THE CANADIAN PRESS
How much does Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz dislike K.J. Noons?
Enough to forgo appearing on a media conference call with him to promote their Oct. 9 mixed martial arts rematch in San Jose.
"Pretty unprofessional," Noons said dismissively on Tuesday’s call.
Diaz’s coach, Cesar Gracie, popped up some 30 minutes later on the call with an explanation.
"Nick doesn’t really do the conference call with the guy he’s fighting thing," he said. "He just never has. It’s just not in his psyche. He’s too busy training to be on the phone and everything like that right now."
That apparently was news to Strikeforce officials, who said earlier they were trying to get Diaz on the call. Diaz did take part in a similar conference call prior to his last Strikeforce outing in January.
There is considerable bad blood between the two fighters.
Noons (10-2) defeated Diaz (22-7-1) on a doctor’s stoppage after the first round when they met in November 2007 on the EliteXC circuit. Diaz, who was getting the worst of the bout, was sidelined by several facial cuts.
That decision incensed Diaz, one of MMA’s most notorious loose cannons.
The two fighters have exchanged a volley of abuse, according to an article promoting the rematch on www.strikeforce.com.
Noons called Diaz a "pot-smoking chump from Stockton" — Diaz was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in 2007 after testing positive for marijuana. Diaz labelled Noons’ father a "drunk" who should watch his son’s fights from home.
Security was needed in June 2008 after Diaz climbed into the cage to challenge Noons at a subsequent EliteXC card.
Diaz, whose younger brother Nate campaigns in the UFC, is coming off a suspension for another post-fight cage altercation at an April Strikeforce card in Tennessee.
Jason (Mayhem) Miller sparked the brouhaha when he entered the cage to challenged Jake Shields after his main event win. The Diaz brothers, part of Shields’ camp, took exception and a melee ensued.
Nick Diaz was suspended.
UFC president Dana White calls Diaz a great fighter who refuses to play by the rules, citing incidents such as brawling with an opponent in hospital after the fight as why he is no longer in the UFC.
Gracie, meanwhile, says the ill-will towards Noons is nothing personal.
"He pretty much has bad blood for everybody who steps into the cage with him," the trainer said. "That’s what motivates him."
Noons said Tuesday while he respected Diaz as a fighter, "as a person I have different views."
Asked if the two might bury the hatchet after the rematch, Noons tried to take the high road but soon found himself taking a potty-mouthed detour.
"Like I said I can’t stand the guy, but I like to watch the guy fight. I like to watch his brother fight. From different people, I’ve heard he’s a really nice guy. I believe I’m a nice guy … but when he pulls shit like this, doesn’t show up on a conference call, it’s hard to like a guy like that. Or he punks off. Or he gets your family involved and shit like that."
Noons’ language then took a decided turn for the worse as he suggested payback was warranted.
"I don’t hate nobody," he said, when he cooled down and returned to the topic of whether the feud might end come Oct. 9. "I guess the ball’s in his court."
NOTES: Strikeforce announced Wednesday that new signee Paul (Semtex) Daley will face Scott (Hands Of Steel) Smith in a featured welterweight bout on Dec. 4, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
