Photo of Renzo Gracie via www.graciemag.com
Jits, lies and videotape.
There's been a lot of finger-pointing in the wake of last weekend's World Jiu-Jitsu Expo, one that was marred by a canceled "superfight" between Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight Nick Diaz and his opponent, famed grappling stud Braulio Estima.
Diaz, who failed to appear in the main event, took his ball and went home after getting played by a Brazilian crony, according to his official statement.
The man behind the expo, longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran Renzo Gracie, wants to be the guy to take the blame for the breakdown in communication, as well as his decision to let an "amateur" deal with the fighters scheduled to attend.
His comments from "The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo" (transcribed by The Score) after the jump.
"I have to be honest, if there’s someone to blame, it’s me. Even though it was my expo, I had one guy working on it and he was good at organizing it and putting it together. The only thing he’s not good at is dealing with fighters. From what I understand, Junior called Cesar Gracie’s room the night previously at midnight and said Braulio Estima would be 10 pounds overweight. You have to understand, Nick Diaz was already giving up too much fighting that caliber of fighter in BJJ. For Nick to take the match, it shows the kind of guts he has. It ended up turning out the way that it did because the guy dealing with the fighters is an amateur, and he didn’t understand the emotions the athletes go through."
Weigh ins, fables and scales, oh my!
While Renzo is (kind of) taking responsibility for last weekend's fiasco, there is a long list of culpable parties. Diaz's temper, Estima's weight cut, Junior's lies and Gracie's leadership make for a volatile mix. And Dana White can't believe you're even shocked!
For more fallout from the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo click here.
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