It's been a wild ride for MMA fans leading up to UFC 137, but it's been even crazier for former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz, who will be taking on B.J. Penn in the main event this weekend.
Penn enters the fight having gone 1-2-1 in his last four fights while Diaz is currently riding a 10-fight win streak. After being pulled out of the original main event with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, Diaz was swapped with Carlos Condit. St-Pierre injured his knee in training and was forced to pull off the card altogether. Now Penn vs. Diaz will headline the event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Diaz was interviewed by MMAfanhouse.com's Ariel Helwani and had a lot to say on the build-up to the fight and about where his motivation for fighting comes from.
On being misunderstood by the public:
I've always gone about this that it's not my job to let people know who I am or how I am. I felt like my job is to go out there and put on a good show, amazing fights and give an amazing effort and hope that people can recognize that sort of thing, and maybe they would want to find out more.
I'm not in this to hurt people. That's not what I want. I'm sometimes pretty out of control by the time I go out there because this isn't something I like to do. I don't want anyone hurt. Everybody points their finger at me and says that I'm the crazy guy and this thug.
On fighting:
I've never liked doing this. I don't like not having a job. Especially when I first started mixed-martial-arts, this is all I could do. After fights, I said this is all I know how to do. I love jiu-jitsu, and I love my team. I love repping Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu. I love athletics and martial-arts and competition because it gets me right and puts me in the right place.
On drawing motivation to fight:
I take things fight-by-fight, and as far as motivation, I'm going to protect myself so I'm always going to be the same motivated. These people have to pump themselves up sometimes where they pray or they do what they do. What I put all my faith in is the right training, the right direction, the right technique that I put forth to get this job done. I put all my faith in that and not in something like psyching myself all up.
Full 25-minute interview available on MMAfanhouse.com.
Other main card bouts include Hatsu Hioki vs. George Roop, Matt Mitrione vs. Cheick Kongo, Scott Jorgensen vs. Jeff Curran and Mirko "Cro Cop" Flipovic vs. Roy Nelson.
Spike TV bouts begin at 8 p.m. ET and will feature a lightweight bout between Dennis Siver and Donald Cerrone as well as a featherweight matchup with Tyson Griffin and Bart Palaszewski.
Preliminary bouts can be watched on Facebook. They include Dustin Jacoby vs. Clifford Starks, Chris Camozzi vs. Francis Carmont, Ramsey Nijem vs. Danny Downes and Brandon Vera vs. Eliot Marshall.
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