Nick Diaz has admitted that BJ Penn was his "first idol in MMA" and "it sucks that I have to fight him". Yet he knows to progress, he must beat the best. The UFC 137 main event has split the MMA world.
At UFC 137, Diaz meets the Hawaiian who has a very similar blend of boxing and BJJ.
Diaz said: “BJ Penn was my first idol in MMA. I got into this when I was 16, I bought a magazine with him in there and I pulled out the pictures of him and put them on my wall. It kinda sucks we are fighting but if you want to be the best you have to fight the best and it is what it is.”
Of course, Diaz was due to fight Georges St-Pierre for the UFC welterweight title before the well-documented change in opponent. The Stockton brawler, though, believes he will prove himself the best fighter in the world at 170lbs. He said: “If I have a good night, I can beat anybody. I can beat anybody in the world. My thing is I know I can train harder than anyone else. I know I can do that. And I know I can fight hard.”
Penn said: “I feel the best is still inside me. Early in my career I was so focused on getting the belt, or being the pound-for-pound No1 or talking smack about this guy or that guy… I changed as I got older. Right now, I feel I got a clean slate in the sport. I am happy with my career, winning two titles and beating some great fighters, but I also feel I have more to do, I have to get better and I have to show I am as good as people have said I am. Iʼm getting older, and this is a career to me but fighting is what I live for.
“As far as this thing as I have to hate everyone I fight, or proving I can outbox a boxer or tapout the best BJJ guy, I donʼt need to prove that anymore. What I want to do is fight hard, win some big fights, and see what happens. Iʼd like to win the title but I donʼt think about that. Getting a title shot is about timing. If Iʼd have got the decision against Jon Fitch, Iʼd have got a title shot already. But even though Nick Diaz is a top guy, beating him may not get me a title shot because the timing may not work out.
“But thatʼs cool. I am fighting for victory, to beat the best guys out there. And fighting Nick allows me to do that.”
KEYS TO THE CONTEST: While some were surprised by Pennʼs bold strategy of attempting out-wrestling NCAA Division 1 standout Jon Fitch, in his most recent bout at UFC 127 in February, and forcing a draw, BJʼs career stats show his wrestling is heavily underrated.
While Penn is highly-regarded for his boxing skills – his tally of 746 power-punches is the third best in the UFC– Pennʼs wrestling stats also make for impressive reading. The Prodigy scores with 64% of his takedowns, placing him tenth in UFC history in terms of offensive grappling.
His defensive wrestling is even more impressive; Penn stuffs 77% of all opponentʼs attempts to take him down. And considering Penn has once again brought in former nemesis turned BFF Matt Hughes as a wrestling coach for this camp, expect Pennʼs wrestling to be razor sharp at UFC 137.
(Stats courtesy of UFC media pack).
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