Suspended UFC fighter Nick Diaz was supposed to take on BJJ star Braulio Estima in a grappling supermatch in California Saturday. Diaz was supposed to show his grappling chops off in a match against one of the world's best jiu-jitsu players. He was supposed to donate his entire purse to St. Jude's Children Hospital.
Most importantly, he was supposed to show up for his first competitive match-up since being suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission for a positive marijuana test after losing to Carlos Condit in February. He didn't.
Diaz never showed up to the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo in Long Beach, where the bout was scheduled to take place. Estima was reasonably steamed for the no-show.
"I know he's supposed to be the big MMA bad guy and he's all tough, he's supposed to be showbiz, but what is this?" said Estima. "When you make an announcement that you're going to fight for charity and you don't show up, what the hell is going on? It's not about showbiz. It's about being a good person. I don't know what is going on."
The Facebook page that purports to represent the Diaz brothers had this post on it early Sunday morning:
Promoter fails to donate the money to charity as agreed. (shady) Promoter changes rules for weigh ins to accommodate fellow Brazilian
Match ain't happening
When Estima communicated with the WJJE organizers that he couldn't get down to the agreed-upon 180-lb. weight limit, they renegotiated the weight to 185 lbs. Diaz's camp agreed to the weight change ahead of time. As for the donation, could Diaz not have deposited his purse into his account and then write a check to St. Jude's? Taking five minutes to make the donation himself surely would have been better than depriving the hospital completely.
And if he really made the decision not to show up because of the promoters, he should have communicated it to his fans well before they spent $12.95 on the live stream of the event. That decision would have truly hurt the "shady" promoters in their wallets.
Instead, Diaz again decided not to show up for a commitment. In October, he skipped out on several media opportunities before his planned title fight and was removed from the bout. Again, he bizarrely blamed everyone but himself.
At this point, Diaz not following through on his commitments is par for the course. The MMA world shouldn't expect anything else.
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