Diaz Submits Cyborg In An All-Out Brawl

We got to see just about everything you need to know about Nick Diaz during last night’s fight with Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos. Though the Strikeforce Welterweight Championship bout only lasted just short of two rounds, the grueling fight would be one to show someone who has no idea who Nick Diaz is.

We saw Diaz eat punches from a powerful striker, often right on the chin, and be no worse for wear afterward. We saw Diaz counter with his usual flood of accurate punches, working to overwhelm his opponent. We saw Diaz quickly work for a submission as soon as the fight hit the mat, leading to the conclusion of the bout via armbar. We even saw Diaz show a lot of heart and toughness by weathering the storm of leg kicks that Cyborg landed from the earliest moments of the fight onward.

Just to top it all off, we also saw Diaz’s volatile personality after the fight, when he confronted people in the crowd that had apparently been taunting him. As soon as the fight concluded, Diaz made his way toward the offending parties, climbed the cage and gave them the Diaz double-bird special with a side order of thrown mouthpiece for good measure. (As a side note, the rumors that he was addressing Cyborg’s wife are incorrect- she was seated on the other side of the cage from where the incident occurred.)

The next welterweight challenger may be the most compelling one left- slugger Paul Daley. Daley has a fight coming up outside of Strikeforce against Yuya Shirai, and if he prevails he will have the next shot at Diaz. One would think that Diaz could tip things pretty far in his favor by simply taking the fight to the mat, but Diaz has often shown a willingness to “look the critter in the eye,” as Don Frye once put it, so there should be a lot of standup in that one, too.

Meanwhile, Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza was also successful on Saturday night, as he defended his title against challenger Robbie Lawler. Lawler had his moments early on, staying out of trouble on the mat and putting together a couple of flurries, but things quickly turned in Jacare’s favor as the bout became more one-sided.

Jacare converted nearly all of his takedown attempts and made life very stressful for Lawler on the ground, as he consistently improved his position and threatened with submissions. Lawler actually had some very crafty armbar escapes in the second round, but was forced to be on the defensive basically the entire round, too. Finally, it was all she wrote when Jacare was able to take Lawler’s back in the third round, quickly sinking in his hooks and working for a choke. An apparently-fatigued Lawler didn’t put up much of a fight, trying to keep his chin down but not really working to control Jacare’s wrists in defense, and the tap came soon after Jacare dug the choke all the way in.

In other news, all seven of Herschel Walker’s fans can rejoice, as he was able to handle a slightly bigger test in the form of veteran Scott Carson at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg. Every time that Carson showed a flash of competitiveness, such as when he glanced a high kick off of Walker at the start of the fight or nearly stood up from the mat after a scramble, he would go right back into “passive mode” and seemingly allow Walker to take it to him.

Granted, Walker is quite a physical specimen, even at 48 years old, and Carson is 40 himself. However, Carson just wasn’t up to the task, and a left hook against the cage dropped Carson, prompting a referee stoppage not long after to grant Walker his second MMA win. While Walker is obviously too green and too old to ever figure into the title mix, it would be nice to see him get another step up in competition for his next bout, since he is obviously ready for it.

Finally, Roger Gracie made quick work of veteran Trevor Prangley in the first televised bout of the evening. Prangley, who is always tough, just wasn’t any match for Gracie on the mat, just as the vast majority of MMA fighters aren’t. It was only a matter of time until Gracie got the rear naked choke after he managed to get the fight to the mat and take Prangley’s back. Gracie remains undefeated at 4-0 following the win.

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Tags: Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, Herschel Walker, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, Roger Gracie, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg, Trevor Prangley