In the sport of mixed martial arts, strategy and criticism play a significant role in a fighter’s success. From fight to fight, gameplans are formulated to create an optimal chance of victory, and those gameplans normally play into a fighter’s strengths. When those gameplans fail, constructive criticism from coaches is normally a foolproof way to improve attributes in one’s skill-set or pre-fight strategies to get back on the road to success.
Nick Diaz could be considered a hybrid of this progression, or some would say a “renegade”. When the odds are stacked in his favor that his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt could easily overwhelm his opponent, Diaz aims to please the casual fanbase with his peppering boxing instead. In fact, the chance that Diaz will try to out box any opponent is about as high as the chance Diaz will partake in “recreational drug use” when he isn’t fighting.
Fans were overly critical of Diaz’s strategies in the cage during his EliteXC stint when he barely slipped by Hawaiian Mike Aina at EliteXC: Uprising and lost via cut to K.J. Noons only two months later at EliteXC: Renegade. Both performances had many industry writers claiming Diaz was on the down slope of his career.
Diaz was only 24 years of age when he was defeated by Noons, yet some analysts felt that his heavy schedule of 25+ fights, style of fighting, and increasing scar tissue around his eyes was a sure sign that he would retire from the sport early. Fortuntately for fans, Diaz put a stop to those claims as he rattled off six straight wins from May 2008 to January 2010.
His two most recent wins, a rear-naked choke victory over Scott Smith in June of 2009 and an impressive destruction of DREAM champion Marius Zaromskis last Saturday, have suddenly put Nick Diaz’s name back in the mix as a potential top ten welterweight. His style, one that was overly criticized in the past, has become not only a desirable attribute in the marketability of him as a main event fighter, but it’s become something spectacular to watch.
The criticisms that Diaz’s punching was “too weak” and resembled “patty cake” were thrown out the door on Saturday. While the technical boxing was what we would call “pitter patter”, it’s tough to tell Nick Diaz that it isn’t a strategy worth pursuing in any fight.
After all, Diaz’s granite chin and phenomenal conditioning have persisted him through the barrage of blows he’s eaten in his long career, but the sheer speed, volume, and accuracy of his striking in the present should have fans excited at his future. It’s tough to say this isn’t a pattern that will work when many of his opponents have their eyes full of fists rather than aiming at Diaz’s chin.
Now the question becomes whether Strikeforce can truly leverage Nick Diaz as a Chuck Liddell or Tito Ortiz of the promotion. Can he be a guy who can draw in droves of fans for his exciting style of dominating boxing and jiu-jitsu while simultaneously talking the talk?
It’s an interesting debate, and nearly every fan will respond with a resounding “No” due to the market share that the UFC holds over Strikeforce. But network television appearances and successful performances like that on Saturday night have a strange way of increasing a fighter’s stock substantially.
Talking the talk shouldn’t be a problem either as the vulgar and “Stockton, son!” attitude that Nick Diaz wears proudly can produce hype for fights. Zaromskis wasn’t exactly a prime candidate for Diaz to pick on in the weeks preceding the fight, but be sure that Diaz will turn up the volume of his voice box in the future.
Can Nick Diaz become a drawing power for Strikeforce? I think he can with the right performances on a major show. The Showtime event was a perfect way for him to increase his stock with Herschel Walker adding some curious watchers to the mix, but an explosive performance on a CBS card would be ideal.
A more ideal situation, however, is what lies in the land of Zuffa. Strikeforce could be a situation in which Diaz takes full advantage of what he’s being given currently in terms of exposure, and he could turn that exposure into huge marketability in the UFC with the added bonus of a lucrative contract.
He’ll also have a huge quantity of fighters to pick from to battle, and there are a lot of intriguing fights that would offer both an interesting style match-up coupled with a war of words. The fact that his skill seems to be improving and that he’s still only 26 years of age adds to the desire to see him back in UFC as well. I can’t even imagine the hysteria if he was successful and earned a spot as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter.
Hardcore fans should flat out want to see Nick Diaz fight. His performance on Saturday night was unbelievable to watch, and the remaining question is whether those performances are enough to draw in the casual fans as well. The most intriguing prospect is a move to the UFC following his Strikeforce stint, but can Strikeforce create a big enough drawing power in Diaz to lure him back into a new contract? It all depends on Nick Diaz.