The Cult of Nick Diaz

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Sometimes you miss something without even consciously knowing it was gone. It's a nagging feeling, one that tickles the back of your brain. You sense something isn't right but can't always put your finger on exactly what's been absent from your life, what's made your dark, endless, dreary existence just a smidgen worse than it's always been.
Don't worry, though. If you're a mixed martial arts fan I've pinpointed it for you. What's been missing is an edge. For such a controversial sport, it seems, MMA is awfully staid and traditional. Fighters hug it out, compliment each other for their performance and offer endless platitudes about the "grind" and the value of hard work.
Frankly it can be boring as hell.
MMA needs a spark. It needs its Chael Sonnens, inexplicably confident and voluble in the face of stark reality. It needs its Jon Jones, flashy, cocky and inexpressibly amazing.
And it needs a dose of punk rock, a dangerous vibe that reminds us that this all started with Helio Gracie street fights and Jeremy Horn choking some dude in a warehouse in front of 17 violence-mad lunatics.
This sport needs Nick Diaz.



It's Diaz we've been missing, a presence unlike any other in all of combat sports. It's what you've yearned for, that absence made so stark by his sudden reappearance on the scene, yelling at Johny Hendricks during the UFC 171 weigh-ins, soaking in the adoration of the crowd, bringing the kind of swag the UFC media room hasn't seen since the height of Ryan Loco's run.
There's no denying it whether you love him or love to pretend you hate him. Nick Diaz is a dose of fun all too often missing in a sport so desperate to be more than it is, keen on pretending it's more than just people letting it all go in a steel cage, civilization and brain cells be damned.
It's been over a year since we last saw UFC bad boy Nick Diaz grace the Octagon with his unique brand of all-encompassing violence. That's 12 months with no imminent brawls, 12 months without press conference drama and, most importantly, 12 months without the swarming, volume punching he's made his trademark.
Yet while Diaz was missing he was never truly gone. He's built a cult following unlike any we've seen in mixed martial arts history, and they never let him fall into obscurity. While Nick himself seemed content just living on that big Georges St-Pierre payday, his fans never stopped advocating. 
Made in his image, his complete and utter lack of self-awareness rubbing off on them like an Internet-only virus, they seem to have no idea where he truly stands in the sport. Reading conversations online, especially on Twitter, it would never occur to you that Diaz actually lost his last two fights, that he hasn't beaten anyone of significance since 2011.
It doesn't seemingly occur to him. Here he is telling Fox Sports that he should be plucked down straight into the title picture. His argument, broken down to its most basic message, is that he's Nick Diaz. What else matters?
 
"I don't have to take a warm-up fight," he said. "Why would I take a warm-up fight? To help somebody out? To bring them to my level? I've already been through all that and you still didn't see me take an ass whipping. I don't care, I'm talking about a title fight matchup. Bottom line, I'm the only draw here. Bottom line."
 
Were this sport, and not glorious spectacle, we'd be talking about Diaz fighting Jake Ellenberger or another mid-tier welterweight. Diaz and his fans, results be damned, don't see him in that echelon. They live in a world of Anderson Silva superfights and immediate title shots, a world where Carlos Condit and GSP were too scared to fight the mighty Nick and where no one who steps in like a man has any real shot at victory.
 
 

It's a madness that spreads easily. Even I'm not immune. Such is the pure force of their ardor—you can sink under their spell if you just relax and let the insanity flow all around you.
Maybe Condit did run? Maybe St-Pierre's refusal to stand and trade does mask a coward's soul? Maybe Diaz does deserve a title shot? 

 
At the very least it would be fun. Remember fun? Chuck Liddell's gonzo celebrations, B.J. Penn gorging on his opponent's blood and the smarmy smirk that made Tito Ortiz so utterly punchable? Diaz has that, the "it" factor that helps you forget that he's never proven himself to be a top-level UFC fighter, that his success has been mostly illusory, that he talks a better game than he fights.
Suddenly, none of that matters. Because, at its heart, MMA isn't about finding the best fighter in the world. It's about finding the best stories, about a fearsome and unthinkably grueling contest between two athletes we care about.
 
People care about Nick Diaz in a way they'll never care about Tyron Woodley or Hector Lombard. With all due respect to those gentleman that can only mean one thing—bring on the title shot. Bring on Hendricks. Don't be scared, homie.

 
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1995773-the-cult-of-nick-diaz-why-some-fans-are-obsessed-with-the-ufc-star#articles/1995773-the-cult-of-nick-diaz-why-some-fans-are-obsessed-with-the-ufc-star

This just really made me laugh. The author makes great points, and he's not wrong on two things.
1) Diaz doesn't deserve a title shot.
2) Diaz is probably going to get a title shot.
 
 
Get ready folks! Diaz is coming back, getting a title shot, and there's nothing you can do about it!!!
 
 

i agree that the sport needs nick diaz. because he is a personality one cannot forget. he makes it interesting, he makes it exciting. while he talks a lot of shit, he is not a meathead that has an anger problem. same with sonnen, mean and funny in his trash talk but in control of his temper.
i have an issue with a lot of the fighters that seem to have come straight from the psychologists couch and the referee is the only one keeping them from seriously damaging the opponent.
that aside, yes, we need more personalities. sometimes, i look at the cards line-up and think "who the fuck are these people", and even after i watch all the fights, nothing sticks. they all look, behave and fight the same.
good old pride days...even the cans were memorable.

Even if that happened.

1. I don't think diaz can beat hendrixs.

2. Even nick did get the next shot and won he would lose it to Woodley.

3. It doesn't matter which one wins I think Woodley is going to be the champ that stays and defends his title more than once.

The article is a flying pile of smelly BS....

But that aside I'd like to see Diaz v Hendricks. I think Nick would have a decent shot. My thoughts on Hendricks are that he doesn't like getting hit much, doesn't like getting hit hard, doesn't like taking damage. I think Diaz would whack Hendricks around for five rounds, turn his face to burger and pull out a win.

Having said all that I think Nick is close to the end of his career, too many punches, makes decisions through his heart/mouth in and out of the ring. The big plus is that Dana knows he can make some big money off a couple more Diaz fights.... now its just a matter of putting them together.

Gecko wrote:

Even if that happened.

1. I don't think diaz can beat hendrixs.

2. Even nick did get the next shot and won he would lose it to Woodley.

3. It doesn't matter which one wins I think Woodley is going to be the champ that stays and defends his title more than once.

But see, that's the point.

It doesn't matter how many times he loses or how ineffective he is against certain styles; people just want to see him fight.

So let's say he beats Hendricks in the fashion that Krieger described above and wins the title, then loses to Woodley by dominant UD while taunting him and giving him the finger and open-hand slapping him throughout the fight. Then let's say someone like Rory MacDonald comes in and beats Woodley. You could just about guarantee that if Nick resurfaced again and started calling out MacDonald and doing his crazy-ass interviews and showing up at fights to taunt him that he would end up getting a shot at him.

I honestly believe that while he does understand the power of talking himself into a big fight like Chael Sonnen does, the similarities end there. People like Chael know exactly what they're doing when they get on a mic or on twitter and sell themselves to the public. Diaz is just fucking crazy, and the shit he says is as genuine as it is entertaining. I think that's exactly why he's had so much staying power while really having little to no success in premiere fights. That, and his fighting style of taking ridiculous amounts of damage and throwing a billion punches without gassing. That's always fun, too.

Love him or hate him, I think the sport needs Nick right now...

Yeah .... Diaz is like an enema ..... Sometime you really need it .... but fuck its ugly!

That's what happens when you load up on Oatmeal- you desperately need an Enema.

haha great response