The Saga of Nick Diaz Continues I Editorial

Nick Diaz has a habit of trash talking and calling out just about any fighter he wants to on any given week. Most recently, he has called out middleweight champion, Anderson Silva in a bizarre move that would lead fight fans to assume that Nick Diaz is out of retirement and looking for an opponent.

With the namesake of this site, B.J. Penn, and recent opponent, Carlos Condit already booked for fights, there is little in the way of anticipated rematches for Diaz to partake in under the UFC banner and for all intents and purposes it would seem that Diaz doesn’t want to be thrust back into the mix as he had enjoyed champion status in Strikeforce and number one contender status in the UFC for quite a long time.

Although being held back from a title shot can lead one to look for a worthy opponent as a stepping stone back to the title, a bout with Silva just doesn’t make sense.

Now when I say that it doesn’t make sense, I don’t mean that it wouldn’t be a great fight. Silva hates being talked down to and Diaz loves to do just that. Also, Diaz will not stop coming forward and hasn’t lost by way of punches since his 5^th professional fight, ten years ago. Attacking Silva isn’t the best idea but Diaz will do whatever he wants in the Octagon to whomever happens to be standing across the Octagon from him.

Surely Anderson has the ability to finish but Diaz will not stand in awe of the champion and wait for him to dictate the fight. Instead, Diaz would, no doubt, attack Silva and throw his patented ‘Stockton Slap’ as he attempted to humiliate the champ by out working him with his ridiculous cardio all while breaking down the champ from the outside in until Silva wilted under the pressure in what would be ideal for Diaz however unlikely that occurrence may be.

This is all just talk for the potential fight however. In reality, this fight just doesn’t add up.

For starters, the middleweight division has its fill of contenders and by no means does it need a new one. There is a line around the block for fighters waiting for their shot at Silva to try and dethrone the greatest fighter on the planet and putting Diaz at the front of the line is an insult to the division and gives wins for other fighters little to no meaning if they can be uprooted as the number one contender by a fighter from another division.

For Silva, a drop to welterweight serves no justice to his natural division as contenders still have to wait. Not being a large middleweight, Silva could probably drop down to 170 without much incident but why bother? Especially just to appease the desire of a fighter who, in his most recent stint in the UFC, has been anything but professional and the farthest thing from a respectable fighter who deserves to be the champ in the UFC let alone fighting for a title.

Diaz needs to rethink this comeback and come to terms with the fact that he isn’t close to a title fight in either weight class and for the first time in a while isn’t really even in the title picture as he stands behind the long list of active contenders for both divisions.

This seems more like a call for attention rather than a legitimate challenge and should be treated as such as the UFC brass and Anderson Silva need to get back to giving true contenders title shots in the divisions in which they belong, all while turning a blind-eye to outlandish statements such as this as Diaz should take a number and wait his turn.