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Sam Caplan: Strikeforce booking Shamrock vs. Diaz for 4/11 San Jose event
By Zach Arnold | February 10, 2009
Marketing-wise, Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz will be an excellent fight. Two major charismatic trash-talkers who are incredibly exciting to watch. This will not be a hard fight to market.
Credibility-wise, is Diaz going to fight at 185 pounds? He had issues making 160 pounds in Elite XC, and he usually fights at 170 pounds… likely, Frank will have a good weight advantage going into the fight. Diaz has the better cardio, but Frank is a much harder puncher.
This is a smart fight to book, but it does provide easy fodder for UFC-backers to point out that if Zuffa had booked a fight like this that people would be giving the company a lot of grief — and they’re right. As for selling tickets, both are local fighters in the Bay Area so it should definitely attract local and regional media coverage.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 48 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
This will have to be a catch-weight fight. I can’t see Diaz getting to 185lbs, or Shamrock getting down to 170lbs. What would be a reasonable catch-weight? 175? 180? 178?
I don’t really like this fight. They’d be better off doing a Shamrock-Baroni, or Diaz-Noons re-match, as opposed to Shamrock-Diaz.
This is exactly the problem I had with EliteXC. They put on the “marketable” fights, instead of building up the fighters the proper way and having good fights between same sized athletes. This type of “quick fix” booking doesn’t do the sport justice.
I can let it slide for Strikeforce’s first event, because of the time constraints. If this becomes a trend, that is not a good thing.
Well, if Strikeforce basically says we’re #2 permanently, then I don’t see why it’s a bad fight to book. The question becomes whether or not everyone, once momentum picks up, starts believing that they are better than UFC (of which they are not). Jake Shields not being signed yet is a curious news item, and I think it would be a mistake for him to jump into the UFC waters. He isn’t beating St. Pierre and would likely lose to at least 3 or 4 guys in that weight class. He should sign up with Coker and be a big fish in a small pond while fighting locally.
BTW, check your e-mails if you get a chance. Thanks.
I was thinking about subscribing to showtime just to be able to watch Strikforce, but none of the moves they made already have impressed me. I don’t care to see women fighting, I don’t ever want to see Kimbo fight again, and they don’t have enough top stars or intriguing matches to make me want to spend even more money on my cable bill.
I enjoy watching Cung Le and Josh Thompson, but I hear Cung wants to concentrate on movies and the punk alone isn’t enough for me to lay down an extra 10$.
A few interesting tidbits I’ve seen around:
1. Renato Babalu vs. Rafael Cavalcante is being rumored for the upcoming show.
2. Cyborg, according to Sherdog, signed an exclusive contract with Strikeforce. If Strikeforce makes their fighters sign exclusive deals (and I agree with that tactic), it should make things interesting. Guys like Monte Cox have been trying to sign his guys to non exclusive deals. With the two biggest organizations in American forcing exclusiveness, it forces a fighter to either stay with one company, or head over to Japan.
3. Scott Coker said that he doesn’t plan on hiring 100 new employees. He plans on hiring a few new key employees here and there. The way he made it sound, I got the feeling he is really underestimating the amount of work it takes to be a national promotion.
4. Bob Sapp vs. Kimbo Slice is being rumored for their second show in Seattle.
Why would people give Zuffa grief if they booked this? It’s not having one champ demolish another champ, and it’s not gratuitous. It’s one of the big fights they can put on and I’m excited to see it.
There’s nothing at the moment in Japan, hence why this can happen.
Not if a lot of their spot shows are taking place at casinos, which means more than likely a sold show format (i.e. guarantee fee plus or minus a % of the gate). Sold shows don’t require much overhead or work for a promoter, as you’re just selling a show. Throw on top of that the idea of Showtime or CBS giving a rights fee and it makes some financial sense.
“This is exactly the problem I had with EliteXC. They put on the “marketable” fights, instead of building up the fighters the proper way and having good fights between same sized athletes. This type of “quick fix” booking doesn’t do the sport justice.
I can let it slide for Strikeforce’s first event, because of the time constraints. If this becomes a trend, that is not a good thing.”
1. Lesnar vs. Couture and Mir vs. Nogueira were both 100% pure ‘marketable’ fights, and neither should have realistically happened (if we’re holding Zuffa to the biblical standards that Huddle 45 does).
2. There is a difference between Ultimate Fighting and MMA.
MMA USED to be, in my opinion, about discovering the difference between size vs. technique, style vs. style, in an open-rule format.
Ultimate Fighting is about guys at the exact same weight with the exact same training, fighting under restrictive rules.
That’s fine, and that’s what UFC has promoted and popularized. It what we all know and love, and there’s nothing wrong with it.
HOWEVER – don’t give us a sanctimonious post about how Strikeforce is doing a disservice to our beloved sport by booking a fight that doesn’t fall exactly within the Zuffa guidelines of what a fight should and should not be.
Yes, Strikeforce is doing something different than the UFC would *GASP*! And I don`t think we`ll have to wait long before Mr. White shows up somewhere on the Internets with an obscenity-laced tirade, explaining how these f/$%ing idiots are embarrassing the sport and should be out of business.
If that`s how you think, that`s how you think.
But ladies, before you get the vapors and pass out in your petticoats, remember that competition is a good thing. Trying something different is a good thing. And if Shamrock vs. Diaz is the type of radical booking that you think is damaging MMA, then I would argue you don`t really know what MMA is.
I love Nick Diaz, my favorite fighter and has been for years, but this is not a good fight for him to take. I understand why this fight is happening, but at the same time Nick has proven that he can’t hang at 170, but has problems making 155 most of the time. Regardless, he belongs at 155. Frank is a guy that cuts to get to 185 and can easily make 205.
This is such a mismatch.
“This will have to be a catch-weight fight.”
Why?
Anything between 171 and 186 qualifies as MW. I am sure Diaz can get himself into that range.
“Nick has proven that he can’t hang at 170”
Wat?
I don’t recall Nick ever getting embarrassed at 170. I recall him coming out on the short end of a bunch of razor thin decisions. Nick was able to hang at 170 just fine.
The only problem he has at 170 was in getting put on his back for 15 minutes and losing via Octagon control and aggression. Given Frank’s recent penchant for standing and banging, I don’t see that being a problem in this fight.
—
“2. There is a difference between Ultimate Fighting and MMA.”
Wow.
This is as retarded a rant as I have ever seen. I don’t like the pro-UFC marks any more than the next guy, but you have just gone off the deep end in the opposite direction.
Those marketable fights showed that Joe Silva knows what he is doing and puts together even match-ups between fights of the same weight class.
I don’t know what MMA is? That is laughable. The “MMA” you are describing is no longer. That is freakshow stuff that gets an audiences attention for a short time period and then they move onto something else. Even Japan has adapted to more weight classes, just like in North America. That’s what MMA is today. If you want to view a bunch of size mismatches, go watch some old Pride tapes.
There is a reason why Zuffa has built up their organization as a SPORT, and why it is so successful.
And last time I checked, Couture/Lesnar was a 50/50 fight between two guys of the same weight class, with Couture being Top 10, and Lesnar being borderline Top 10 due to his win over Herring. That’s a legit fight.
What Strikeforce is doing with Shamrock/Diaz is putting together a fight between two guys who recently have fought 2 weight classes apart. That is a freakshow fight. So is Bob Sapp vs. Kimbo Slice.
I want to see the sport of it. Will entertainment aspects get involved at some levels? Absolutely, and I am fine with that. But what EliteXC did was putting the freakshows ahead of the champions. And right now, Strikeforce seems to be doing the same thing.
That is not good for the sport.
45Huddle Says:
“Scott Coker said that he doesn’t plan on hiring 100 new employees. He plans on hiring a few new key employees here and there. The way he made it sound, I got the feeling he is really underestimating the amount of work it takes to be a national promotion.”
First of all, he said he would hire only a few new people, and then hire more as necessary. He did not put a cap on the number and the man is not an idiot. Moreover, how the f$ck would you know what it takes to run a national promotion? Typical sh$t-talking from a useless UFC-mouthpiece. Not surprising
Second of all, every sport has some mismatches. Football, baseball, hockey, boxing, collegiate/olympic wrestling…and YES, even MMA (and that definitely includes UFC). That being said, just because Diaz and Shamrock compete in different wait classes, are you saying its going to be a mismatch.
Since some of you people obviously think so…call the fight right now: Who will get dominated? since you all think its a complete mismatch. Make your call right now and we’ll see who is right.
You need to find a way to respond to a post without swearing about it. Keep it topic related. Your comments are extremely unnecessary and detract from the point you are trying to make.
The sports you mention… Those are team sports with schedules. MMA cards have matchmaking involved. It’s completely an apples to oranges thing.
And please read my posts again next time. I never called it a mismatch. I called it a freakshow fight. I honestly believe Anderson Silva vs. BJ Penn would be a competitive fight based on their styles, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be a freakshow fight. Let the fighters prove themselves in their own weight classes first. This is a SPORT.
I thought it was bad enough that GSP/Penn 2 happened (and said so at the time). But at least that booking was justified due to both being #1 in the world in their respective divisions. Not to mention that they fought before to a razor thin decision, and BJ Penn was a former Welterweight Champion. Those 3 items made the booking of the fight justifiable.
Shamrock/Diaz is a fight between two guys who during their last fights, where 2 weight classes apart. It is not being booked for competitive reasons. It is being booked to draw a crowd. Let these athletes prove themselves within their OWN weight classes first… And if they can do so, then fights like this can be made. This whole moving around weight classes garbage feels just like boxing.
It seems like Strikeforce is going to the national stage… And instead of doing what they do best, they are following in EliteXC’s footsteps. And we should all remember that even before Kimbo vs. TUF Reject…. That most fans thought the company was doing bad for the sport.
Those are my thoughts on the topic. I won’t bog down this forum with just my own comments.
“It seems like Strikeforce is going to the national stage… And instead of doing what they do best, they are following in EliteXC’s footsteps.”
Strikeforce has never been above putting on questionable matchups that they could sell to their fans. This is not a major departure for them. Need I remind you that their first card headlined by former King of Pancrase, UFC champion, #1 P4P MMA legend Frank Shamrock (21-7-2) versus a guy making his MMA debut (Cesar Gracie).
Hell, this fight is just an extension of that fight, with the student (Diaz) looking to avenge his master (Gracie). I am sure they will play that angle up heavily in promoting this fight.
45, your whole “this is a SPORT” position is laughable. What you had to say in the Fedor vs. Arlovski thread a couple weeks ago does not seem to support this new position of yours.
It is so frustrating to read an interesting article by Zach and the discussion that follows, and come away thinking more about the ignorant things you say than the entire scope of the thread. Zuffa, right now in my mind, more closely resembles professional wrestling than a true mainstream sport. And until ALL MMA organizations move away from a model that puts popularity before legitimate competition, MMA will remain a niche sport. I want it to be huge, but I think it is nowhere close to true mainstream as some people would have you believe.
Hmm, I wonder why MMA would sometimes resemble boxing??? Perhaps because that is the most similar sport to it in the United States? Perhaps because its an individual combat sport.
Shamrock vs. Diaz is not a “freakshow” fight. You throw that term around with any fight that youre not thrilled with. So for fighters to fight outside their weightclass they need to be #1? Otherwise its a freakshow? Where do these rules come from? And what makes it a freakshow? Please describe exactly what makes this fight a freakshow? Because if you admit that its not a guaranteed win for either guy, why is there anything wrong with the matchup? Please explain yourself…
Now I’m only asking you to explain your inane comments. Normally your opinion is virtually useless regarding anything MMA-related outside the UFC. We all know that youre going to shamelessly bash anything non-UFC related. Its not new, its not fresh, its not interesting. Its predictable and boring. Please, for the rest of us, give it up.
I feel the need to defend myself here.
I’ve gotten bashed for being critical of Pride (before they went under). Being critical of Bodog. Being critical of EliteXC. Being critical of the IFL. Being critical of the WFA. The list goes on and on. And guess what they all have in common? They all don’t run shows anymore (well, I guess technically EliteXC still does, but you get the point).
Just because I’m ahead of the curve, doesn’t mean my opinion is “shameless bashing” or “useless”. I’m not looking to pat myself on the back because I knew early on that these companies were failures. But I need to point that out because it shows I have a pretty good history of pointing out the flaws in a company, and typically those flaws are what leads to their demise.
That doesn’t make me a Zuffa nuthugger. I’ve been critical of Zuffa in the past for their handling of Okami & Fitch. I think the UFC needs a union for the fighters, which is something Fertitta & White would almost certainly be against. But Zuffa does many things right. And I would like to also point out that I didn’t mention Zuffa in this thread until Ultimo Santo did. He was making the comparison’s. To me, this isn’t as much about Zuffa… As it is about presenting the sport in the proper fashion.
I might not “make the rules”, but the success of the UFC defines what makes for a successful MMA organization…. And that is fighters generally sticking to one weight class, having competitive fights, and making the championship belts the center pieces and goals of the events.
Lastly, people will continue to bring up Couture/Lesnar as an example of the UFC doing things outside the box. I posted above why it was a legit fight. Let me also point out that since that fight, here are the main events for their cards: Evans/Griffin, Franklin/Henderson, Varner/Cerrone, GSP/Penn, Florian/Stephens, Sanchez/Stevenson, Brown/Garcia, Jackson/Jardine, Condit/Kampmann, Torres/Bowles, Silva/Leitas, & Lesnar/Mir. Those are all competitive and worthy main events. With the exception of GSP/Penn 2 (which I discussed in a previous post), all of these fights are with fighters in the same weight class and are booked based on the strength of the fighters themselves, not just their selling potential. To me, that is the most important thing for the sport.
You can disagree with me all you want, and bash me. But the MMA fans have spoken, and that is what they prefer as well. There is a very good reason why every single one of the organizations that is “competition” to Zuffa has less then 2 years of national experience (minus K-1). But even K-1 DREAM has many faults.
Booking fights like Shamrock/Diaz is a short cited way of doing MMA business. That type of flaw, if continued, will lead to major issues for Strikeforce.
Good matchup…not that different than Hughes vs Serra IMO.
Zuffa does not have a concrete system in place to determine matchups. Whether it be a tournament, a predetermined schedule, a ranking system based on something tangible, etc, they make fights based on what will bring in the most money. Fighters get screwed, and so do the fans. They don’t let the sport play itself out. I understand that the fight game is not exactly like other sports, but when the WWE is the organization you most closely resemble, you have a long way to go. And the really frustrating aspect of this is that Zuffa does not seem to be moving away from this model.
I just read this on Fighters Only Magazine. Courtesy of the link on the left side.
Quote from Fabricio Werdum:
“Apart from Minotauro, the rest in the UFC are weak. The UFC has what it wanted, two Americans to fight the “final”. The marketing is the most important thing, they are good at it. Frank Mir also, this final among them is not real.”
Sour grapes from Werdum.
The UFC has two Americans in the final because Frank Mir whipped Minotauro like a red-headed stepchild. They also would have had a Brazilian #1 contender if Fabricio had not shown up out of shape and been KTFO by a nobody.
Zach kicks d.capitated to the curb for attacking him, but let’s 45’s haters run wild. Make those haters debate 45 rationally or kick them to the curb.
Sour grapes? Seriously? This is what you got out of Werdum’s comment?
45 has cried “wolf” too many times for a lot of us to actually believe he is being truly objective when he comments on Zuffa-related discussions.
If 45 (or anyone) thinks booking two popular fighters at slightly different weights is some sort of crazy buisness decision that’s tarnishing Dana White’s vision of fighting, then IMO you clearly don’t understand what the term MMA even means, or why it was started in the first place.
“Booking fights like Shamrock/Diaz is a short cited way of doing MMA business. That type of flaw, if continued, will lead to major issues for Strikeforce.”
This is the type of thing the Zuffaphiles were saying before Cung Le fought Frank Shamrock…and then it drew 16,000+ fans.
But it was funny to read afterwards about how all the 45ers were so totally unimpressed with the fight, which was more exciting than anything UFC ran in 2008.
“Sour grapes? Seriously? This is what you got out of Werdum’s comment? ”
Yep.
They put four guys in the tournament. Randy & Rodrigo were HUGE favorites in their respective fights. They both lost in a decisive fashion to younger, more athletic competitors who both looked fantastic.
Meanwhile, Fabricio was in line to be the #1 contender for the eventual winner of the tournament. The UFC gave him a safe ‘keep busy’ fight versus an Octagon virgin and Fabricio promptly got KTFO by said virgin.
After those three fights, how can Werdum claim “this final among them is not real” without people immediately thinking ‘sour grapes’? What is “not real” about Lesnar & Mir winning in dominating fashion?
20-25 pounds = Slightly different?
I don’t know if I’d call it a freakshow necessarily, but it’s definitely a popular yet meaningless fight that carries no signficance for the division or either fighter, and exists purely for the spectacle and entertainment.
I don’t think that makes it main-event worthy. There’s definitely a double-standard at play with some of the posters here.
(Former) Champions of respective weight classes fighting each other is a total freakshow!!! UFC would never do it. Frankly the size difference b/w Nick Diaz and Frank Shamrock is probably less than GSP-Penn.
Based on your ability to defend a main event between a 46-yr old (on an 18 month layoff) vs. a 2-1 fighter from the WWF (with a 65+ lb weight advantage)and to not only declare it perfectly legit (of course purely with the hindsight that is now afforded its pretty easy) but also rail against the ME of Arlovski vs. Fedor (#1 vs. #3-5 HW’s)…then claim fights need to be exactly what AA vs. Fedor was or they are freakshows (but not Randy-Brock), etc. etc. continues to show how big of a “Zuffa fanboy” you truly are when you can somehow manage to rationalize anything and everything that occurs in the octagon while simultaneously ranting against the same thing occurring in any other promotion.
“This is the type of thing the Zuffaphiles were saying before Cung Le fought Frank Shamrock…and then it drew 16,000+ fans.”
I can’t remember everything back then, but I seem to recall the “detractors” were attacking claims that this was one of the biggest fights in the MW division and the winner was top 3. I don’t remember the situation that well, so I don’t remember if anybody was attacking the main-event worthiness. I believe it was a title fight, so I doubt the criticisms ever came up the way you’re describing it.
“But it was funny to read afterwards about how all the 45ers were so totally unimpressed with the fight, which was more exciting than anything UFC ran in 2008.”
Hyperbole like this weakens any point you’re trying to make, even the legitimate ones. There had to be 200+ fights in the UFC that year, and quite a lot of them were better than Cung Le and Frank Shamrock. If Cung Le and Frank Shamrock happened in the UFC it’d be fairly forgettable; just another good fight between two borderline top 20 fighters.
“I don’t think that makes it main-event worthy.”
For the UFC, I would agree.
For a smaller promotion like Strikeforce, I disagree.
Even though Strikeforce is now clearly the #2 promotion in North America, they are still not anywhere close to the UFC in terms of depth of talent. A fight like Diaz-Shamrock is a perfectly acceptable main event for a regional company. It’s got local flavor, it’s got a revenge angle, and it’s got two former world class fighters looking to prove they still have game.
I have no problem with this fight and am looking forward to it.
“(of course purely with the hindsight that is now afforded its pretty easy)”
In other words, we were right.
“but also rail against the ME of Arlovski vs. Fedor (#1 vs. #3-5 HW’s)”
The criticism against Fedor and Arlovski was only with regards to Arlovski’s high ranking. He did nothing to earn a top 5 spot in the division. It was still a good matchup between the #1 fighter and a top 10 HW fighter.
Steve4192,
Werdum did not make any reference or excuse for his loss. I think his point was that HE should have been in that group of 4. He earned it. Do the math on your potential fight schedule if he won his fight. His next fight would not have been for the belt, and it should have been. He did more in the UFC, and in his career collectively, to be in that “tournament.” The fact that he wasn’t, regardless of outcome, is what he was complaining about. He made a valid point. If you considered this point of view and still dismiss it, fine, we obviously disagree, but if you didn’t, I would suggest giving a fighter of his caliber the benefit of the doubt.
“A fight like Diaz-Shamrock is a perfectly acceptable main event for a regional company.”
That is the problem. They are no longer a regional company. They are on Showtime. That makes them national.
For the people complaining about only Zuffa passing up on worthy title challengers…. I have two words for you:
Jorge Santiago. He won a Middleweight Tournament on a Strikeforce card, and then got passed up so they could put on Shamrock/Le.
“This is the type of thing the Zuffaphiles were saying before Cung Le fought Frank Shamrock…and then it drew 16,000+ fans.”
The problem is that when Zuffa passed up Werdum for Lesnar, they literally took the next ranked fighter below Werdum in their division. When they put on Shamrock/Le, Le was ranked below about 5 or 6 fighters Strikeforce had on their roster, including Jorge Santiago.
As for the Shamrock/Le fight itself. I’m not sure what occured more…. Actual strikes, or the combination of smiles and slapping hands. Even with a broken arm, it was a glorified sparring session for the first few rounds.
The Gaijin,
Purely from a ranking perspective, Couture vs. Lesnar was a logic fight. Did Werdum get passed up? Absolutely. And he shouldn’t have been. With that said, Couture/Lesnar was still a Top 10 fighter vs. a borderline Top 10 fighter, both of who competed in the same weight class.
“In other words we were right” – In other news broken clocks are right twice a day.
Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz. At a catchweight of 179 pounds. More of this catchweight junk. These were my exact problems with EliteXC.
I don’t get why they are doing this at a catchweight either. They could have easily just done the fight at MW and have Nick weigh in at 179 while Frank weighs in at 185.
I suspect the catchweight is a bit of gamesmanship on Cesar’s part that Coker agreed to in order to make the fight happen. Force Frank to cut extra weight in the hopes that it saps his cardio and hope Nick can erase the embarrassment of the 21 second KO.
This fight makes no sense and makes me question what direction Strikeforce is going in the future.
Frank should be fighting other top MW’s like Robbie Lawler and Nick should be fighting top WW’s like Jake Shields those would be great fights to book this if a fight I have no interest in at all.
I really hope that Strikeforce doesn’t turn into Elite light, because if they think that people are going to take it easy on them if they keep up these kinds of fights they are wrong.
The reason I thought it needs to be at a catch weight is because of the weight differential between the two fighters. Franks cuts down to get to 185. Nick Diaz has never faught about 170.
I thought asking Diaz to fight above 170 is asking him to bulk up considerably, and possibly give up a lot of cardio. As BJ Penn did when he went up to 170 to fight George St-Pierre. At fight time, GSP was reported to be 187lbs, and Penn was 168lbs. Thats pretty significant for guys that size.
As it turns out, the fight is at a catch-weight of 179lbs. I think even asking Diaz to come in at that weight is pushing it for him, but he agreed to the fight, so lets do it.
I don’t think this is such a bad fight. Frank’s best days are behind him, but not the way that Ken Shamrock or some of these other old timers that are being dragged out of the hospital to fight are (Coleman? Seriously?).
Diaz is a better ranked fighter, Shamrock is giving up a little weight, they are both reasonably well balanced fighters that represent the sport well (in the cage), and you’ve got two good marketable names.
I agree with Werdum’s conclusion, but I have to assume that his reasoning includes himself not being in the mix, which I believe is wrong, and therefore I agree that his statement is sour grapes.
Icemuncher, if Babalu is on that card, then this is not the main event, it’s a co-main, because Babalu will be defending his Strikeforce LHW belt.
last catchweight bout i remember was gracie vs. hughes at ufc 60. seems to be pretty infrequent regardless of the promotion. i don’t see the big deal.
“I don’t recall Nick ever getting embarrassed at 170. I recall him coming out on the short end of a bunch of razor thin decisions. Nick was able to hang at 170 just fine.
The only problem he has at 170 was in getting put on his back for 15 minutes and losing via Octagon control and aggression. Given Frank’s recent penchant for standing and banging, I don’t see that being a problem in this fight.”
He could beat middling competition in the division, but top players, while competitive, he couldn’t pull it off. I love Nick, he is my favorite fighter, but c’mon. Yeah, Frank likes to stand and bang, but look at Diaz. Diaz has incredible jiu-jitsu and instead likes to stand and get hit in the face to prove how tough he is while throwing wild looping punches.
That is what makes him awesome, but stuff like the Denny fight was embarrassing. Not beating Noons was embarrassing. We all know he can do better, he just likes to show off. I expect this to be a great fight, though.
Also, while I’m not a huge 45 fan, he is kinda kicking everybody’s asses around here.
“I might not “make the rules”, but the success of the UFC defines what makes for a successful MMA organization…. And that is fighters generally sticking to one weight class, having competitive fights, and making the championship belts the center pieces and goals of the events.”
Nonsense. What’s successful for UFC is what’s successful for UFC. Other promotions, especially smaller ones, can and should do different things to be successful. You can be a successful musician without being Nickelback. Moreover, you left out, “Booking pro wrestlers in title fights,” as a key to success.
No one who paid to see Brock Lesnar fights is going to care about Nick Diaz not being the same weight as Frank Shamrock.
“while throwing wild looping punches”
Are you sure we are talking about the same guy? When did Nick Diaz turn into Chuck Liddell? I can’t ever recall seeing him throw ‘wild looping punches’.
Nick is the king of the straight pitter-pat punch, not the wild looping haymaker.
“Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz. At a catchweight of 179 pounds. More of this catchweight junk. These were my exact problems with EliteXC.”
‘Catchweight junk’?
WHO CARES!??! What’s the big deal whether they’re at a catch weight or in a weight class!?
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about Nick Diaz throwing “loopy wild haymakers”. If anything, all he throws are pitty-patty straight punches with little velocity to them. I don’t think I have ever seen Nick Diaz throw a non-straight or non-jab or non-cross punch. Oh, and I am looking forward to the Nick Diaz vs. Frank Shamrock fight. it should be fun.
“Purely from a ranking perspective, Couture vs. Lesnar was a logic fight. Did Werdum get passed up? Absolutely. And he shouldn’t have been. With that said, Couture/Lesnar was still a Top 10 fighter vs. a borderline Top 10 fighter, both of who competed in the same weight class.”
And why did this happen……..? MARKETING. MONEY. PPVs. Werdum should have been in the tournament. Zuffa knew they would make more money with Lesnar, and that is why Lesnar got a shot.
Honestly, I’m surprised that there’s this much controversy over this match up. Hell, I like it. A lot.
Sure, there’s a somewhat significant size difference between the two fighters. But, there’s also a pretty significant age difference in Diaz’s favor, as well as a big advantage on his part as far as recent activity & level of comp..
So, despite the difference in poundage, I believe it’s a legitimate & highly competitive main event for the “new” Strikeforce’s Showtime debut.
Combat sports has a long history of larger men meeting the challenge of smaller men moving up in weight to prove the superiority of their skills.
So what if the most recent example of this in MMA was St Pierre’s beat down of Penn?
That was one single bout on one single night.
I think THIS one could wind up being a lot more like Manny Pacquiao’s dominant stoppage of the much naturally larger, but older, slower, far less active Delahoya.
Yeah, I know. That was a boxing match & many of you are loathe to allow comparisons between it & MMA, but frankly, I think it’s a VERY apt comparison in this case. So …