GSP VS Diaz and Penn VS Condit becomes GSP VS Condit and Penn VS Diaz!

Sheldan wrote:I'm starting to think this was the idea from the start, Diaz is pulled from the main event because he can't be trusted to show up to fight, yet 24 hours later, suddenly UFC trusts him again. Also, at the press conference, UFC magically has a promo for GSP VS Condit, yet they apparently only decided Condit would step in an hour before the press conference.

that's an interesting theory actually and one that could have a lot of truth to it. Would Condit, being better known to UFC fans, perhaps be a bigger draw than Diaz, who Dana has spoken harshly about a few times, and could the change have been made because of poor projected numbers?

I doubt that the drawing power of Condit over Diaz affected their decision, GSP is the draw, it doesn't matter who he faces. Maybe the only way to get Diaz out of his plan to box was that he wanted an immediate title shot, then once he has the contract signed, UFC just waited for him to step out of line for them to pull the trigger and remove him from the fight. When have we ever seen UFC have a press conference weeks in advance of a Lesnar fight, and have him fly all the way out from his training camp to spend a few days with the media weeks before his fight takes place. I certainly don't remember it ever happening before, and I doubt it will happen with the Reem fight. If this thing was planned, then UFC certainly knew what they were doing by making Diaz do everything he wouldn't have wanted to do, not only would he have had to deal with this media week, but a UFC Primetime was also planned, i'm sure Diaz would have loved having camera's follow him everywhere for 3 weeks. It certainly makes you wonder.

I hadn't thought of that actually. I never seen Lesnar doing press stuff like that, he refuses to. Refused to do primetime twice as well. And Diaz would be F-Bombing the shit out of that primetime show!

Well you know Diaz's next interview will be really interesting.

If Diaz loses to Penn, and Dana cuts him and makes shitty comments, then Nick was probably set up.

Backs up what you were saying Sheldan.

Carlos Conduit though??

GSP is fighting a Spanish Pipe perhaps??

It's certainly generated a lot of buzz whether or not UFC intended all along to pull Diaz or not. Tickets went on sale today and they're sold out already, although I suppose that could have been the case even without all this drama. If GSP and Diaz both win their fights, then the next logical step is for them to face each other, and with all that has happened, i'm sure that fight would generate a lot more attention than their 137 fight would have.

rudeboyben84 wrote:Thats the 2nd time Im reading that Diaz hasnt beaten anyone on BJ's level, which is strange because Gomi was the number 1 Lw in the world when Daiz choked him out BJ is ranked about 5th.. Just pointing that out.

People tend to Label Diaz a bit of a can crusher but Gomi was 2X the fighter then that BJ is now.

Just because Gomi was at one point the number one lightweight in the world doesn't mean he's ever been on Penn's level. Mitsuhiro Ishida was the number one lightweight in the world before Gomi beat him at Shockwave 2006. Think about that.

Penn is winning this fight. He's good enough to counter Diaz with his right hand, and anytime he wants a takedown he'll get one. Diaz won't sub Penn from guard.

Or maybe this is the reason ????

redmeanie77 wrote:












Or maybe this is the reason ????

Lol what a fuck up

To be fair Diaz didn't really do anything to earn a shot against GSP. Shields beat Dan fucking Henderson and still had to fight Kampmann before earning his shot.

Diaz vs BJ will be a lot of fun. COuld go either way in my eyes, depends on what BJ shows up. Diaz is going to have a lot of reach on him, but I think BJ is a better all round grappler. If BJ wants to get the fight to the ground, I think he can and I can't see Diaz doing anything off his back against BJ.

sunthunder wrote:

rudeboyben84 wrote:Thats the 2nd time Im reading that Diaz hasnt beaten anyone on BJ's level, which is strange because Gomi was the number 1 Lw in the world when Daiz choked him out BJ is ranked about 5th.. Just pointing that out.

People tend to Label Diaz a bit of a can crusher but Gomi was 2X the fighter then that BJ is now.

Just because Gomi was at one point the number one lightweight in the world doesn't mean he's ever been on Penn's level. Mitsuhiro Ishida was the number one lightweight in the world before Gomi beat him at Shockwave 2006. Think about that.

Penn is winning this fight. He's good enough to counter Diaz with his right hand, and anytime he wants a takedown he'll get one. Diaz won't sub Penn from guard.

I dont see Gomi on BJ's level all time wise, but saying Diaz hasnt fought anyone Penns level is crazy because Penn isnt the fighter he always has been. 2 losses to edgar and a draw to Fitch, he is clearly not at his best. When Gomi was the number 1 Lw he was a wreckingball of a fighter and Diaz beat him.

Penn wont hack the pace Diaz pushes. He will hold the centre of the ring look chubby and slow and get outboxed I reckon. Penn at 155 could still be the best in the devision. Penn at 170 doesnt carry more Muscle and isnt more powerfull he is just slower and chubbier, Diaz throws 5X more punches than Edgar and rattles in bodyshots all fight long.

As Klitschko said about Adamek he was only a Hw because he is eating like one, I think the same goes for Penn.

Raw tallent will win the fight against 9/10 figters but Diaz nearly matches him for raw tallent and has conditioning to match any MMA fighter.

Ill avatar bet you on this sure mate!

The more I think about it, the more I think Diaz is going to beat BJ convincingly.

i see bj dominating him

BJ doesn't have the cardio to dominate him IMO. Nor the size, the reach or the wrestling. He takes people down who have no bottom game, but he's not great at controlling them. Diaz has a great bottom game, and is very active. He won't sub BJ, but he won't get subbed either IMO and he could sweep from the bottom.

On the feet, Diaz is a better boxer, and throws a lot more punches.

he took fitch down dont forget and i rekon he will use wrestling to help, if it was a five rounder id be tempted for diaz but i can see penn edging a close 3 rounder

I do think there's a hilarious double standard concerning how Diaz's boxing is talked up by fans but Edgar's is talked down to the point that people imply it's embarrassing that BJ lost to him. A lot of things Edgar does are far better than what Diaz does in terms of the basic principles of boxing in that he covers up, has intelligent head movement, good foot work, counters well, works off the jab etc. Diaz comparatively regularly takes significant damage whilst coming forward with his hands down, bereft of defense and head movement.

It's frustrating because there's so few guys in MMA who develop good fundamentals the way Edgar has, but it's disregarded because he's not a finisher. Diaz is a good MMA boxer, don't get me wrong, but there's plenty he does that is the antithesis of intelligent striking.

The 1st fight BJ outboxed him and should have taken a decision, fightmetric showed this. The 2nd he mixed up TD's against a Penn whos head wasnt in the fight and his body was in much worse condition becaue he ditched his strength and conditioning guys.

Edgar has great headmovement and technically his boxing is great but would be beat Diaz is a striking fight? I doubt it. Diaz is the height and reach of a Mw Edgar is Fw size.

I dont mean to underrate him, Foot and Hand speed, technically good boxing and good headmovement its all there, he also had a great grasp of distances... people are pointing out Diaz as more dangerous because of the size difference and punch output. Diaz hits more ofter and harder and this is why I think people are backing him against Penn (especially chubby 170 Penn)

As good as Edgar is technically we saw what a bigger more powerfull fighter can do standing, Maynard dropped him 4-5 times in 1 round, I dare say Diaz would do the same but put the finish to him.

rudeboyben84 wrote:The 1st fight BJ outboxed him and should have taken a decision, fightmetric showed this. The 2nd he mixed up TD's against a Penn whos head wasnt in the fight and his body was in much worse condition becaue he ditched his strength and conditioning guys.

Edgar has great headmovement and technically his boxing is great but would be beat Diaz is a striking fight? I doubt it. Diaz is the height and reach of a Mw Edgar is Fw size.

I dont mean to underrate him, Foot and Hand speed, technically good boxing and good headmovement its all there, he also had a great grasp of distances... people are pointing out Diaz as more dangerous because of the size difference and punch output. Diaz hits more ofter and harder and this is why I think people are backing him against Penn (especially chubby 170 Penn)

As good as Edgar is technically we saw what a bigger more powerfull fighter can do standing, Maynard dropped him 4-5 times in 1 round, I dare say Diaz would do the same but put the finish to him.

It's not relevant because of the size disparity, but if they were more equal in size Edgar would have a decent shot at beating Diaz in a striking match. I think a large part of why Diaz beats people is that he gives this illusion of vulnerability that tempts his opponents into prolonged exchanges. He is hittable, and he doesn't wreck you with one punch, so guys start exchanging with him but then he's got them on the cage and at some point he lands a punch which hurts them. I don't see Edgar getting stuck in those kinds of exchanges.

Plus I'm not sure it's fair to use Maynard hurting Edgar several times in one round as an example of Edgar being particularly vulnerable. Edgar's defense was somewhat compromised after getting dropped once, so is it really fair to use the rest of that round as a benchmark for how Edgar regularly performs?

Ultimately we're talking about how Penn stacks up against each guy. He struggled with Edgar because Edgar is fast, fights intelligently and isn't easy to hit. Diaz is easy to hit, and to an extent predictable. Less technically refined fighters than Penn have landed repeatedly on Diaz lately. Even Cyborg was landing winging right hands throughout the first round of their fight.

I think Penn can land and stay out of the kind of fire fights Diaz excels in. Plus I think it'll help that although Strikeforce has a a few different cages, they're all substantially smaller than the UFC's. I think the extra space will make it a lot harder for Diaz to corner Penn.

sunthunder wrote:I do think there's a hilarious double standard concerning how Diaz's boxing is talked up by fans but Edgar's is talked down to the point that people imply it's embarrassing that BJ lost to him. A lot of things Edgar does are far better than what Diaz does in terms of the basic principles of boxing in that he covers up, has intelligent head movement, good foot work, counters well, works off the jab etc. Diaz comparatively regularly takes significant damage whilst coming forward with his hands down, bereft of defense and head movement.

It's frustrating because there's so few guys in MMA who develop good fundamentals the way Edgar has, but it's disregarded because he's not a finisher. Diaz is a good MMA boxer, don't get me wrong, but there's plenty he does that is the antithesis of intelligent striking.

You mean in the way that Edgar jumps in, throws a jab and then runs away?? It is to be admired..........

http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/111044.html

seems Diaz couldnt handle the promotional aspects of a UFC main event

not quite convinced

Jon Fitch must be wondering what he has to do. The guy has been rated #2 for almost the whole time GSP has been champ yet he never seems to be in line for a rematch. Surely the #2 guy gets a chance to take on the champ, even if he lost convincingly 3 or 4 years ago to him.

I almost feel sorry for him