Nick Diaz

Nick Diaz Under the Gun With Strikeforce and Showtime?

Prior to Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, Nick Diaz was scheduled to take on Jay Hieron for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title. All of that was thrown out the window when Diaz decided to skip a mandatory drug test administered by the California State Athletic Commission.

Strikeforce and Showtime executives were displeased with the situation and when forced to find a replacement they called upon The Ultimate Fighter 7 alumni Jesse Taylor and placed his bout with Hieron on the non-televised section of the August 15 card.

Scott Coker and Ken Hershman recently spoke with ESPN Radio’s Steve Cofield where they provided their thoughts on Diaz and what steps the organization and network will take in the future.

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Nick Diaz Skips Drug Test; Jay Hieron to Face Jesse Taylor

Strikeforce officials have confirmed that Nick Diaz missed a mandatory pre-fight drug test with the California State Athletic Commission.

Diaz was reportedly in the process of submitting a sample to the CSAC but it was not done in time and Strikeforce has confirmed that The Ultimate Fighter veteran Jesse Taylor will serve as Diaz’s replacement. The bout between Hieron and Taylor will still be for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title.

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Hieron to Face Diaz for Strikeforce Belt

Former International Fight League welterweight champion Jay Hieron has signed to face Nick Diaz for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight belt at the organization’s “Carano vs. Cyborg” event on August 15 in San Jose, California.

MMA on Tap was able to confirm the bout with Hieron’s agent, Ken Pavia, earlier this evening. MMA Weekly was the first to report the news. Hieron replaces Joe Riggs, who was forced to withdraw from the fight after an undisclosed hospital stay.

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Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields Live Results

Live:
Jake Shields def. Robbie Lawler - Submission (Guillotine choke) Round 1 2:02
Brett Rogers def. Andrei Arlovski - KO Round 1 0:22
Nick Diaz def. Scott Smith - Submission (Rear naked choke) Round 3 1:41
Joe Riggs def. Phil Baroni - Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mike Whitehead def. Kevin Randleman - Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Untelevised: (results via Sherdog)
Jesse Finney def. Josh Baumgartner - Submission (Kimura) Round 1 1:55
Mike Kyle def. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante - TKO Round 2 4:05
Booker DeRousse def. James Wade - TKO Round 1 4:06
Tyron Woodley def. Sal Woods - Submission (Anaconda choke) Round 1 4:20
Lucas Lopes def. Scott Ventimiglia - DQ (Knee to the head of downed opponent) Round 1 3:26
Pat Benson def. Dave Cochran - Submission (Armbar) Round 1 2:18

Strikforce on Fence Concerning Jones Jr

Just because Dana White won’t let Roy Jones Jr fight Anderson Silva in the UFC doesn’t mean that he’s going to stop trying to get into the sport of mixed martial arts. Mere hours after an agreement between Jones and Silva’s camps was shot down, word now comes that RJJ may be interested in a fight with Nick Diaz.

The issue was discussed on Strikeforce’s conference call with the media today and not everyone that is part of the Strikeforce/Showtime alliance is on the same page when it comes to boxing’s former pound-for-pound king. Ken Hershman for one, believes that the idea is a complete waste of time:

“I get a Roy Jones call once a week, pitching me things. That would be a very, very long shot of ever happening on Showtime. I think it’s an insult to the integrity of mixed martial arts to think Roy Jones, or any professional boxer, can just come in and fight Nick Diaz in a mixed martial arts context. In a boxing context, it’s completely different. Beyond that, it’s not the strategy that we’re employing. We’re looking to build the best mixed martial arts brand. I believe that we have the best professional boxing brand on television and I think our fights, month in and month out, prove that. I don’t see the need to combine the two at the moment. I wouldn’t want to go down that path just now.”

Scott Coker? Well he’s at least interested in entertaining the idea:

“I did get a call from Nick’s manager asking me if I’d be interested in looking at a fight between Roy Jones and Nick. I said, ‘Are you talking about boxing? Are you talking about MMA?’ He says, ‘In MMA.’ I said, ‘Well, that’s something we can definitely have a conversation about. That just happened this morning. That’s the extent of it.”

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Diaz Batters Shamrock in Strikeforce Debut

Many former EliteXC fighters were victorious during Strikeforce’s first event of the year on Saturday night in San Jose, California, but none of those wins were more emphatic than the one brash UFC and PRIDE veteran Nick Diaz earned over longtime veteran Frank Shamrock.

A younger, faster, and more well-conditioned Diaz pummeled Shamrock on the feet and on the ground over the course of nine minutes in the featured attraction of Strikeforce’s “Shamrock vs. Diaz” show before finally putting “The Legend” away, possibly for good, at least in terms of the sport’s relevant stars.

“I give everything to Nick Diaz,” Shamrock graciously said after the fight. “I trained for him 100% and I didn’t take him lightly. I knew he was a dangerous opponent, but I stepped up. I always fight the best and I come to entertain, but Nick kicked my ass tonight. There’s no two ways about it. He beat me.”

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Photos: Strikeforce/Showtime Presser

Here’s a small gallery of photos from this past Thursday’s pre-fight press conference for Strikeforce’s “Shamrock vs. Diaz” event, which takes place on April 11 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California and will be televised live on Showtime.

Those in attendance at the press conference included former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Frank Shamrock, Nick Diaz, former EliteXC champions Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler, and female MMA star Cris “Cyborg” Santos.

All photos were taken by Tom Casino and come courtesy of Showtime. Quotes from the press conference are here.

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EliteXC Announces “A Night of Champions”

EliteXC today officially announced details regarding their scheduled November 8 event, titled “A Night of Champions”. The show will take place at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada and will air live on Showtime.

The card will be headlined by two separate championship fights: EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler will defend his title in a rematch against a streaking Joey Villasenor while Nick Diaz and DREAM standout Eddie Alvarez will battle it out for the vacant EliteXC lightweight belt.

Tickets are on sale now, start at $38, and can be purchased through Ticketmaster. Additional fights expected to take place at the event include Kaitlin Young vs. Sarah Kaufmann, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante vs. Cyrille Diabate (possibly for the vacant EliteXC light heavyweight title), and Brett Rogers against an opponent yet to be determined.

Diaz, Alvarez to Clash for Vacant EliteXC Belt

Following K.J. Noons being stripped of the EliteXC lightweight title last month, Nick Diaz and rising contender Eddie Alvarez will now compete for the vacant championship at the organization’s scheduled November 8 show in Reno, Nevada.

EliteXC officially announced the bout during Saturday night’s telecast of “Heat” on CBS. The November event will be televised live on Showtime and will be headlined by EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler defending his belt in a rematch against Joey Villasenor.

Since suffering a second-round TKO loss due to a cut to Noons last year, Diaz has reeled off three straight victories - two of them in EliteXC. After defeating Muhsin Corbbrey at EliteXC’s “Return of the King” event in June, Diaz followed up with a wild TKO win over journeyman Thomas Denny on July 26.

Alvarez meanwhile has been boosting his stock with a couple of impressive victorious over highly ranked lightweights while fighting for DREAM over in Japan. Alvarez earned an unanimous decision over Joachim Hansen in the opening round of DREAM’s inaugural lightweight grand prix and then defeated Tatsuya Kawajiri in a fight-of-the-year candidate to earn a spot in the tournament finals before an eye injury forced him to withdraw from the title opportunity.

KJ Noons Stripped of EliteXC Lightweight Title

LOS ANGELES – KJ Noons of San Diego has been stripped of his EliteXC lightweight title. The announcement was made late Friday by EliteXC Head of Fight Operations, Jeremy Lappen.

The foremost reason EliteXC is taking this action, Lappen said, was due to Noons’ reluctance to defend against leading 160-pound contender Nick Diaz of Stockton, Calif.

“We are stripping KJ of his championship belt for refusing to defend against Diaz,’’ Lappen said. “It’s a very unfortunate situation but we cannot have belt-holders who refuse to fight the top contenders. We want champions who will fight anyone, anytime, anyplace. That’s the mentality all champions should have.

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