Diaz gets opponent he wanted: St. Pierre
When Nick Diaz does show up for a news conference, he knows how to steal the show.
With a postfight performance that ran the gamut of emotions, Diaz nearly overshadowed what he did in the cage in beating BJ Penn in a spectacular main event of UFC 137 on Saturday at Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Diaz’s rambling answers were alternately profound, confusing, funny and even sad.
He even lashed out after being given what he has wanted all along: a title shot.
Diaz was supposed to be fighting champion Georges St. Pierre for the UFC welterweight title Saturday, but was stripped of that opportunity after failing to meet promotional obligations by missing two news conferences. St. Pierre instead was booked to meet Carlos Condit, and Diaz was matched with Penn. But Diaz-Penn was elevated to the main event when St. Pierre got hurt and had to drop off the card.
After beating Penn, Diaz yelled “Georges” in the cage and used his postfight interview to again state his belief St. Pierre was scared to fight him.
UFC president Dana White then announced that Diaz indeed will get to fight St. Pierre for the belt Feb. 4 on Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas, because as White put it, St. Pierre “flipped out” and called Diaz “the most disrespectful human being (he’d) ever met.”
But even the announcement of his getting the title shot seemed to upset Diaz.
“See how I’ve got to come off just to get a fight,” he sneered. “I’ve got to be the bad guy. You want to point the finger and make me the bad guy. I’m the bad guy. Now I get a fight.”
In the end, things couldn’t have worked out better for Diaz. He wouldn’t have been fighting at all Saturday if he had still been scheduled to face the injured St. Pierre. So Diaz got a payday for fighting Penn, and put on a performance that made him exponentially more marketable, which almost certainly will yield a heftier purse when he fights St. Pierre.
Still, Diaz ranted and raved on the dais about how little money he makes and his inability to compensate sparring partners.
Then came the highlight. Diaz went into a monologue about his jogging routine that takes him into a neighborhood he says he can’t afford to live in, even though he said last week he pays someone in his camp $100,000 just to tell him where to be and when to be there.
“I run by hundreds of these nice, huge houses with these big yards, and fountains everywhere. They have their little side yards with a pool. All this stuff, right?” Diaz said. “Then I take a little circle around and go back into my neighborhood where my car gets robbed. I’ve got some dude out in front of my house looking for cigarette butts or something where some friends might have left some. It’s ridiculous.”
The diatribe drew uproarious laughter, but Diaz was serious and expressed irritation at those who found humor in his plight.
White was not among them, but was clearly agitated by Diaz’s complaints. He told Diaz he made enough money in the Penn fight alone to move if he desired, but Diaz responded he, “didn’t go to school (to learn how to buy a house),” instead choosing to learn how to fight.
Now he’ll get to use those skills in the biggest opportunity of his career against St. Pierre, whom White says has never been more fired up by an opponent.
The mild-mannered Canadian put out a statement through the UFC minutes after the fight was announced.
“This is what I wanted since the beginning. Let’s do what was supposed to be done originally,” St. Pierre said. “I’ve always wanted this fight — now I want it even more. I can’t wait for Super Bowl weekend.”
White said Condit agreed to step aside for Diaz to get the title fight. He’ll likely appear on the card against an unnamed opponent and be next in line for a title shot should he win.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
