Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons Welterweight Title Bout Being Targeted for October 9 Strikeforce Event

 (I think the message was quite clear. I specifically told Nick NOT to be scared.)
It looks like Strikeforce has missed the marketing train once again as the promotion has passed on a self-selling grudge match between Jason "Mayhem Miller&quo…

 
(I think the message was quite clear. I specifically told Nick NOT to be scared.)

It looks like Strikeforce has missed the marketing train once again as the promotion has passed on a self-selling grudge match between Jason "Mayhem Miller" and Nick Diaz and will instead once again pair the latter up with KJ Noons in a rematch of their 2007 EliteXC title bout. In that fight, Noons emerged victorious due to doctor stoppage resulting from a cut sustained by Diaz. More memorable than their bout was the in-cage melee between Team Cesar Gracie and Noons’ father a year later after Noons’ fight with Yves Edwards in Hawaii during which Nick’s immortal "Don’t be scared, homie," line was born. EliteXC brass orchestrated a rematch-hyping staredown between KJ and Nick, but as we have learned, whenever a Diaz is involved, anything can, and usually will happen.

This time around Diaz’s welterweight strap will be up for grabs, which makes perfect sense according to Strikeforce calculus. Anywhere else Noons may have to…I don’t know…win a fight at 170 perhaps before getting a shot for the belt. But this is Strikeforce, where logic is overrated and matchmaking is easy if you have a magic eight ball.

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Why Nick Diaz vs. ‘Mayhem’ Miller Is Fight Strikeforce Needs Now

Filed under: StrikeforceLet’s start with what we know: 1) Jason “Mayhem” Miller really wants to fight Nick Diaz, so much so that he went to the trouble of having a special t-shirt made for the occasion. 2) Both men were central participants in a well-p…

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Let’s start with what we know: 1) Jason “Mayhem” Miller really wants to fight Nick Diaz, so much so that he went to the trouble of having a special t-shirt made for the occasion. 2) Both men were central participants in a well-publicized post-fight brawl on CBS back in April. 3) Diaz will be fighting someone in a Strikeforce event on October 9. 4) Miller’s calendar is clear right about then.

If you’re like me, you did the math on all that and arrived at one answer: “Mayhem” Miller and Nick Diaz should fight each other at Strikeforce’s October 9 event. Case closed, right?

Not so fast, apparently. Here it is late August and Miller insists he’s not been offered a fight with Diaz, nor does he expect that Diaz will agree to fight him at all, despite Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker’s previous assurances that the fight would happen within “eight months to a year.”

If You Don’t Mind, ‘Mayhem’ Miller Has Some Opinions About Nick Diaz He’d Like to Shout at You

(You taking notes, Tapout? Now *that’s* how you make an MMA T-shirt. VidProps: YouTube/Helwani)
At this point, it would basically constitute an act of grievous, unforgivable promotional negligence if Strikeforce fails to put Jason “Mayhem…

(You taking notes, Tapout? Now *that’s* how you make an MMA T-shirt. VidProps: YouTube/Helwani)

At this point, it would basically constitute an act of grievous, unforgivable promotional negligence if Strikeforce fails to put Jason “Mayhem” Miller in the cage with Nick Diaz this October. When two of your most popular and similarly-sized fighters have a real life beef that comes preloaded with hype from a giant, in-ring brawl your company already aired on national television, it doesn’t exactly take P.T. Fuckin’ Barnum to figure out what to do. Unfortunately, since grievous, unforgivable promotional negligence is what Strikeforce does best these days, this fight will probably never happen.

And you know who’s going to be really pissed about that? I mean, besides us? Mayhem Miller, that’s who. As evidenced by the above video with Ariel Helwani the very topic of Diaz makes Miller totally incapable of using his “inside voice.”

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‘Mayhem’ Miller Insists Nick Diaz Is Scared to Fight Him

Filed under: MMA Videos, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosMMA Fighting caught up with the always outspoken Jason “Mayhem” Miller backstage at Strikeforce: Houston.

The star of MTV’s Bully Beatdown was fired up as he was campaigning for a fight a…

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MMA Fighting caught up with the always outspoken Jason “Mayhem” Miller backstage at Strikeforce: Houston.

The star of MTV’s Bully Beatdown was fired up as he was campaigning for a fight against Nick Diaz in order to settle their long-standing score. Of course, Miller and Diaz were central figures in the post-fight brawl that took place following Strikeforce: Nashville in April.

Miller talked about how everyone except Diaz wants to fight him and why his next fight may be in Japan.

Check out the video below.

MMA Top 10 Welterweights: Jon Fitch Stuck at No. 2

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, WelterweightsIf there was any doubt that Jon Fitch is the second-best welterweight in the world, he erased that doubt on Saturday night. By thoroughly dominating Thiago Alves at UFC 117, Fitch firmly established…

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If there was any doubt that Jon Fitch is the second-best welterweight in the world, he erased that doubt on Saturday night. By thoroughly dominating Thiago Alves at UFC 117, Fitch firmly established himself as MMA’s best welterweight not named Georges St. Pierre.

Unfortunately for Fitch, he was beaten so badly by St. Pierre in their previous fight that there aren’t a lot of fans clamoring for a rematch. And if St. Pierre loses to Josh Koscheck in December, it’s an open question whether Fitch will even accept a title fight if it’s offered to him, since he and Koscheck are friends and training partners.

And so while UFC President Dana White has said Fitch earned the No. 1 contender position with his victory, I’m not so sure that Fitch’s next fight will be for the title. I think it’s more likely that we’re going to see Fitch put into the Octagon with someone else (maybe the Jake Shields-Martin Kampman winner) as he continues his role as the welterweight division’s permanent gatekeeper. Fitch is a great fighter, but I view him less as a No. 1 contender than as a guy who’s stuck at No. 2.

Find out how I rank the rest of the welterweight division below.

Nick Diaz Says Bike Riding in the 209 Ain’t for Bitches

(Video courtesy YouTube/Drinkthewine)
I was pretty disappointed yesterday when this video was pulled down before I could post it as a companion to Nick Diaz’s rant about Jason "Mayhem" Miller, but thankfully someone had the presence of mind…

(Video courtesy YouTube/Drinkthewine)

I was pretty disappointed yesterday when this video was pulled down before I could post it as a companion to Nick Diaz’s rant about Jason "Mayhem" Miller, but thankfully someone had the presence of mind to save a copy to their computer and re-upload it or we wouldn’t have this little gem to watch today.

In  the clip shot by Diaz while on a toke break during a biking excursion with his buddies and brother Nate, Nick recalls a story from a few years ago when he got into a fight with two burly brothers who took issue with him blocking traffic with his bike.

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