Last week, while the excitement from UFC 171 was still fresh, I sat down with Bloody Elbow commander in chief, Kid Nate, to discuss the fantastic card, and the future contenders that could emerge for a run at the welterweight belt. Some fun tidbits from the 30 minute segment are as follows:
Myles Jury, Public Enemy
Myles Jury has become a public enemy, I believe. This guy is a real menace. He’s 25 years old, extremely athletically gifted, very hard working and is becoming a clone of Dominic Cruz from Alliance Gym. They have taught that hideous, God forsaken style to another incredible athlete. This kid could end up boring us for 15 years. Talk about sport killing. I think this is the short road to nobody watching MMA at all, ever.
PPV Needs Nick Diaz
I think a PPV card for the welterweight contenders is going to need Nick Diaz. I’m assuming Hendricks is pretty dinged up and will need some extra time. I also don’t see any reason why they would rush to get Hendricks on PPV. They have Memorial Day filled out and they seem to be wanting Ronda Rousey in a big fight for July 4th. There’s really no big rush to get Hendricks out there again in the next couple quarters.
Diaz Beats Lawler
That gives them the opportunity to book a Nick Diaz/Robbie Lawler fight that could headline a PPV or a FOX card. That would set the table for a Nick Diaz/Johny Hendricks fight because I still think Diaz has Lawler’s number.
They’re completely different guys and I don’t see it going to a decision, but I think they’ve both matured so much and changed their game. My questions are:
- Is Lawler a sophisticated enough fighter?
- Is ATT a diligent enough fight camp?
I think ATT is a near great fight camp, but not quite in the league of the very elite like Jackson’s or AKA. I’ve always questioned Lawler’s fight IQ, not in the moment so much, but his pre-planning and ability to prepare for opponents.
The book has been written by Carlos Condit and Josh Thomson on how to beat the Diaz Brothers. If Lawler can use that same game, with the leg kicks, lateral movement and circling, I could see him dismantling Diaz. In a lot of ways, he’s a much better striker than Nick; he’s capable of using angles, he sets up his strikes well, he’s got great combinations and power in both hands. He also mixes in kicks and knees and has good wrestling defense.
However, Nick’s had quite a bit of time off, and for all his smack talk and attempts to look stupid, he’s a very shrewd student of the game. He and his brother sort of invented that flat-footed, high volume striking style, and it’s entirely possible that they’ve made the adjustments that they need to make.
Nick has changed his fight style multiple times, and could very well have transformed it again. I also think that psychologically, he has Lawler’s number. He had it 10 years ago, and I think he’ll continue to have it.
There was much more great conversation during this 30 minute segment. Nate’s mic skills are awesome, so you simply must check out the audio here.
Make sure you’re following Nate on Twitter here.
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