UFC lightweight Nate Diaz is coming off a recent split decision loss to Clay Guida back in January of 2009 at the UFC 94 ‘St. Pierre vs. Penn 2’ event. Diaz insists that he personally doesn’t feel he lost to Guida, but understands that he is continuously learning the fight game every time he steps into the cage. Young fighters have difficulties differentiating fighting and the sport of mixed martial arts, but Diaz plans to learn from those mistakes in order to succeed in the UFC.
Diaz is currently training for his upcoming bout against Joe “Daddy” Stevenson, another tough fighter who is desperate for a win. Stevenson has lost three of his last four fights, so this may be possibly be a do or die situation for the young wrestler from Torrance, California. As for Diaz, he has won five of his last six fights but he’ll be trying to bounce back from his loss against Guida. Expect fireworks at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale, scheduled to take place on June 20th at The Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Snip from Nate Diaz (props to mmaweekly.com):
“I wish these fights were unlimited time, like 30-minute fights or 10-minute rounds…Clay Guida’s a good dude…He comes to fight and everything. I just don’t feel like I lost to him, personally. It just sucks that he gets to say he beat me…I even lose because of that, because I’m here trying to finish and hurt people…Because it’s a fight, right? But now it’s more of a sport. I mean it’s always been a sport, but it’s more about points. You gottta get used to it…I’m never not showing up, because there’s 10, 15 other guys that will be calling my phone…Jake, Gilbert, Nick… they’re going to be calling my phone if I’m not there. Cesar’s on my case. Even when I’m training hard, he’s calling me every day, making sure I’m doing stuff…Sometimes I’m too busy trying to finish, kill ’em, put a beatdown on them, and I get taken down when I’m trying to rip people’s heads off…You’ve gotta be careful, you have to make sure you’re scoring points, staying ahead, and you’ve only got 15 minutes…[Joe Stevenson] He does the same type of thing as me, a totally different body style, so it might look different…But he strikes with people… he’s really well rounded. It’s going to be a tough fight. He’s one of the top guys in this weight division. I don’t want no slouches. I’m ready to put that ass whuppin’ down…Most of the time, these Top 10 guys are not Top 10 guys…But they’ve done it, they’ve been fighting. I see what they do and I know what I’m capable of.”
