Shamrock Faces Interesting Challenge Against Diaz

In March of 2003, Frank Shamrock decided to step back into the limelight and presumably resume his career as an active mixed martial artist.  At the time, it had been over three years since Shamrock beat Elvis Sinosic by decision in K-1, and four and a half years since Shamrock’s final bout in the UFC, a late fourth round victory over Tito Ortiz.  For Shamrock’s return fight, he chose to fight against Bryan Pardoe at WEC 6.  On the undercard, a young fighter named Nick Diaz fought his eight professional fight against Joe Hurley, who he defeated by submission in the first round, by way of a kimura.  Shamrock won his fight by an armbar in just one minute and forty-six seconds.

In the six years since his comeback to mixed martial arts against Pardoe, Frank Shamrock has been very careful about who he has chosen to fight.  In fact, before Shamrock’s bout against Cung Le a little over a year earlier, Shamrock hadn’t really gotten into a fight that would appear to put him in serious danger.  Though he seemingly got himself intentionally disqualified when Renzo Gracie was out-positioning him for the first two rounds of their bout, few would have given Gracie the certain advantage going into the bout.  The same could definitely be said for Shamrock’s 2007 matchup against Phil Baroni, who packs a powerful punch, but has a history of cardio issues and a lackluster ground game.

Now, though, Shamrock faces the most well-rounded fighter that he’s probably ever faced, considering that the bulk of his career took place when most fighters specialized in just one or two distinct styles.  As a result, Nick Diaz provides Shamrock with the most difficult matchup he’s had in years, one that could help us get a better idea of where Shamrock stands at this point in his career.

While the fight is at a catch-weight and Diaz is fighting at ten pounds heavier than normal (Shamrock is fighting five pounds below his normal weight class of 185 pounds), this fight will still give us a good idea of what Shamrock’s got left in the tank.  Diaz is no pushover, and could conceivably give Shamrock all he can handle on the ground, where the brash fighter from Stockton, CA is at his best. 

Whether Diaz could submit the veteran is up for debate, but after watching Gracie out-position Shamrock and frustrate him on the ground a couple of years ago, it would appear that Diaz would have the edge.

In the standup portion of the fight, it’s hard to imagine who has the definitive advantage.  The two fighters have such distinctive (and different) styles, with Diaz pawing at opponents with a high-volume of quick, somewhat light punches.  Meanwhile, Shamrock is more of your prototypical MMA fighter in the standup, utilizing kicks and power combinations.  Unlike Diaz, he is looking to hurt his opponent with strikes rather than simply overwhelm him or put him in a disadvantageous position.  It will be interesting to see which fighter will take the fight to the ground first.  Diaz would seem to be the best bet, but he is also a fighter who chose to stand and bang with Robbie Lawler at one point.  It’s unlikely that he will worry about Shamrock’s standup, so we could see a fair amount of kickboxing.

If Shamrock could defeat Diaz in a decisive manner, it would really cement his legacy and help silence doubters who believe he’s no longer relevant in the fight game today.  Whether Shamrock would capitalize on that and continue challenging himself by facing top fighters is the question.  For Diaz, the fight may not do a lot to improve his standing in the rankings, but it would certainly put him on the map with more casual fans and help him to continue building on his own legacy.  For a fight that isn’t for a belt and has few implications as far as rankings go, this one has fans interested to see the outcome. 
With two fighters who have polarizing personalities, this is one where the fight itself could actually surpass the considerable pre-fight trash talk.

 by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: Frank Shamrock, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, Tito Ortiz, UFC, WEC