Strikeforce: Noons vs. Diaz 2 Parting Shots

Those with Showtime subscriptions (or friends that shell out the extra money for it) were no doubt pleased with the quality MMA fights that Strikeforce put on last weekend. As noted earlier, the fights had a little bit of everything, and there are some intriguing things to think over now that the proverbial dust has settled.

Should Diaz-Miller be next on tap?

So, although matchmaker extraordinaire Mauro Ranallo thinks we need to see Diaz-Noons again, it appears that Nick Diaz and Jason “Mayhem” Miller feel a bit differently. They reportedly had yet another altercation as Diaz was walking to the post-fight press conference, which will undoubtedly only increase the demand for a fight between the two from fans who love grudge matches, Showtime executives, and the fighters themselves. This has about a 99% chance of being Diaz’s next fight.

A lot of people think that Diaz should be doing other things, such as defending his title. However, this is one situation where I disagree. In the UFC, each division has several fighters who could be legitimate title contenders at any given point, and they need to have their champs fighting the best guys, at least for the sake of the integrity of the titles themselves…whatever that means.

However, Strikeforce is a much different situation, particularly in the welterweight division. At heavyweight and middleweight, Strikeforce’s two strongest divisions, there are a few good contenders that are waiting in line for title shots, but not welterweight. I don’t think it hurts anything to have Diaz go up in weight to settle the score with Miller. If Miller wins, it gives him a win over a legit opponent in a big name fight, which could give him a nice bump. A Diaz win further legitimizes the already-respected Diaz, especially since he moves up in weight for the fight.

Lastly, for the camp that says, “Why reward Miller for his post-fight antics following the Shields-Henderson fight?”, I say “Pffffffffffffffffffffffbbbbbbbbbbbttttttttttttt.” Lighten up, you fun haters. It’s a grudge match between two talented fighters…what’s not to like? Plus, let’s not *cough Kimbo Slice cough* act like *cough Jose Canseco cough* we’re in *cough James Toney cough* a sport where *cough Herschel Walker cough* only the best, *cough Gilbert Yvel cough* most professional fighters *cough Phil Baroni cough* get promotional pushes. To ignore the value of the grudge match or the role of the fighter who will do anything to get attention is to turn your back on what a lot of this sport has always been about. Yeah, yeah, it’s a “human chess match” between “the best athletes in the world” and all that, but it’s still two dudes fighting in a cage.

What’s this…styles really make fights?

Is anyone still amazed by how supposed jiu-jitsu stylist (I say “supposed” because of his preference for striking) Nick Diaz out-struck KJ Noons? I mean, KJ Noons is a real boxer, people. I was told all about it roughly 70 times over the last few Noons fights on Showtime.

Come on, though. Noons likes to slug it out, and when he’s not lacing up the ginormous gloves for a boxing match he seems to take a fairly carefree (read: not bothering with head movement) approach. Diaz, on the other hand, uses nice, straight punches, isn’t worried about knocking anybody out and uses his combination of medium-force punches at a high volume and great cardio to stay in his opponent’s faces all night. This fight was practically tailor-made for him, barring Noons landing a kill shot out of the blue.

The value of submissions

Submissions may be the best part of MMA. There simply is no quicker type of momentum change than someone snatching up an arm or cinching in a choke out of the blue to turn a dire situation into an instant win. Outside of the rare “eyes closed, swinging for the fences” punch when someone is in trouble, there is little in combat sports or any sports in general that compares to a quick submission.

Look at the fight between Sarah Kaufman and Marloes Coenen. While Kaufman wasn’t landing anything particularly threatening, it’s hard to deny the ages-old reaction to seeing one fighter postured up, striking away at another who is stuck on his or her back. Kaufman, who said she felt like she was putting Coenen in trouble, was in command one moment and tapping frantically the next, as Coenen sunk in an extremely deep arm bar. It was a great finish, though not what Kaufman had in mind, and in the end is great for women’s MMA in general.

Oh, and props to Kaufman for saying in interviews after the fight that she didn’t think Coenen meant anything by holding the arm bar until the referee (belatedly) intervened. I saw her saying that it was “okay” and “fine” to Coenen after the fight, but many fighters seem to squash beefs immediately after a fight, only to throw their opponent under the bus to the media minutes or hours later. Kaufman didn’t follow that trend, and I’m impressed.

Quick Shots

–You have to hate when a fight raises the types of questions that Josh Thomson vs. Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante did. You want to give Thomson props for the win, but there’s so many asterisks and questions involved. First off, the decision was razor-thin and at least one judge watched it with her eyes closed for a sizable portion of the proceedings. Then, you don’t know whether JZ was really back to top form or not, especially since Thomson admitted that he had the worst camp of his career before the fight. Was it a depleted fighter beating an erratic talent? Should Thomson get extra credit for hanging with JZ after a crappy camp? I really don’t know.

–I know I should say something about Tyron Woodley, but what do you want me to say, really? He swarmed and stopped Andre Galvao. It’s a nice win for a fighter at Woodley’s point in his career, but it doesn’t prove that he’s the next best thing or anything. I will be excited to see Woodley fight again (especially if there’s another slight step up in competition), but I generally take a practical approach when considering up-and-coming fighters. I want to see quality wins against top opposition. That’s why you won’t find Jon Jones in my top ten yet.

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Tags: Andre Galvao, Gesias Cavalcante, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Josh Thomson, KJ Noons, Marloes Coenen, Nick Diaz, Sarah Kaufman, Strikeforce, Strikeforce: Noons vs. Diaz 2, Tyron Woodley