Sunday, October 30, 2011

Nick Diaz Retires Penn, Gets St. Pierre on super Bowl Weekend as Reward

Nick Diaz put on a show at UFC 137. BJ Penn, a former two division champ, a man who fought Lyoto Machida at light heavyweight, beat Matt Hughes twice, pretty much done everything that can be done in MMA, was reduced to an unwilling sparring partner and chose retirement than continue. Nick Diaz used his superior MMA boxing and adept groundwork to batter and dominate Penn. Then he called out Georges St. Pierre, hinting the champ faked an injury, and was rewarded with a title shot on Super Bowl weekend.
Tallk has begun whether Diaz deserves the shot, whether he can even challenge St. Pierre. While St. Pierre has and will be a very dominant champion, to dismiss the skills that Nick Diaz brings into the Octagon is ignorant. To dismiss the run Nick Diaz is on over his last eight fights is even more so. Diaz is completely adept on the ground or feet. He has shown the ability not to stuff takedowns, but to take enough out of his opponents to make their takedown attempts less effective as the fight wears on. His volume boxing style has not been solved by anyone yet. While he may not hit the hardest, ask BJ Penn if ten of those shots in a row take something of you. Ask BJ Penn how easy it is to hold Nick Diaz down or how easy a takedown is against Diaz midway through round two. Do I expect Diaz to roll through St. Pierre? Of course not, but neither vice versa. this fight is one I've waited for a long time. I'm a huge Nick Diaz fan and see this fight extremely competitive. Anyone who thinks Nick Diaz stands no chance is ridiculous. Anyone can win in MMA at anytime. Someone with Nick Diaz skill and talent can win against anyone, anytime. At the very least we will see Georges St. Pierre tested.

No comments: