The Best of Nick Diaz From The UFC 137 Conference Call

Even when he wasn’t on the line, Diaz was the center of attention

With all due respect to BJ Penn, Matt Mitrione, and Cheick Kongo, today’s UFC 137 media conference call was all about Nick Diaz.

In failing to be on the line at the outset of the call, Diaz became the focus, with Twitter lighting up in a 140-character, text-driven game of “Where’s Waldo?” starring the Stockton, California native.

He became a trending topic, and prompted UFC President Dana White to tweet that his own PR staff had dropped the ball with Diaz regarding his participation on the call.

After a 37 minute question and answer period with the three initial attendees, Diaz arrived on the line, and the call became an epic event.

Here’s the highlights of what the new, old UFC 137 headliner had to say this afternoon.

Q: What happened in the last 24 hours? Why did you miss the call or why were you late to the call?

Diaz: I didn’t know there was a call. What happened? I didn’t even know there was a call. Nobody call me in the last week, or the last couple days and told me there was a call.

I trained last night, I went home, had something to eat, when to sleep, woke up, my phone was dead, and then my brother’s telling me I’m supposed to be on a call. I don’t know anything about it; it’s as simple as that.

Q: So it’s more just the circumstances of you not getting notice?

Diaz: Yeah, I didn’t get any notice for this call until about half-hour ago, or no — not even that — 15 minutes ago.

Q: A lot has gone on with this fight with main events and injuries and things like that. Do you have any regrets about the lead-up to this fight or do you really not let that stuff affect you?

Diaz: In what way? In training or what do you mean?

Q: Well, you were off the main event because you didn’t go to the press conferences, then you seemed off the card, then you’re in the co-main event, then you’re in the main event. Seems to be a lot of turmoil?

Diaz: I’ve just done my best to try not to focus on what’s going on, you know, and just try to live every day like it’s not a big deal. I don’t know what’s going to happen with me, but it’s not going to make a difference whether or not I whine or cry about it, or panic to get things done. I’m just going to do what I always do — train, and when it’s time to fight, I go fight.

hat really depends on whether or not I’m ready, and that’s really about me, not whatever is going on in the world or who I’m fighting, who I’m not fighting. I’m not really going to have a choice on that; my job is to fight when I have to fight, when I’m told to fight, and that’s what I do well. Everything else is just going to be a whole ‘nother task than fighting itself.

Q: Do you think you’re being treated fairly leading up into this whole UFC 137, return to the UFC or do you think perhaps you made any missteps?

Diaz: I’d rather kind of just plead the fifth on that because I didn’t make any mistakes as far as training and doing what I do. I’ve been there putting in 100% and I always thought that’s what’s important; people want to see good fights, good fighters, and that’s what I’m trying to bring to the table.

Q: How do you feel about fighting BJ for your introduction into the UFC?

Diaz: I’m not happy about it at all. I’m fighting a guy that’s my friend, or was my friend and now I’m fighting this guy. I was set to fight — I was signed to fight a certain guy, I thought we had a deal, that’s kind of where I’m at, that’s how it set off. Of course I’m going to deal… these are hard times, just like they’ve always been, and I didn’t expect them to get any easier.

This definitely doesn’t make anything easier. I don’t like fighting people I already know, or I’ve already met or I’ve trained with, have video on me, because we spent a lot of time training together. It’s kind of a shady feeling going into a fight like that. I’m just doing what my manager says. They work it out in the gym training, and then they tell me, “Do this or that.” I’m just doing what I’m told.

Q: Do you think this is a better fight for you stylistically or would you have preferred to fight GSP?

Diaz: I would have preferred to fight GSP, of course, because it’s not like I’m fighting someone I already know. I’m fighting for the title. That’s why I started this; that’s why I came to the UFC — to fight for the title. I came to fight for the money, I came to fight for the title, and that was the GSP fight, so now I’m not getting that fight.

I think I had the right skills and the right tools to do the job in that fight. I don’t know whether this fight is going to make me come off looking better or worse. I know that, I think that Georges comes out — he’s a little bit bigger than BJ size-wise — and he’d be able to hold BJ and stall for the rounds, and I don’t think he would have been able to do that to me, especially in a five-round fight. I was looking forward to that, and I think that was going to be interesting to see how he was going to deal with me, or how I was going to deal with him.

This fight, it’s a completely different fight. I think BJ is a lot better fighter to be honest with you, on a technical standpoint. He’s much better at jiu-jitsu, boxing. I don’t think he should fight at this weight. I don’t think he looked so great in his last fight at 155-pounds for whatever reason, but yeah, I think he’s a much better fighter than GSP all-around.

Q: I know you said you try to not let the things that happen outside of your training and preparing for a fight bother you, but do you have any regret at all because you didn’t get that title fight because you didn’t get on a plane?

Diaz: Well yeah, of course I have regret. I regret I have people who are supposed to take care of stuff. I have a lawyer or whatever, people get paid something like 100 grand — I don’t know — a ridiculous amount of money.

I’ve been doing the same, living the same since I was 17. I live down the street from my parents who I used to live in the same house with; now I live with my brother. I’ve got all these business people and big money people around me trying to make deals, and I don’t know anything about that. All I know is that somebody is getting paid over 100 grand just to tell me what I’m supposed to do and not supposed to do, and I’m thinking for that much money, I could have had somebody standing around telling me, “Hey, you can’t miss this press conference. That voids the whole contract, and then you’re out. You ain’t gettin’ [beep]. You ain’t fighting’ [beep]. You ain’t makin’ no money, so you have to be at this thing. It’s simple.

If I had read that thing over myself, I’d have been a little more cautious, and not been like, “Oh, I’ve got people getting paid to tell me you need to be here or there.” If I didn’t feel like I had that, I’d have probably read that shit myself, and dealt with things myself, and been a little more cautious, and I probably would have showed up at that press conference, but that’s not the case.

I’m in the gym training hard; I think that’s what’s important. I think we made a deal, and I think a deals a deal, you know what I mean? I don’t know anything about going back on that. That doesn’t even, that never came to mind. As far as I’m concerned, the people working for me that should have been there to tell me what’s what, and I didn’t have that like everybody else does.

Q: Are those people still working for you, Nick?

Diaz: Not by choice, if so. I don’t know. I just — it’s whatever. It’s not like I have all this time to go get into that part either — who’s working for me, who’s not working for me. I’ve been training. I had to deal with everybody telling me, “Oh, you’re fighting this guy, you’re fighting that guy. You’re fighting, you’re not fighting.” I’ve had to deal with all that through this whole thing.

Of course I’m going to have to deal with all that on top of hard training. It’s not easy.

Q: Do you think what happened today was one of those people didn’t tell you about the press conference today?

Diaz: When should I have known about this press conference?

Q: I’m just asking because I think it has been scheduled for a while now. I’m just wondering if it was your people who didn’t let you know?

Diaz: Well someone could have gave me a call, you know? I don’t know who’s talking to who about a press conference call. It was just like anything — I never heard about this shit until way late.

But you’ve gotta know I’m not sitting here waiting for a call; I’m waiting for some training. I’m training to get some relax time before I have to go back for another four hours of training. I’m training hard. I train harder than these guys. I fight harder than these guys, I look better than these guys, I do better than these guys, and that’s why — because I’ve been, you know, and I don’t get no help and I don’t worry about no help. That’s what takes up all my time — training, and trying to become the best in the world here. And that’s the best in the world, alright? That’s what you’re dealing with here. This is a whole world out there; ain’t nobody can beat me.

Q: Being that you’ve moved from Strikeforce, is there any side action there? If you lose, do you give BJ the belt or is that your’s to keep?

Diaz: You know what? I haven’t really thought about anything. I’m not trying to get all crazy. I need to get paid, so I’m going to show up, make weight, and then I’m going to fight. I don’t really think about all that.

If that’s what’s up — if you want to put that up — since you’re the one that’s bring that up, you want to start that whole thing, that’s on you and whoever wants to jump on your little bandwagon, and bring that out in the open. I don’t give a [beep]. I never put that belt on anyway; he can have that belt, it’s not important.