Is Nick Diaz vs Anderson Silva really a "Super Fight"?

by Ben Heather @benheather

Last Night Dana White announced that Anderson Silva had signed his fight agreement and will be returning to the octagon to face Nick Diaz in Jan '15. Silva will return after over a year on the sidelines due to the horrific leg break which occured when he fought Chris Weidman at the end of 2013.

Diaz will return after retiring in the octagon after losing his title fight against GSP in March '13. The fight was announced as being the main event of the UFC 183 event on Superbowl weekend and will be at middleweight.

However, when Dana tweeted that Anderson had signed and the Diaz fight was "done" he also added #superfight which got me thinking, is this really a "Super Fight" or not?

So i asked a couple of guys on the site the same question and below you can find out whether Kingdom MMA agree with Dana or not.

Chris Houten - @mrhouts

The UFC have every right to bill Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz as a super fight. It's a coming together of two of the most popular fighters who wouldn't normally face each other due to being in different weight classes. No doubt Silva vs Diaz will do astronomical numbers, probably do double what the UFCs best pay-per-view does this year.

So I ask myself 'is Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz a super fight' and the one thing that keeps coming up in my mind is how this will be one of the biggest selling fights of all time. So yeah, in that respect Silva vs Diaz is a super fight, but it's not a dream fight.

In fact, I'm not even sure I see this being a close match up. Diaz is a good boxer, one of the best in MMA in fact, but he is nowhere near the striker Anderson Silva is. Diaz is also giving up a lot of size against Silva, and while he might have better BJJ  (not that Silva is a slouch) I just don't see Diaz being able to get this fight to the ground. In fact, Diaz' only hope might be his superior conditioning, but that would mean he would need to take a beating in the opening round and then surge later on, not an easy task considering his opponent has laid out big 'ol boys like Stephan Bonnar, Forrest Griffin, and James Irvin, just to name a few.

So call this fight what you want, super fight, dream fight etc. just don't be surprised if we don't end with another Mike Tyson vs Michael Spinks.

Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA

It's a very tricky question. There is no doubt that it's a big fight, in fact a huge fight. I've not seen this much buzz over a fight announcement since Brock Lesnar vs Randy Couture. Looking at that fight in comparison, that was a huge fight, but not a super fight. A superfight to me is when two world champions face off, so I wouldn't call this a superfight, but it's as close to that description as you can get. Silva is a decent PPV draw, and Diaz is one of the UFC's biggest stars, I expect the PPV to do at least 1m buys.

Ben Heather - @benheather

Like Dre said, this fight is huge and I am certainly excited. Not only for the fight alone, but also the build up which comes with any Nick Diaz fight. It will certainly be a PPV success for the UFC but the question remains, is it a "Super Fight" and I don't think it can be. How can a fight be billed as a "Super Fight" when both guys are coming in to the fight on 0-2 runs and neither of them are world champions. If this fight is a Super Fight as both have been world champs (Diaz in Strikeforce) in the past then the upcoming UFC 178 fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier should also be a Super Fight and I don't think that is either.

Anderson Silva was the key to the super fights and when Chris Weidman knocked him out he also knocked out the dream of Super Fights for now in the UFC. Silva could have challenged GSP or Jon Jones, which would have been "Super Fights" if they were all champions as was the case at the start of July '13.

For me the only "Super Fight" that could now happen in the UFC is Jon Jones vs Cain Velasquez at heavyweight. All the other champs either have a long list of contenders or have just been crowned the champ.


Thats the take of some of the writers at Kingdom MMA, let us know your thoughts on whether you think it is a super fight or not.

Video: Nick Diaz Promotions Release War MMA Promo

Nick Diaz Promotions Release War MMA 

WAR MMA 1 Trailer from Nick Diaz on Vimeo.
Stockton native and UFC headliner Nick Diaz will launch his new promotion, WAR, on Saturday, June 22nd at 5pm at the Stockton Arena. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 29th at 10am.
The card will be headlined by UFC veteran Daniel Roberts (13-4) facing off against Justin Baesman (13-3). The fight card will be co-headlined by Caleb Mitchell (4-3) against Evan Esguerra (7-5). The main card will also feature Roy Boughton vs. Liron Wilson, Mike Persons vs. Clayton “Money Shot” McKinney, Darin Cooley vs. Cody Gibson and Chris Quitiquit vs. Dominic Clark. More bouts will be announced in the upcoming days. (Card subject to change.)

Nick Diaz, a former WEC and Strikeforce welterweight (170 lbs) champion, has headlined three UFC PPV cards (UFC 137, UFC 143, and UFC 158) since his return to the organization in 2011. He has previously fought in Pride and Elite XC (including a fight at the Stockton Arena) amongst other MMA promotions. This experience with multiple organizations gave Nick an interest to start his own promotion.

Bouts in WAR will be fought under the Unified Rules of MMA, modified to use a ring instead of a cage and disallowing elbow strikes to a grounded opponent. These rules are in place to encourage grapplers on top position to advance their position or create space for punching, making fights more dynamic and entertaining. Regular matches will be three, five minute rounds, and future championship matches will five, five minute rounds.

For ticket and other information, please visit www.Stocktonlive.com and www.NickDiazPromotions.com. Fighters interested in competing in upcoming WAR events are encouraged to submit their contact information.

Nick Diaz announces details of WAR MMA 1

Nick Diaz’s WAR MMA goes live June 22nd

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh
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A few weeks back I brought you the story that Nick Diaz was looking to start his own MMA promotion, that story can be read here well now it’s confirmed.

Nick Diaz still hasn’t confirmed if he will retire or not following what he said after he lost to GSP but he hasn’t been sitting idle while he thinks about it. On Wednesday Diaz officially announced his first mma event as a promoter WAR 1, taking place June 22nd in the Stockton area of his home town California.

The fight card currently consists of six fight with more due to be added in the next few days. The main event features Daniel Roberts vs. Justin Baesman, the other fights announce for the inaugural card are Antonio Banuelos against Benny Vinson, Caleb Mitchell vs. Evan Esguerra, Roy Boughton vs. Liron Wilson, Mike Persons vs. Clayton McKinney, and Darin Cooley vs. Cody Gibson.
WAR MMA fight cards are expected to feature a mixture of professional and amateur bouts but it’s not yet been mentioned whether women’s bouts will feature in WAR MMA.

WAR 1 will stream live for free atNickDiazPromotions.com. The stream begins at 1am in the UK 8pm ET / 5pm. PT.

Non-title bouts will consist of three five-minute rounds, while title bouts, when instituted, will consist of five five-minute rounds, and fall under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. In an attempt to re-institute more grappling in to WAR MMA fights does not allow for elbows to the head of grounded opponent, forcing the fighter in top position on the ground to either advance position or create space for punching. WAR fights will also take place in a ring rather than a cage.

Keep checking Kingdom MMA for more updates on WAR MMA.

Nick Diaz to Set Up Own Promotion?

Nick Diaz trying to start his own promotion

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

After two years of hinting at retirement it looks like this time Diaz meant it.
He hinted at it after his Loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 143 and did the same after is loss to GSP in the UFC 158 post fight interview with Joe Rogan. Although at the post fight interview he did sound unsure about retirement and even suggested he could give Anderson Silva a run for his money, but with the emergence of WAR mixed martial arts it looks like he has decided to retire.

Diaz has created a website for the developing promotion called WAR Mixed Martial Arts at NickDiazPromotions.com and a similar Twitter account has been created.

With Nick Diaz’s history news of starting his own promotion could be taken with a pinch of salt but an official at the California State Athletic Commission on Monday stated, Diaz had started the process of applying along with his bother Nate for a promoter’s license in the state. The CSAC also said that there was a long way to go before the promotion could put on an event. Although, he did say that a background check on Diaz did come back clean.

Will it happen? Who knows but I think you can guarantee that with Nick Diaz at the helm it will be an interesting ride either way.

The Merits of Super Fights

Super fights, should they happen??

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

Are there any real super fights?
This has suddenly become quite a big topic. GSP vs Anderson Silva has always been Mooted and more recently everyone wants to see Jon Jones vs Anderson Silva. But now we also have Benson Henderson wanting to step up to fight GSP. Aldo wants to go up to 155. GSP possibly wants to avoid Hendricks again to finally fight Anderson.

This should not be allowed in my opinion. People like Hendricks fully deserves his title shot. Where is the incentive to take difficult fights if you are not rewarded? If you can just trash talk your way to a title shot instead of actually earning one.

It makes a mockery of the sport if people that earn title shots don't actually get them. If Henderson or St Pierre want to test themselves against another champion then that's fine, but you have to vacate the belt. Without a full ranking system implemented that seems the only fair option to me. Super fights should only occur when there is no viable contender to give the division time to work itself out.

GSP was out for 18 months recovering from injury. This put the division on hold. He came back and legitimately defended against Carlos Condit. He then held up the division again by taking the Nick Diaz fight who did not deserve a title shot. If he decides to fight Anderson next he's putting the division on hold again for another year. How can this possibly be fair?

I think the UFC need to put in place some rules for its champions. We all want to see the best fighting the best. That is the UFC's major pulling point over boxing, we don't want politics to affect title shots. At a push I can understand how team mates don't want to fight each other, but if that's the case then they should go up or down in weight to avoid that happening. That is where the politics should end in my opinion.

In my opinion the UFC also need to look at a rule for its champions in case of injuries. The fact Dominic Cruz is coming up to 2 years out and is still the UFC Bantamweight champion, is in my book ridiculous. At the minute no one knows where we stand though. I believe going forward with a rule in place it would be better for everyone involved and lead to people thinking one fighter is being treated differently to another if they are both in the same position.

Interview: Paul Daley Talks DFC, Ribeiro, Kickboxing, Michael Page, &More

Paul 'Semtex' Daley Talks to Kingdom MMA
By Chris Houten - @houts4thewin

Paul 'Semtex' Daley is one of the finest MMA fighters to come out of the UK. A former Cage Rage, and King of The Ring World Muay Thai Champion, Daley hold highlight reel victories over Martin Kampmann, Duane Ludwig, & Scott Smith just to name a few.

On Tuesday I caught up to with Daley to chat about his upcoming fight against Rodrigo 'Ximbica' Ribeiro for Dubai Fighting Championships, as well as his Bellator return. 

Chris: Firstly Paul, congratulations on becoming a dad, hows fatherhood treating you?
Daley: Yeah great, its a special experience.

I've read in other interviews you are hoping to return to Bellator around September, has there been any recent progress on getting you back, and are you still targeting the fall?
Yes, I will be back at Bellator this year 100%

Its great that Bellator are allowing you to fight for other promotions in the meantime, not only for yourself as we all know you like to stay active, and for the fans, but do you find it a little frustrating fighting on the 'local' scene? I mean your completely running through your opponents in these fights, does some one of your caliber want more?
Yes of course, but I can only deal with whats in front of me, I have no choice. When I return to Bellator its going to be great.

Your next fight will be for Dubai Fighting Championships against Rodrigo 'Ximbica' Ribeiro, what do you think of Ribeiro?
I think he is a BJJ Blackbelt, but has not been so successful in MMA. 

Going into the fight its likely Ribeiro will want to try and take you down and work for a submission, will you look to work on wrestling defense and your ju-jitsu for this training camp more than you normally would? 
No, not really, I always train to prepare for everything, I dont think his wrestling is of a high enough calibre to warrant specific training, but like I said I always prepare for everything.

Before the Ribeiro fight was announced your were looking for a fight on this past weekends Glory card, and was looking at a fight with Luke Sines for UCMMA at one stage. Is Kickboxing something you would like to go back to?
I would love to do some high level kickboxing, before I step away from the fight scene. I would love to win a Kickboxing tournament, Like K1 or GLORY.

Do you think you will likely take another fight before your return to Bellator, or do you expect DFC 4 to be your last?
I think this fight at DFC will be my last before returning to  Bellator. Yes, things seem to be working out nicely.

Last Thursday, fellow Brit Michael Page made his Bellator debut knocking out Ryan Sanders, in just 10 seconds. Have you had chance to see his fight yet, and if so what do you think of the Page's prospects? 
I have seen the fight, and I think Page is very talented, he can do alot in the sport. 

In between rounds at UFC 158, Nick Diaz can be seen deliberately throwing punches at GSP, and its appears he is going to escape punishment. What are your thoughts on this? 
It is what it is, I cant really comment, there is no governing to the UFC, its as business, and bosses always have their favorites. 

Finally is there any training partners, or sponsors out there that you would like to thank?  
Spirit Dojo and my coaching staff Team Semtex, Sponsors: banned fightwear, fearless fightwear, maximuscle, JACO baseball caps, my management/wad allamadine, and all my fans/supporters/ family and friends.
 
Thank you for your time Paul!

Don't forget to check out Semtex.tv and like Paul Daley on Facebook

The Winners & Losers of UFC 158!!

The Winners & Losers of UFC 158

by Tommy Strong - @strong_tea

 

It's been two days removed since we saw GSP retain his Welterweight title in dominant fashion at UFC 158 in Montreal Quebec Canada.
This event was meant to put the Welterweight division into some perspective, though Im still not sure we are any the wiser with the talent pool so deep in this weight class.
So where do the winners & losers of the Welterweight division, top contenders go from here? Lets start with the current champion GSP.

GSP  (24-2-0) v Hendricks (15-1-0):

We truly have a number 1 contender in Johny Hendricks that has earn't his title shot at George off the back of some very impressive wins against, Fitch,Koscheck, Kampmann & Condit. And not off the back of a failed drug test and a loss!

This fight really has my mouth watering! George won't be able to implement his normal style of take down , hold them down labour his way to a UD.
He will almost be forced to stand with Hendricks who is probably one of, if not the hardest puncher pound for pound in the UFC right at this moment.
I hope Hendricks hasn't sustained to much damage to his left hand after his fight with Carlos, so a Summer fight v GSP could take place.

Diaz (27-9-1) v Condit (28-7-0):

This to me makes perfect sense. Having fought each other at UFC 143 just over a year ago , where Carlos won in a close fought battle. Both coming off losses and Im sure Diaz would like to avenge his loss to Carlos in a fight that he and his fans thought he done enough to win.
Diaz talked about retirement straight after his loss to GSP, but I think thats just all spur of the moment talk and deep down doesn't really mean it.
Once he sits back and reflects on his career, I believe he will be back in the octagon again soon.

Ellenberger (29-6-0) v Rory Macdonald (14-1-0):

After a very impressive knockout out over Nate Marquardt on Saturday night, Ellenberger is fast becoming a top contender for the title. Like wise so is Rory. Having to pull out of his fight against Carlos Condit due to an injury, he will be itching to get back in the cage with a Top 5 fighter like Ellenberger to push himself further up the rankings, so this could be a perfect fight for both fighters.


Nate Marquardt (35-12-2) v The Dreaded Cut ( 98-0)?

With back to back loses and with his previous history of failed drugs test & suspensions he really must be looking down the barrel of the UFC loaded gun that has 98 bullets left to fire!
But winning the Welterweight title in his debut for Strikeforce in a very impressive manner over Tyron Woodley, he might be given one more chance in the UFC before they decide his time is up.

UFC 158 Main Card Picks

Kingdom MMA main card picks for this Saturdays UFC 158 event

Georges St-Pierre vs Nick Diaz

Chris: Let me just start by saying how insane it would be if Nick Diaz was to become champion, you think it’s hard to get the guy to do press obligations now, imagine if he was ‘the motherfucking’ champion.

Don’t get me wrong I love Nick Diaz. I love how he is genuinely willing to fight anyone, and I share some of his sentiments on boring wrestlers who stall, but I just don’t see him winning this fight. Granted nothing in MMA is guaranteed, and Diaz does have the skill set to stop GSP and has clearly rattled GSP, but I don’t see how Diaz stops the constant take downs of GSP, and the only way he wins is by an unlikely late submission off his back.

St-Pierre to win by a lopsided unanimous decision.

Pick – Georges St-Pierre UD

Tommy: It will be a long tough night for Diaz, GSP will look to take him down, ground & pound him for 5 rounds and enjoy every second of it.

I love Diaz & what he stands for inside the cage, but 13 months out of the ring won't help his cause and I struggling to find a way he can beat GSP…

Pick – Georges St-Pierre TKO4

Ben: I’m going to go straight in and say it. I don’t think Diaz should be fighting for the title and in no ways deserves it. How he can get the shot over Hendricks makes absolutely no sense to me.

Thankfully for me though, I see absolutely no way in which he wins this fight. In fact I see more chance of Diaz not showing up to the fight than I do seeing him winning the fight.

No matter where this fight takes place it will be GSP who controls the fight from start to finish and my only disappointment will be that I don’t think GSP will finish Diaz. However I do think it will be so one sided even a stupid judge won’t be able to score it wrong.

Pick – Georges St-Pierre UD

Carlos Condit vs Johny Hendricks

Chris: You have got to feel sorry for Hendricks – he knocks out Fitch, beats Kos, then knocks out out Kampmann in a number one contender fighter, and still no title shot! The worse bit about it is this fight is probably going to rob him of his well deserved shot at the Welterweight title, in a fight that robs a division of its clear cut contender, something the UFC has been keen on doing in 2013 – see Bisping vs Belfort, Overeem vs Bigfoot, and Dan Henderson vs Lyoto Machida.

Sure Bigg Rigg could land one left and Condits world could come crashing down, and I can appreciate his college wrestling pedigree, but Condit is the complete package – he has excellent sweeps to get back up if he is taken down, a descent ju-jitsu game, KO power, and is a smart fight.

Look for Condit to frustrate Hendricks the same way he did Nick Diaz by popping in an out, and take a heartbreaking unanimous decision.

Pick - Carlos Condit UD

Tommy: Don't get me wrong I love this match up, but it doesn't make much sense to me.

Hendricks gains nothing by winning, he's the no.1 contender and has everything to lose. If Condit wins, he won't be getting a title shot next.

Condit will look to keep the fight at range staying away from Hendricks huge left hand. Using his jabs and movement not allowing Hendricks to get on the inside and land that power bomb.
If Hendricks can force his way inside taking some damage in the process he has a good chance of either landing that left hand or taking Condit down then he has a chance of winning the fight.

Pick – Carlos Condit UD

Ben: I agree with Tommy on this one, I love the match up however I preferred the original fight of Condit vs Rory. I still believe Rory got screwed in the first fight against Condit and would have loved to see the rematch.

That being said I see two outcomes to this fight. The first and the one I am hoping happens for Hendricks as he deserves his shot at the belt is he connects with his hammer of a left hand and knocks out Condit, unfortunately I am not confident this will happen.

I predict this fight will play out much like the Condit vs Diaz fight did… just with less middle fingers being stuck up during the fight. I see Condit getting inside scoring with quick combos and leg kicks before quickly getting back on the outside. Unfortunately this may mean it ends up being a boring fight when it has the potential to be such a great fight. It will also be a sad end to the run at the belt for now.

Pick – Carlos Condit SD

Jake Ellenberger vs Nate Marquardt

Chris: For me this is a great match up of two quality welterweights. Marquardt on one hand has pretty solid hands, is big for the division, is always a submission threat, but can be inconsistent. His opponent Ellenberger, has strong offensive wrestling, one punch knockout power, is coming off a full training camp, but has been known to have cardio issues. This fight could go either way, that being said Marquardt has shown in recent fights he can be hit, and Ellenberger has the offense to win this fight either using his wrestling or striking.

Pick - Jake Ellenberger- SD

Tommy: Just even mentioning the cheats name sends shivers down my spine! Though, he's taken the fight at short notice.

Both can be inconsistent inside the cage and never totally sure what fighter will turn up. Nate will be the bigger fighter and is huge at 170, his clinch will be better and his striking. Jake will have the edge wrestling, he's had a full training camp to prepare and as long as he can go the full 3 rounds I expect him to edge out Nate.

Pick - Jake Ellenberger UD

Ben: Again this fight plays out one of two ways for me, the first is that Nate comes out and puts on a performance the likes of his fight against Tyron Woodley in which he comes out as a man possessed and wanting to prove that he deserves to be back in the UFC. Unfortunately for Nate having not had a full training camp this may be a bit too soon for this to happen.

What I think is more likely is for Jake Ellenberger to out wrestle Marquardt and try and keep him on the ground before beating Nate with his ground and pound like we saw in the first round against Martin Kampmann.  I believe if he gets him down and tires Nate out in the first round the fitness levels will start to pull through and Ellenberger having the full camp should then start to dominate.

Pick – Jake Ellenberger UD

Chris Camozzi vs Nick Ring

Chris: For me this fight is a pick 'em fight. I think both fighters bring their own unique skill set - Ring has better kicks, and a better ground game, Camozzi has better boxing. The real question is how fit injury prone Ring is coming into this fight. While I wouldn't at all surprise me if Ring wins, I like Camozzi to use his superior boxing and improving ground game to keep this fight on the fight and to take this one by decision.

Pick - Chris Camozzi UD

Tommy: Camozzi is on a 3 fight win streak looking to make it 4 against Ring. Though Ring has a better all round game . Im picking Ring to take the fight to the ground and submit Camozzi inside the distance.

Pick - Ring Sub 2nd Round

Ben: I believe this fight certainly could go either way and is a very even match up, though both fighters bring completely different skill sets to the table. I also think that Ring will just have the edge thanks to his ground game and will finish the fight in the third with a submission and put an end to Camozzi’s three fight win streak.

Pick – Ring Sub 3rd Round
 

Colin Fletcher vs Mike Ricci

Chris: There is no one I want to win more on this card than Colin Fletcher, in the times I have met him he has been polite, charming and excellent with the fans – I have seen him climb walls and ignore telling offs from stewards to take photos with fans, and give most of his evening to spend time with them when he just trying to have a night out with his wife. That said I’m not sure he has the skill set to win this fight. Ricci is a quality fighter, he simply had a bad day against a great wrestler in Colton Smith. I think Ricci has the better striking and the better ground game, and justifies being the favourite here.

Pick - Mike Ricci UD


Tommy: Ricci is back to his natural weight class, after losing to Colton Smith in the TUF 16 final. This will suit him much better.

Freakshow is a lovely guy , but I think Ricci is more well rounded and will grind out a UD over Colin.
I really hope I’m wrong, as Colin has much more to offer than just a clown.

Pick - Ricci UD

Ben: I agree with Chris, you will struggle to meet a nicer MMA fighter than Colin Fletcher. A fighter who is willing to give up so much of his time to chat to fans and have pictures taken with hundreds of people in a night.

Although, Fletcher loves dressing as the clown in the weigh ins and outside of the cage his skills in the cage are far from being a joke. He has a lot to offer and I feel he will come out and put on a show this weekend after his poor performance last time out (by his own admission). Unfortunately all I think this will lead to is a competitive bout with Ricci but I still believe Ricci will have too much and will take the win.

The fact that Ricci had been competitive and made it to the TUF finale in a weight class that is not his natural proves he can fight. Now back to Lightweight I believe this will be a fight where Ricci can showcase his skills again to a PPV audience.

Pick – Ricci UD