Nick Diaz versus Mayhem Miller is a fight that many fans want to see, a fight that Strikeforce brass wants, and a fight that both men claim that they want. Except Miller and Diaz are each acting in a way that says they do not, in fact, want to fight one another.
Here's the latest statement from the Cesar Gracie web site.
?Jason 'Mayhem' Miller has opted to not take a fight with Nick Diaz in January at a catchweight of 178lbs. Despite having previously fought at the 170lbs weight limit, Miller now says that he is unwilling to meet at 178 and instead wants Strikeforce's Welterweight Champion to move up to middleweight to fight him. Miller has stated he would be willing to lose 2 pounds and fight at 183lbs. As of yet Miller has defeated none of the top Strikeforce contenders but did win a fight on MTV's Bully Beatdown show. Strikeforce will now be searching for a new opponent for Diaz for their January card.?
Now cue some commentary from Cage Potato.
If either had any intention of actually fighting, we?re pretty sure they could find a weight agreeable to both parties. As of right now, they?ve become those two guys at the bar who are just posturing and getting in each other?s faces about who bumped into who, but everybody watching knows they aren?t really going to do anything about it. In the wake of this and on behalf of MMA fans everywhere, please forgive us for paraphrasing one of Al Pacino?s screamiest roles when we say: Either fight each other, or stop wasting our motherfucking time.
So it all boils down to this: Diaz wants to fight at 178 while Miller likes 183. Aside from both guys postuing for position in a fight that has never actually been booked, this is yet another example of Strikeforce failing to have any control over their fighters. I'll praise the shit out of the company for Saturday night's show, which was awesome, but that doesn't give them a free pass to get away with bullshit like this.
What Strikeforce is doing is allowing their fighters to veto a bout the organization wants by not stepping in and laying down the law. Diaz and Miller can't agree on a weight? So what. Coker should step in and tell these guys what weight their fighting at. It's that simple. Let me offer a suggestion, Scott: 180.5 pounds. Sounds arbitrary, but it's the exact middle point between 178 and 183. No need to check this, as I am a well-educated mathematician, having successfully completed grade school math. If Miller says he can't drop 4.5 pounds, call bullshit. If Diaz says he shouldn't have to fight at a weight he doesn't want to because he's the champ, tell him that he works for you, not vice versa, and that there's always the option of getting his ass kicked in the shark-infested waters of the UFC 170-pound division.
I believe this is a logical solution to the current dillemma, as I possess a quality that Strikeforce brass too often lacks when dealing with its fighters: common sense.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/fightlinker/~3/A2EUOzBslXc/diaz-and-miller-he-said-she-said-stfu
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