl that they can’t teach in wrestling school. Then Diaz flipped off the Noons family, and suddenly, it was a real life free-for-all. The corners started pushing and shoving, some punches were thrown, and Karl Noons Sr. had his hands all over Nick Diaz as security and Goldberg were pulling him off.
Diaz, and brother, UFC star Nate Diaz, then retreated in almost perfect timing, flipping off the irate fans while announcer Stephen Quadros said loudly, “I can’t wait for the rematch.”
The scene seemed pretty crass and utterly manipulated to build up some heat for the Noons/Diaz rematch. I don’t doubt that the emotions were sincere on the Noons’ side because the Diaz brothers’ antics were utterly disrespectful. And I guess I’m a mark because I’m eagerly awaiting the rematch too. Nevertheless, one thing that hasn’t been followed up on much is the utter unprofessionalism of Nick Diaz in blowing the weight limit by 9 pounds and then getting a title shot to follow. Dana White seems to be punishing Thiago Alves for not making weight against Matt Hughes at UFC 85 by withholding a title shot, but Gary Shaw seems to have no such compunctions. Here’s a Sherdog video interview with Noons, Sr. talking about the events.
[UPDATE] by Nick Thomas – The altercation:
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