Calm down, bro.
That was UFC President Dana White's initial message to Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz shortly after Zuffa's acquisition of its San Jose rival.
Diaz (25-7), who draws as much attention for his personality as he does his performance, has found the upper echelon of super-stardom to be elusive when you don't play by the rules.
And by "play by the rules" I mean not openly admitting to smoking pot, threatening to smack reporters and causing televised rumbles in "Music City."
Other than that, he's a stand-up guy (pun intended).
But that doesn't mean White is giving up hope. In fact, he's expecting to get the foul-mouthed fight-monger back into the Octagon at some point in the foreseeable future and tells the media (via MMA Weekly) that he needs to "sit down with Diaz" and figure out what's next.
"What I’m going to do is I’m going to sit down Nick. I like the Diaz brothers. I’m going to sit down with him and figure out what he wants to do. I’m going to sit down with Nick Diaz, literally, after this fight and try to figure out what’s next for him. It’s in his deal that he can [compete in boxing,] absolutely. For the last 10 years, I’ve dealt with the craziest, the cruelest, the baddest, the this, the that, and I’ve always tried to make everybody happy. You can’t make them all happy, but you can try."
Diaz, who recently scored an improbable come-from-behind victory via first round technical knockout over British striker Paul "Semtex" Daley back on April 9, has been vocal about finding new challenges outside the Strikeforce promotion.
The Stockton, Calif., native is riding a 10-fight win streak and has finished all but one of his opponents in dominating fashion. Coach Cesar Gracie even told HDNet that Diaz has a "re-worked" contract that allows him to dabble in the sport of boxing, where you don't have to worry about takedowns or lay 'n pray.
If Diaz gets crushed in the "sweet science," expect a hasty return to the cage. But will he be stuck in San Jose until the Showtime contract expires? Or can Zuffa finagle a UFC return? And who would Diaz fight if it could?
Opinions please, but don't "Rush" to judgment.
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