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[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

Just curious, but why does it seem that it's always "Diaz's Camp is interested in..." as opposed to most other fighters, where they just say who they want to fight or the ZUFFA machine just confirming a matchup after Joe Silva and company have made the fight....?

I know there's similar stuff from Anderson, but I just don't think Nick is in the same position to really pick and choose his opponents. I think the Kos gets the decision after fifteen minutes of taking Diaz down and grinding.

[travtera]

Until Nick faces off against an elite wrestler, I think it's fair to question his TDD and it'll be up to him to prove us wrong. We really haven't seen him tested in the last couple of years and the UFC welterweight division is stocked with solid wrestlers so it's going to happen sooner or later. His success against BJ is hardly a convincing argument. Yeah, BJ gave Fitch some troubles early on but as Fitch admitted, he trained absolutely no defensive wrestling in that camp and was caught off guard with BJ's gameplan. Of course Fitch adjusted and in the third round he pounded BJ's face in.

The Kos match up is interesting. The smack talk leading up to and during that fight would be something else. Kos looks to have lost some of his explosiveness and has looked a bit pedestrian in his last couple of performances. Kos in his prime might have been able to keep Nick down but I just don't see the current Kos able to. Nick is very effective and dangerous in the scramble, I think he'll be able to to get back up to his feet and force Kos to play his game. It's a good match. I was kind of hoping for Thiago Alves vs. Nick Diaz, personally.

[disposableassassin]

Who has really threatened nick with elite level wrestling since he left the UFC? The welterweight division has some of the best wrestlers in the sport right in the top of the division. Not to mention decent wrestlers filling up the mid tier as well. Now obviously nick has worked extensively on two key points in his game in the years since his UFC release. His boxing is ridiculous and he has that unique Diaz style of mental attack in the cage as well. Where he can get some opponents riled up and make them throw their gameplay s out the window. However he hasn't really had a lot of fights against threatening wrestlers since his cut. So my theory is that he has done some work on TDD I doubt he has done enough to develop elite level TDD. Like what he would need to beat GSP. So without the need to train TDD for upcoming bouts he likely focused on sharpening his already elite level skills.

[Kimbo> Rampage]

Not a good fight for Nick... He would lose a UD imo....

Kos has some of the best wrestling in all of MMA... He is the only guy to take GSP down, and he did it in both fights... Nick's TDD is questionable...

The UFC should give Nick someone like Kampman(should he lose) or Alvez... If they put him against a high level wrestler like Kos, Fitch, Hendricks, Ellenburger, etc I dont see him doing too well.

Have Hendricks fight GSP once he wins his fight, and have Diaz get the next shot, should he get past whoever he fights.

[kalebarker]

Originally Posted by dbader08

People act like Nick's wrestling is going to be just as bad as it was 7 years ago, even though he EASILY fended off all of Penn's Td's in their fight (except for the one he went for a reversal on), whereas Jon Fitch couldn't even do that for the first 2 rounds of their fight. Jake Shields, Gilbert Melendez...these are some very good guys to train with when it comes to fighting a wrestler and I have faith in Nick and the Gracie camp in general

Originally Posted by dbader08

Anyone remember when George Bush was president? Or when Josh Koscheck got subbed by Drew Fickett?

You can't make the argument of Nick's improved TDD over the last seven years and then use the Fickett submission as an argument as well. Diaz wrestling has obviously improved a lot over the last seven years training with Shields but so has Koscheck's submission defense training at AKA.

Edit: If I remember correctly Koscheck was rocked pretty badly before he was subbed out.

[Cat--Smasher]

Cesar Gracie: “I think Nick probably will face Josh Koscheck in his return to the Octagon.” : Five Ounces of Pain

[dbader08]

Originally Posted by kalebarker

You can't make the argument of Nick's improved TDD over the last seven years and then use the Fickett submission as an argument as well. Diaz wrestling has obviously improved a lot over the last seven years training with Shields but so has Koscheck's submission defense training at AKA.

Edit: If I remember correctly Koscheck was rocked pretty badly before he was subbed out.

I know that man. That is why I used comparison, was because somebody else was referring to Nick's losses from a long while back.

I will say I am alot more confident in Diaz having 5 rounds to work in this fight than 3. Hopefully they make a 5 rounder happen.

[MickeyKnox]

I agree that this should be a five rounder and I think this is going to be a really good fight. It will show us how Nick handles an elite wrestler after all these years. I actually want to see him in more fights than I'd like to see Kos in so I will be hoping he finds a way to win (shocker). If Kos decides to stand with Nick though, it could be fireworks with a lot of taunting from both sides. I would like to see Nick use his BJJ and see if he can do anything to Kos off of his back. It'd be great if he tapped him.

No, this is not me cheering for Nick Diaz. It's just me wanting to see Nick in better fights.

[Goremire]

One thing Nick hasnt really shown is one touch lights out power. He has shown that if you hit him hard enough he drops (although statistically I think that actually increases his opponents chances of losing the fight!)

I say this because recently Kos has not fought like a mixed martial artist. He's fought like a brawler who uses wrestling when he feels like it. Diaz's lack of concussive punching power may give Kos the confidence in his own chin to strike with him, as he may think that all he needs to do is land The Big Right Hand to win the fight.

If the Kos who fought Lytle and Daley shows up this is an eminently winnable fight for him. If the open-left-hand-flailing, over-hand-right-spamming Kos shows up Diaz will merk him.

[kalebarker]

Originally Posted by dbader08

I know that man. That is why I used comparison, was because somebody else was referring to Nick's losses from a long while back.

I will say I am alot more confident in Diaz having 5 rounds to work in this fight than 3. Hopefully they make a 5 rounder happen.

Fair enough.

I definitely agree with 5 rounds being an advantage for Nick. The long he has to catch him with a sub the better.