UFC 137 Results Recap: Nick Diaz shines in Las Vegas, Nevada
Posted on October 30, 2011, 01:58 AM by Trent Reinsmith
In the days leading up to the main event at UFC 137 it looked like Nick Diaz was going to have a tough time getting motivated to fight BJ Penn, a fighter that he had trained with in the past. Diaz seemed to find the motivation he needed during the weigh-ins on Friday when he and Penn went head to head and had to be separated by, among others, UFC President Dana White.
It was clear that both fighters, as well as the UFC, recalled Friday’s run in as the fighters were not permitted to get too close to each other while the referee gave his prefight speech in the center of the cage.
Prior to the fight Diaz had his share of detractors who said his record was inflated by fighting outside the UFC, the former Strikeforce welterweight champion may have silenced some of those critics with his performance on Saturday night, outstriking BJ Penn 239 to 76 by the end of the fight, earning himself a unanimous decision victory.
Questions after seeing BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz:
-Following the fight Penn said, "This is probably the last time you're going to see me here. I've got a daughter, another daughter on the way. I don't want to go home looking like this. I'm done." When Penn recovers and reflects and removes the emotion from those words will he reconsider?
-What motivates Nick Diaz? After the fight Diaz said, in his in cage interview with Joe Rogan, “I don't think Georges is hurt. I think he's scared. I think he's scared to fight everyone right now." It’s hard to say why or where it come from, but Diaz clearly has a me against the world attitude and it does drive him forward, but it also has the clear potential to alienate fans.
-Did Diaz talk himself into a title fight or did his performance on Saturday warrant it? All the talk regarding Georges St. Pierre was that he would face Carlos Condit when he was healthy enough to do so. That changed at the post fight presser when Dana White announced that St. Pierre and Diaz would fight instead, tentatively on Super Bowl weekend. At the post fight presser White said, "I've known Georges St-Pierre since 2004 and he's one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He's exactly the same no matter what the situation is, no matter who he's fighting. Since 2004, I've never seen him like he was tonight. Georges St-Pierre flipped out tonight after Nick Diaz was in the ring. Nick needs motivation, he's got it – he's going to fight Georges St-Pierre Carlos Condit has agreed to step aside and fight the next guy."
Notes and more questions following UFC 137:
-Who is the UFC heavyweight gatekeeper? Is it Cheick Kongo, is it Matt Mitrione, is it Roy Nelson?
-What’s next for Donald Cerrone? Cerrone is on a six fight-winning streak, with his last two fights not getting past the first round. His name has not been mentioned as a possible title contender in the lightweight division, but perhaps it should.
-Will people remember Cro Cop for what he did before he joined the UFC? It would be a shame if his pre UFC glory days were forgotten due to the way his career trailed off near the end.
-What’s next for Hatsu Hioki? Hioki looked alright tonight, but his performance hardly warranted his top three ranking in the featherweight division. Let’s chalk that one up to his bout against Roop being his first UFC bout. With that being said, I do not expect the UFC to take it easy on him in his next fight, which will be his real test.
-Will those that did not buy this pay per view regret it? Sure St. Pierre was not on the card and sure, some of the fights failed to deliver to expectations, but the main event surely made up for it. If anyone skipped watching that fight, they missed out.
LowKick.com UFC 137 main card awards:
-Fight of the night: BJ Penn and Nick Diaz. Yes, I admit that I thought their mutual respect would lead to a glorified BJJ clinic and yes I will admit that I was way off base on that one. With that being said, I am glad I was wrong.
-Performance of the night: Nick Diaz. Diaz took some damage from Penn, but he gave a lot more than he took. He also answered questions as to how he would fare against top level UFC competition. Some will say that his post-fight conduct was unseemly, but was it unexpected?
-Finish of the night: Technically this one should go to Roy Nelson since he was the only one to finish a main card fight. So, we’ll give it to him for that, but honestly watching Diaz and Penn go at it when their fight came to a close was a much better ending to any fight on the card. Sure that’s a bit of a cop out, bit it was a finish to a fight, in the dictionary definition of finish.
Further Reading: UFC 137 Wrap-Up: Diaz, Penn, Cerrone, Palaszewski take home $75k
Comments
I'm going to get Diaz to paint a picture of the ceiling of the arena after his fight with GSP because he'll have had 25 minutes to study it. Or maybe it'll be a picture of GSP's forearms.
Haha how ironic.
Or get GSP to paint a picture of the hospital he's going to be in.
your an idiot if you think hes on peds
I wouldnt say he is an idiot you cant look like GSP and not have suspicions, to call someone an idiot and displaying such conviction for GSP well is an idiot thing to say.
Nick diaz is a great fighter no doubt, however when his career is said and done he'll be known for his bitching and complain just as much as his fight skill.nick diaz always tries to play the victim and act like everyone is out to get him. him and the rest of the cesar gracie camp are nothing but thugs and whining douchebags.
I was really impressed with Cowboy. Siver was quietly working himself to a title shot and Cowboy made him look like a rookie. I think most of the UFC lightweights are underestimating him. He had to of opened some eyes last night.
The main event went down pretty much how i thought, you could see the difference between Diaz' and Penn's cardio from the second round on, Bj couldn't deal with Diaz' reach or the amount of punches he throws, even though i had Diaz to win......MAN!...i hate to see Bj lose like that, i really felt for him at the end of the fight and as much as i like Diaz his ranting at the end really pissed me off, it was the wrong time and place for that shit, i suppose it was just all the pent up emotion coming out though, which is understandable after such a big fight. Cerrone looked awesome yet again and i suppose Mitrione is obviously not at the level he thought he was yet. I still believe though, give him a couple of years in the game and he'll be a huge force in the HW division.........Diaz vs GSP......BRING IT ON!!!!!!
GSP thought BJ was gonna win but Diaz did he's just pissed that Diaz won and his stupid predictions were off he said bj was better in all aspects and when diaz got his hand raised he just swallowed his pride