With the explosion of attention Nick Diaz has recently gotten, his manager and trainer Cesar Gracie has become more of a figurehead in MMA as well.
The reason, of course, is Diaz’s well-publicized aversion to media commitments, which leaves Gracie shouldering the load as his star pupil prepares for a much-anticipated showdown with UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.
The reason that fight is happening? Gracie’s willingness to push Diaz into saying the occasional crazy thing. In this case, calling out GSP.
Now, make no mistake, calling out St-Pierre is a double-edged sword.
It’s genius, because it ensures Diaz will get a title shot and the payday that comes along with it. It also makes him one of the most marketable antiheroes in MMA given his willingness to speak without a filter and prod opponents into fighting out of anger instead of fighting with a game plan.
But it’s also not the smartest thing in the world to put heat on the usually mild St-Pierre. Every time someone does, they end up seeing a version of the champion that’s hungrier and more motivated than usual, and that utterly decimates particularly mouthy opposition.
Look at the past.
Josh Koscheck talked a whole bunch of (often poorly conceived) trash during their run as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, and St-Pierre beat him all over the Octagon. He smashed Koscheck so badly that he couldn’t take an airplane out of Montreal for medical reasons, and has permanent nerve damage in his face.
B.J. Penn wasn’t shy with his thoughts on St-Pierre going into UFC 94, and the result was a pounding so ugly that Penn’s corner wouldn’t let him continue after the fourth round. Arguments persist to this day about GSP greasing, but the reality is that Penn was outclassed regardless, and if they were to meet again, you can rest assured the fight would be no closer.
Matt Serra said some interesting things going into the rematch between the two, where GSP was hunting to get his title back. I believe “Frenchy” was one of the slurs thrown out there. Not wise at the best of times, less wise fighting a Quebec-born martial artist in Quebec. Serra couldn’t get out of Round 2.
So it is that it becomes hard to believe this call-out is in the best interest of Nick Diaz inside the cage. He already has a considerable wrestling disadvantage to overcome, as well as St-Pierre’s capacity to play it safe and win on points, which flies in the face of everything Diaz stands for and is likely to frustrate him.
If you motivate St-Pierre by lipping him off and calling him out, history suggests that it’s going to make life that much harder on you.
At the end of the day though, good idea or not, this fight was the one the world wanted to see at 170 lbs. and calling out GSP was the only way it was going to happen. It pits one of the most exciting fighters in the sport against a champion who has been criticized for being overly safe, and that matchup creates a dynamic that people will want to watch.
And really, isn’t that what the UFC is all about?
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Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/934196-ufc-143-is-cesar-gracie-making-a-mistake-calling-out-gsp
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