GSP vs. Condit official, Diaz removed

[CapnKabuki]

http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/09/...ufc-137-presser-gsp-now-to-face-carlos-condi/

In a stunning development, Nick Diaz has effectively gone missing in action from the UFC, forcing company president Dana White to remove him from a UFC 137 welterweight championship match with Georges St-Pierre.

Diaz will be replaced by Carlos Condit, who was already scheduled to fight on the same night.

Diaz had been scheduled for press conferences Tuesday in Toronto and Wednesday in Las Vegas. White said that Diaz missed a series of flights for his Canada trip, and hasn't been heard from him since Monday night after the company tried to re-book him multiple times.

"I'd had my reservations about Nick Diaz for a long time," White said during a press conference at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. "You've heard me use the term 'play the game.' All I asked him for was this much. When he signed, I said, 'Let me tell you what kid, add up all the purses of you career, this will be biggest fight of your life.' You have the opportunity to fight GSP and win the welterweight title. But I need you to do certain things."

Diaz has always been notoriously media averse, but White said in his history of promoting over 1,600 fights, he's never had this happen. St-Pierre, too, was in a state of shock over the situation.

"I just don't understand why someone doesn't show up to an opportunity like this," St. Pierre said. "I just can't believe it. It's amazing. It's crazy."

"He was going to make life-changing money for this fight," White added. "And maybe the thing is with Nick Diaz, maybe he did crack under the pressure. Maybe he folded under the spotlight."

White said he wasn't yet sure if he would release Diaz, but acknowledged it was a possibility.

The already shocking press conference turned even more bizarre midway through, when Diaz's manager Cesar Gracie called White as he was on the podium and apologized for Diaz's behavior, saying he has been unable to locate him.

At that, St-Pierre shook his hand.

"Maybe he is here and he is going to come out and say, 'This is a prank,'" St-Pierre said. "Are you trying to prank me?"

White later mentioned that Diaz had been staying with Gracie at his house and "snuck out the back door." Since then, he's essentially gone missing. White said even Nick's brother Nate Diaz could offer no leads on his whereabouts.

The St-Pierre vs. Diaz fight was essentially a title unification bout, with Diaz recently re-signing to the UFC as the reigning Strikeforce champion. Diaz had won 10 straight fights leading up to the GSP matchup, but St-Pierre said he believes Condit is a more dangerous opponent.

"I do believe Carlos Condit is more dangerous than Nick Diaz," he said. "If they fought, I would put my money on Carlos Condit, so for me it's a bigger challenge."

Condit and St-Pierre were both stablemates at Team Greg Jackson, but St-Pierre said he had no issues with facing Condit.

White said that when he called Condit and offered him the title fight, Condit broke down crying in appreciation of the opportunity. White added that Condit immediately got on a plane to head to Las Vegas and meet with the press.

Diaz is 27-5 overall with four straight wins and victories in 12 of his last 13 bouts. St-Pierre (22-2) has held the UFC championship since recapturing the belt in August 2007, winning nine straight fights.

White said the change comes as a "pretty big financial blow" to the UFC, saying the promotion spent over $15,000 just in flights over the last two days. He also said completed advertising would have to be changed, and that tickets went on sale today for the October 29 event. Fans who purchased tickets expecting to see St-Pierre vs. Diaz will have the opportunity to receive a refund, though White said he wasn't expecting many to make those requests.

White said he was not yet sure of plans for Condit's originally scheduled opponent, BJ Penn.

WOW. This is a HUGE development for that card. In all honesty though, I'm FAR more excited for this fight than I was about the GSP vs. Diaz fight. According to Cesar Gracie, Nick can't be found, and they're looking everywhere for him. He blew his opportunity at the big time, and he deserves to be punished for it. I'll admit that Diaz is a very talented fighter and one of the best Welterweights today, but there are just some things you have to do, these conferences being one of them. He may have burned his bridge before he even got to walk on it.

Much better fight in my opinion though, Condit really does deserve his shot, and quite frankly, I couldn't see Diaz beating GSP in any way, but I can definitely see Carlos getting the job done. Discuss.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I have no idea what's going on with Nick, the only thing I can think of is cracking under pressure. It's insane that someone could pass up an opportunity like this, I really want to talk to him about this because I was banking on Nick taking out GSP. It's a huge hit to everyone at Cesar Gracie, things are going to weird at the gym tomorrow....
But on a happier note Carlos is one of my top 5 favorite fighters and I am beyond happy that he's getting this oppertunity because not only does he deserve it, he understands how important it is. Carlos should take this one tho

 

[CapnKabuki]

That's what I'm saying! The guy has earned his shot at the belt, he damn well deserved it more than a fight with BJ Penn. Nothing against Penn, just Carlos is higher in the rankings than BJ.

And on the topic of your sig for a second, I know that it's Condit, Stann, and I'm assuming that's Cerrone? If so, I can honestly see all of them being champs. Your sig wins sir haha

 

[jmt225]

Okay, let's get this through first... Diaz is NOT "cracking under pressure" and is NOT scared of GSP.

The problem is, Diaz doesn't like doing the whole press ordeal, and he's never had to do this much of it months before the fight, so he skipped out and figured that the UFC would deal and nothing would come of it (I mean, let's face it... these press conferences aren't really going to sell any tickets). That's Nick Diaz. He's not going to interrupt his training to go to Toronto and Las Vegas to answer questions he doesn't want to answer in the first place. It's as simple as that.

However, Nick said he was willing to "play the game," and now he's simply proven that that's not true. Not wanting to do the pressers... okay, but come on, pick up your phone and call somebody. Make excuses. Don't just go AWOL on everybody when you're supposed to be making appearances for your company. Unless something really happened to him where he's in some sort of danger or stuck somewhere, there's no excuse for not picking up his phone for Dana or Cesar to get things settled.

I'm very, very disappointed about this.

And fuck Carlos Condit, by the way. He's always rubbed me the wrong way and I don't think he's deserving of this shot (he was going to get smashed by BJ Penn). He got VERY lucky here and now we're really going to see a jab/lay and pray fest.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

We all know that Nick isn't exactly the most media-friendly fighter, but as Dana said, this was a huge opportunity for Nick to make some major money, which is something he pretty much always complains about in interviews. In the leadup to the Daley fight, he was rambling on about "not getting paid". This was his chance. Not only would his fight purse have been huge, but he also would have made huge sponsorship money. On top of this, he would have had a real decent shot at beating GSP, and becoming the UFC Welterweight Champion, which would have led to even more paydays for him. He's a marketable guy for his demeanor alone, in addition to the fact that he's an exciting fighter.

In exchange for this, he would have had to take a day or two out of training and deal with the bullshit that all fighters have to deal with when it comes to promoting a fight.

All this being said though, if Nick really does have social anxiety and it truly is the major issue here, I hope he gets the help he needs. It would be a shame if that talent went to waste... and I liken it to Zack Greinke's issues he had. Greinke had crippling social anxiety and he went to hell and back to become one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. I hope Nick has a similar outcome from all of this and somehow gets another chance to fight for the UFC Welterweight title.

And fuck Carlos Condit, by the way. He's always rubbed me the wrong way and I don't think he's deserving of this shot (he was going to get smashed by BJ Penn). He got VERY lucky here and now we're really going to see a jab/lay and pray fest.

I love Condit. I became a huge fan after the McDonald fight. I think Condit was a win away from being "deserving" of a title shot, but regardless, I think he's going to truly threaten GSP here. He definitely has the ability to rattle GSP standing, and he's extremely dangerous off his back. Furthermore, Condit has terrific cardio and as seen in the McDonald fight, he has the ability to really turn it on if his back is against the wall.

 

[INDYjon22]

Very unprofessional behavior from Diaz. Naturally, as soon as I begin to like the guy he goes and does something silly like this. Oh well, it just proves that he isn't mature enough for the big times yet. And as for people saying that GSP vs. Condit is more interesting, no it really isn't. Nick Diaz was on the very short list of fighters that actually stand a chance of beating GSP. He has all of the tools needed to beat Pierre, whereas Condit is just a fancier version of Dan Hardy. He is basically a striker and that's it. I love Condit but in no way is his fight with GSP more interesting then what Diaz might have been able to accomplish. Oh well, I still have hope that Diaz will grow up and make a good run at the Welterweight title, but it'll have to wait for 2012 I guess.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

And as for people saying that GSP vs. Condit is more interesting, no it really isn't. Nick Diaz was on the very short list of fighters that actually stand a chance of beating GSP. He has all of the tools needed to beat Pierre, whereas Condit is just a fancier version of Dan Hardy. He is basically a striker and that's it.

That's a real unfair comparison to make. Dan Hardy has no real grappling ability whatsoever. Carlos Condit is definitely capable of sweeping GSP and truly threatening him off his back if and when GSP gets into top position.

Remember this pretty sweet sweep of Dong Hyun Kim? Don't forget that Kim's an elite Judo practitioner, and basically a Korean Jon Fitch.

He can threaten GSP off his back, and he can certainly knock him out. Furthermore, the Greg Jackson factor is going to be huge here. He will not be in either fighter's corner. This could have a huge mental effect on GSP come fight night.

 

[jmt225]

All this being said though, if Nick really does have social anxiety and it truly is the major issue here, I hope he gets the help he needs. It would be a shame if that talent went to waste... and I liken it to Zack Greinke's issues he had. Greinke had crippling social anxiety and he went to hell and back to become one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. I hope Nick has a similar outcome from all of this and somehow gets another chance to fight for the UFC Welterweight title.

It's funny you make this comparison because earlier I was thinking about how Diaz really reminds me of Ricky Williams. If you remember, Ricky, who was really into weed as well, HATED the media and pretty much walked away from the NFL to avoid it. And that was while he was in the absolute prime of his career, and also at a time when the entire Dolphins organization put all their chips on Williams to carry them. However, the man hated the spotlight, and simply wanted to stay home and smoke weed. And that's what Nick wants to do. He wants to train, smoke, watch movies, and fight. He doesn't want the fame or attention that comes with this sport... just the money and the adrenaline of fighting.

It's really a shame, but it's his life. And the fact is, his rebellion and "I don't give a fuck" attitude is what drove must of us to be hardcore fans of his in the first place. I'm not turning on him now. I still believe he's the best Welterweight in the World, and I still believe he can turn all of this around to benefit him.

I love Condit. I became a huge fan after the McDonald fight. I think Condit was a win away from being "deserving" of a title shot, but regardless, I think he's going to truly threaten GSP here. He definitely has the ability to rattle GSP standing, and he's extremely dangerous off his back. Furthermore, Condit has terrific cardio and as seen in the McDonald fight, he has the ability to really turn it on if his back is against the wall.

I was just mad in that post above. I don't hate Condit, but I don't like him either. Do I think he's a good fighter? Yes. Do I think he's an exciting fighter? Yes. However, that said... I'm just not a fan. There's just something about the guy.

And I really, really believe Condit was the perfect match-up for BJ Penn, which just adds to the disappointment of the whole GSP/Diaz getting scraped deal. Penn would have boxed Condit's ass up and put him away by the 2nd Round. I'm sure of it. But now, that won't happen. Condit gets a shot he doesn't deserve, and BJ's left without an opponent. Dana said who they're working to get him will "shock people," but I think he's full of shit. BJ will get stuck with either Fitch or Alves, and all my interest for this card will be flushed down the toilet.

 

[INDYjon22]

You're right. It was a poor comparison on my part. Condit is clearly the superior fighter, as evidenced in his fight with Hardy. The point I was trying to make was that Diaz is a far more interesting match up for GSP. Condit has a great striking and a solid all around game and will certainly be an interesting style match up for GSP, but his BJJ is nowhere near the level of a guy like Diaz which was what intrigued me the most about that fight. Diaz is very dangerous on the ground, especially off of his back and I was more intrigued to see how GSP would respond to that. Apologies for my terrible comparison, Condit is an interesting fight just not as interesting.

 

[Fizzy]

I don't care that the fights were changed. I don't care that Condit got a title shot nor do I care that BJ is fighting Nick instead of Condit. I'd order the PPV with the previous match-ups and i'm ordering it with the current match-ups. Their both fantastic fights and both will be entertaining so i'm not complaining.

First off, Fuck Nick Diaz for ruining this opportunity. The guy bitches and moans about not getting paid enough and he has a chance to receive an ENORMOUS pay day and a chance to be the UFC Welterweight champion by defeating one of the greatest fighters of all time and what does he do? Runs out of his managers house and shuts his phone off. I am fully aware of his social anxiety. I understand it's a terrible thing to deal with, but there is no excuse to not explain yourself. If he fucking called Dana a few days in advance, or even called him and explained the day of the press conference, I guarantee he would still be booked for the title shot. If you cannot deal with the media, you aren't ready to be a UFC champion. It's part of their job and something every champion must do. Hopefully he can overcome this, but if that's how he's going to act as champion, he isn't ready for a shot.

As for my picks for the fights, I have BJ by decision and GSP by TKO round 4.