Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz fights Paul Daley this Saturday April 9th at Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley. This is his first fight for the promotion since its acquisition by his former employer Zuffa LLC, the parent company of the UFC. Diaz comments on the acquisition for the first time to MMA Weekly and he isn’t happy:
“(About UFC buying Strikeforce) Honestly, I don’t understand this whole thing. I’m way too busy training. It’s hard for me to understand what’s going on. But I knew there was a reason why I never strapped that belt around my waist. Whatever, champion, whatever. (Paul Daley) can have the belt. I’m fighting for money.”
“I don’t feel like a champion right now that the UFC bought this organization. I don’t understand all that. I thought we were competing with the UFC. I thought my belt was potentially just as important as the UFC belt and we had the best fighters here (in Strikeforce); more technical martial artists and stand-up fighters.”
“But now this is all about going to the UFC so I don’t care about the Strikeforce belt. There was a reason why I never put that s— on anyways.”
Check out the MMA Fighting interview after the jump.
Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley coverage
“I wasn’t going to do this interview but they told me I had to. … I feel like you instigate fights quite a bit. Maybe that’s your job but where I come from people like that get slapped.”