As MMA news outlets erupted into a collective frenzy Wednesday over Nick Diaz no-showing for an open media workout, their NFL counterparts seemed to come to terms with the fact that Seattle Seahawks star running back Marshawn Lynch isn’t in Phoenix this week for a media tour – he’s there to win a Super Bowl.
Like Lynch, what you see is what you get from Diaz. He’s an old-school fighter who has little or no interest in waxing poetic with the press, especially when he's constantly vilified for everything he says or does.
The reality is Diaz doesn’t need to play nice with a room full of media to sell a fight or raise his stock in the sport. He’s a fighter, and a very good one at that. His record and his highlight reel say more than he should ever have to, yet more is always expected from him.
Back in his Strikeforce days, Diaz always showed up when he was told to, even if it meant having to speak with reporters who misquoted or painted him in a negative light. It seems that years of bad press drove Diaz to institute his own press embargo.
He hasn’t said that, but does he really have to?
This is the second fight week media workout Nick has missed. The first was the week of his UFC 158 title fight against former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre. Although his reasoning behind sitting out from that PR event was quite reasonable, it wasn't readily accepted.
“Either I missed [the workout] or I missed [this press conference], but I was going to have to catch up on some sleep," Diaz explained. "I was on some later hours. I think it outweighed the repercussions. I’m sorry I didn’t put on a show for the fans, but I’d like to also put on a show for the fans on Saturday night, so I’m just trying to make the best decisions to make a showing at 100 percent.”
Pantomiming punches and kicks, playing nice with his opponents and posing for photos has never been Diaz's thing, especially when the promotion of the event plays up that aforementioned 'bad boy' narrative. The poster for UFC 158 looked like a classic monster movie advertisement, complete with Diaz’s enlarged and sneering face in the place where a Boris Karloff character’s would have been.
The fact didn’t escape Diaz, who expressed his distaste in a press conference that he did show up for.
“I would like to put out the best image I could," Diaz said then. "To be honest with you, I think a lot of times they make me out to be the evil guy. I fit the description of the evil villain. I think Georges fits the description of a good guy. I mean, look at my poster. No offense, but [the UFC] has had plenty of time to switch my poster,” Diaz pointed out. “That picture of me is from years ago. Can I get one buttered-up, Photoshopped picture in a magazine or on a poster? I hate to play the victim card but I like to think it’s not always my fault that I come off the way I do.”
His words must have fallen on deaf ears as the Zuffa marketing machine rolled out a similar poster for Saturday night’s event.
Prior to the UFC 158 no-show, Diaz also protested his media obligations for UFC 137 by refusing to fly to and from Montreal and Las Vegas for back-to-back mid-camp press conferences.
It backfired.
Electing to not get on the plane to Montreal that the UFC booked for him, or his subsequent replacement flight to Nevada cost him a title shot as Carlos Condit stepped in for him on the tour and for the fight.
"I'd had my reservations about Nick Diaz for a long time," UFC president Dana White said. "You've heard me use the term 'play the game.' All I asked him for was this much. When he signed, I said, 'Let me tell you what kid, add up all the purses of you career, this will be biggest fight of your life.' You have the opportunity to fight GSP and win the welterweight title. But I need you to do certain things.”
Ironically, by bucking convention, Diaz garners more headlines and creates more buzz than he would if he fell in line like a good soldier.
Maybe we should all just let Nick be Nick.
from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1vbMMTW
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