Nick Diaz (17-7) will finally meet up with Thomas Denny (26-16) at Elite XC: "Unfinished Business" during the next installment of "Saturday Night Fights" on CBS on July 26, according to GracieFighter.com.
Diaz and Denny were scheduled to hook 'em up at the now defunct Gracie Fighting Championships in January 2007; however, the entire Miami-based card (and promotion) seemingly disappeared out of thin air.
This news comes on the heels of a recent MMAmania.com report that Diaz would not be booked to rematch Elite XC Lightweight Champion KJ Noons as expected. Apparently, Noons was never even scheduled to appear on the card despite the public perception that the fight was a done deal.
That's clearly a fight that is going to happen sometime soon as long as Diaz takes care of business next month. Since his sensational win (later ruled a no contest) over Takanori Gomi in February 2007, however, Diaz appears to have hit a wall.
The Stockton, Calif., native has been plagued by injuries, fight cancellations, lackluster performances and drama in general for the past 12 months. Despite the distractions, he has won three of four fights since the bout against Gomi.
Diaz most recently stopped Muhsin Corrbrey via technical knockout (strikes) Elite XC: "Return of the King" earlier this month. He was scheduled to take on Hayuto "Mach" Sakurai at Dream 5 on July 21 for the vacant welterweight crown; however, it appears that Pro Elite forced Diaz to cancel that opportunity in favor of the Denny match up.
"Wildman" is a crafty mixed martial arts veteran who has won four of his last five fights. He most recently was awarded a win for his fight with "Malaipet" at a ShoXC event. The bout was stopped early because Denny sustained illegal blows that left him unable to continue.
Elite XC: "Unfinished Business" features the main event rematch between middleweight champion Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith, as well as a fight for the vacant and first-ever welterweight title between 170-pound studs Jake Shields and Nick Thompson.
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