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[trustkill]

Kindler, gentler Nick Diaz shows up happy to finally get long-awaited GSP match - MMA Fighting

It's a fight that has been long simmering in the mind of Nick Diaz. Go back to the summer of 2008, and there you can find the first public mention Diaz made of fighting Georges St-Pierre. At the time, Diaz was just two fights into his return to welterweight, and fighting in the short-lived EliteXC. There was not just a promotion separating them, but also a host of other, higher-ranked contenders. From Jon Fitch to Josh Koscheck, from Matt Hughes to Diego Sanchez, even Diaz's own teammate Jake Shields was above him in the divisional pecking order. The distance between the two was substantial.

But as time passed, he kept winning and winning, and before long, the long shot from Stockton began closing the distance, winning a championship, coming to the UFC, building his name as a draw and his reputation as a legitimate threat. Through it all, his blood kept boiling for a fight with St-Pierre. It was one he was finally supposed to get in 2012 before he skipped a press conference and was removed from the challenger slot, and then one he apparently lost for good after losing to Carlos Condit.

It was St-Pierre that flipped the script. He wanted Diaz, too, and a chance to shut him up.

On Wednesday, the two met face to face in Montreal, at a press conference at the Bell Centre to publicize their championship bout at UFC 158. And after all those years of waiting, after all that pent-up aggression, after success and disappointment and a yearlong ride on the emotional roller coaster, Diaz was …. Nice. Pleasant. Even personable.

The notoriously press averse fighter was on time. He was polite and well-spoken. He offered moments of self-reflection. He even said nice things about St-Pierre. If you were looking for animosity, there was nothing aside from the fact that champion and challenger didn't share a handshake after a photo face-off. If you were looking for symbolism, the only thing there was St-Pierre wearing white and Diaz wearing black.

Aside from that, Diaz was a man who appeared content and poised, and yes, even a little bit contrite, apologizing in his own way for the fact that the reason it's taken an extra year for the fight to materialize lies with his mistake.

"I didn't make it to the last press conference," he said. "It wasn’t very professional on my part, but I just was ready to fight. I was ready to go to the fight and fight. I thought that was the important part but I had to learn my lesson. So, there's a lesson learned from this, and now I'm ready to fight."

Diaz was far from the trash-talker we've seen in the past. In fact, even when he was given a chance to offer something he didn't like about his opponent, he declined to take the dangling bait.

"I like my opponent," he said. "That’s why I want to fight him. I don't mean to say it like that, but he’s the No. 1 guy to beat. That's what you want. I’ve been wanting his spot. He’s got the spot. He’s the guy to beat. "

That's it?

"I like him just fine," he said once, then again after being pressed.

Could it get any more surreal, any more genteel? Yes, it could. Just seconds later as Diaz recalled his history of "running his mouth" about St-Pierre, he came to something of a realization.

"I had no room to run my mouth and talk," he said. "I was promoting this fight. I got the fight I wanted. I can't complain now."

And then he said it again, "I like him just fine."

Who was this man, and what had he done with our Stockton slapper? Perhaps with two months to go until UFC 158, Diaz was simply more at ease than he is during fight week. Maybe he's just getting older and more mature. Maybe the time away from the sport has done him good. Or perhaps he was happy he's finally gotten what he's wanted all along. It could be a combination of all of those, or something else entirely. With Diaz, who knows?

St-Pierre took it all in stoically, never cracking a smile while repeating several times that his interest in fighting Diaz comes from his feeling that Diaz is the top contender, yes, even ahead of Johny Hendricks, who St-Pierre believes lost to Josh Koscheck in 2012.

While the champion would offer little in the way of his feelings for Diaz, he acknowledged that "there is a story between us," one that was ready to reach its final conclusion.

"I'm not a coward," St-Pierre said. "I never duck nobody. I never run away from nobody. Now is his chance. He deserves it. I'm willing to give it to him and I'm happy to give it to him."

But that's all St-Pierre will give him, he promises. Maybe that and a beating. The challenger, he says, will bring the best out of him.

But on Wednesday, it was the unpredictable Diaz who brought the first surprise. The newly refined version of MMA's rawest personality even said it was "fun to be here" in Montreal.

Verbose, candid and relaxed, Diaz seemed at home in the spotlight, in the same city, in the same arena where he'll get his long-awaited fight in less than two months. With that piece of mandatory business out of the way, Diaz returns home to continue camp and keep the MMA world waiting to see which version of him shows up to fight week.

"I didn't make it to the last press conference," he said. "It wasn’t very professional on my part, but I just was ready to fight. I was ready to go to the fight and fight. I thought that was the important part but I had to learn my lesson. So, there's a lesson learned from this, and now I'm ready to fight."

Was the real Nick Diaz abducted by space aliens and cloned?? Any UFO sightings over Stockton???

I'm struggling to come up with a witty expression to convey my disbelief over this quote. It sounds like our boy is turning over a new leaf--and no, I'm not talking about a leaf of that sticky icky icky.

[trustkill]

UFC 158's Nick Diaz made most of layoff but makes no promises past next fight | News

After sitting out what will be 13 months, the usually busy Nick Diaz made the most of his layoff and healed up some nagging injuries.

But even with an upcoming title shot, Diaz, who had actually announced his retirement at one point during his layoff, isn't making any promises past his next fight.

During a press conference to kick off March's UFC 158 event, Diaz said he's simply "taking it one fight at a time" after his championship headliner with welterweight titleholder Georges St-Pierre.

Diaz discussed the fight today at Montreal's Bell Centre, which also hosts the pay-per-view event on March 16.

St-Pierre (23-2 MMA, 17-2 UFC) and Diaz (26-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) were slated to fight before at UFC 137, but Diaz skipped two pre-event press conferences and ultimately was pulled from the card. Diaz, who admitted today "it wasn't very professional on my part," instead lost an interim title fight to Carlos Condit at UFC 143, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission issued him a yearlong suspension after he failed a post-fight drug test due to marijuana metabolites.

But Diaz, who said he's used to a busy fight schedule, said he made the most of the time off and healed up.

"I don't feel I've ever been able to make it to 100 percent leading up to a fight," he said. "All of these fights I've had in the last couple years have all been pretty back to back. I don't feel like I've ever been 100 percent and healed up before I started my next training (camp) for the next fight. ... It's nice to kind of heal up for a while and take a step back and see what's what."

But admittedly, he was surprised he got the title fight at all. After the close loss to Condit, Diaz suggested he was going to quit fighting, and his subsequent drug suspension only compounded his problems. However, he said he reconsidered the retirement when St-Pierre actually campaigned for the fight and put a potential matchup with Johny Hendricks on the back burner.

"I didn't think I'd be getting this fight," Diaz said. "I figured they'd probably stick me with some hard fights for a while and I'd have to work my way back to the fights I want and the things I want. They way I looked at it, I needed some time to see things out. … But I'm a fighter, and you if you give me the right fight, I'm going to be fighting."

Still, he's not necessarily ruling out the possibility of retiring after the UFC 158 fight. He said he's not looking too far into the future.

"I'm just taking it one fight at a time," he said.

"I didn't think I'd be getting this fight," Diaz said. "I figured they'd probably stick me with some hard fights for a while and I'd have to work my way back to the fights I want and the things I want. They way I looked at it, I needed some time to see things out. … But I'm a fighter, and you if you give me the right fight, I'm going to be fighting."

I've never heard Nick express himself so clearly. He seems significantly more in touch with reality. Amazing.

If I see Nick in a singlet, attending practice with a high school or college wrestling team, I'll know that the end of days is near.

[MickeyKnox]

What the Hell???

[The Donosaur]

I don't like the title. Can you really say "finally" if you didn't earn it? When am I finally gonna promoted to the CEO of the company I work for? When am I finally gonna lose 100 pounds?

[HillbillyDeluxe]

Hell Has Frozen Over.

I'm all for mellow but this shit is ridiculous... switch back to mids Nick!

[mmawolverine]

im sensing low testosterone levels, is it just mind games to defuse gsp

[rob_bills]

Wow haha this is strange. I'm calling it now, Diaz also totally switches fight style into a capoera/wrestling hybrid, and fucks GSP's life. haha

[nbm02ss]

Must have found a new anxiety medication since weed is banned.

[Cat--Smasher]

UFC 158: Dana White might 'jump off a bridge' if Nick Diaz fails for marijuana following upset win over Georges St. Pierre

UFC 158: Dana White might 'jump off a bridge' if Nick Diaz fails for marijuana following upset win over Georges St. Pierre - MMAmania.com

From his conversation at Tuesday's UFC 158 pre-fight press conference in Montreal:


"Listen, I'm not his father. I mean, it would be crazy (if he tested positive again) but, it's like when I talk to the media and stuff sometimes they're like, ‘What are you going to do about steroids? Or what are you going to do about this, what are you going to do about that?' I got 475 guys under contract that live all over the world, I'm not your father. We're regulated by the government, the government comes in and regulates us. If you do steroids, if you smoke weed, if you do any other banned substances you're going to get caught, you're going to get fined and you're going to lose the ability to make a living for a year. I mean, I don't know what else to say."

But what would White do if Diaz tests positive again? Especially in a situation where he defeats St. Pierre? The UFC President is unsure what his course of action would be; all he knows is that it wouldn't be fun to deal with.

"It would be (expletive) brutal," he said. "I don't know what we would do. I would want to jump off a bridge."

[CapCee]

Originally Posted by HillbillyDeluxe

Hell Has Frozen Over.

I'm all for mellow but this shit is ridiculous... switch back to mids Nick!

Suggesting that anyone should smoke mids is an insult. Do they even have mid-grade weed in Cali?