You're kidding me, right? Part 1 - Nick Diaz

Yeah, yeah, I know. I promised this article a long time ago under a different title, but Blistered Thumbs has kept me busy. So, I simply wanted to present a condensed version of my thoughts on Nick Diaz as of late, and what has me so frustrated about this guy. Trust me, there's plenty to keep me frustrated, that's for damn sure.

The first thing I wanted to discuss was his inability to keep his story straight. We've all heard Nick Diaz's claims, and they're pretty funny. "I won the fight against Sean Sherk!" No, you didn't, but you're adorable. "GSP isn't down to fight me." That's not the case either, but you're a funny guy, you know that? A lot of these claims are very entertaining, to the point where I question how Ariel Helwani can keep a straight face when he interviews this guy. What puts the dunce cap on Diaz's head here is his consistent calling out of UFC fighters, and he signs a multi-year deal with Strikeforce. So, you'd figure he'd stop with the call outs, right? Wrong. First thing he does in the conference call for the Cyborg fight is talk about GSP.

Second thing that needs to be discussed has a bit more to do with the call-outs, but mostly because someone finally caught him in the lie. We all know about Mayhem getting jumped, the Don't Be Scared Homie website, and so forth, so let me just get down to the significance. On October 9th of 2010, Nick was quoted as saying that he'd fight at 185, and just wants someone to step up and fight him. So, with a smile and a laugh, in walks Mayhem Miller, and the fight makes a lot of sense. Neither has beaten the best in the world, but they're both experienced fighters that are fun to watch. Not to mention the fact that they'd more than likely nullify each other on the ground, so they'd end up trying to murder each other in the cage. But, no. Instead, we saw Nick Diaz exposed for who he really is: someone who gets to pick and choose his fights.

This brings me to issue number three: being a paper champion. Fact of the matter is that Nick's belt literally means nothing in terms of value. Granted, this is partially the fault of the promotion, but Nick willingly ducked a fight with Jay Hieron, and was later given a much easier fight in the one dimensional Marius Zaromskis (and anyone who says different is wrong). Then, he faced down a bloated lightweight in K.J. Noons, and had a good fight. However, the fact of the matter is that he couldn't put away an unranked lightweight. After that bout, Nick played a little more Duck Hunt and took a fight with Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, who isn't much more than a career journeyman. Despite the thunderous claims of "FUN FIGHT OMG ROFL" from people, the fight was pointless. It's like watching the Titanic film. The boat's gonna sink. Part of what gives belts their worth is the quality of people challenging for them, and right now I think that a WAMMA belt holds more value. At least Aoki beat someone credible for his.

In conclusion, I think that homie is a scared fraud. Nick Diaz hasn't beaten anyone of note since 2007, which was a win over a bloated lightweight in Takanori Gomi. He doesn't want to fight Jason Miller or Jay Hieron, but he'll call out people from other promotions (who would absolutely crush him) all damn day. Yes, Nick Diaz is a fun fighter. Here's the thing: So is Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, Thiago Alves, Thiago Silva, Rampage Jackson, etc.

Nick Diaz isn't worth defending until he does something worth defending.

How can a guy who makes six figures plus a year be driving a Honda?

-Micah C