SHARKSPAGE

Diaz-Noons II, Welterweight champ Sarah Kaufman, Josh Thomson vs. J.Z. Cavalcante look to join a spirited 2010 for MMA in Northern California

NICK DIAZ, K.J. NOONS MEET SATURDAY FOR STRIKEFORCE WW TITLE

2010 will be a year for the record books with regards to mixed martial arts in Northern California. Fabrico Werdum’s stunning 69 second submission of Fedor Emelianenko at HP Pavilion in June not only realigned the heavyweight divisions of Strikeforce and the UFC, but it also upset the nearly 10 year reign of dominance for “The Last Emporer” atop the sport. Less than 2 months later the UFC made their first forray into the bay area with UFC 117 live from Oakland.

After running an unprecedented level of smack across a wide media spectrum for months, Chael Sonnen dominated Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva for 4 and a half rounds before falling into a desperation triangle armbar at the end of the 5th. Sonnen has been unconscionably silent after it was announced that he failed a post-fight drug test in September. San Jose based Jon Fitch, and future heavyweight title contender Junior dos Santos rounded out one of the deepest UFC cards of the year.

Strikeforce returns to HP Pavilion in San Jose with an underrated Diaz-Noons II card on Saturday night, a slate more than capable of delivering its share of fireworks or causing any number of unforeseen problems. When Nick Diaz is involved, anything can happen. After putting together one of the fights of the year in 2007 with a rare gogoplata submission over Pride FC Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi in a non-title fight, a positive drug test for marijuana rendered Diaz’s win a no-decision by the NSAC. With Jake Shields absent due to injury, Diaz had to be removed from the wildly popular Cung Le-Frank Shamrock Battle of San Jose in 2008 after another positive test for marijuana. That positive test caught the California State Athletic Commission off guard among shifting California legislation, and subsequently resulted in a much clearer and more finite set of testing policies. In March of 2010 after Jake Shields defeated Dan Henderson in his final Strikeforce Middleweight title defense, Jason “Mayhem” Miller began trash talking over Shields’ post-fight comments inside the cage. Nick Diaz, his brother Nate Diaz, and Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez threw punches at Miller on the CBS televised event resulting in waves of MMA criticism from the mainstream media.

The most intriguing aspect of Saturday night’s Strikeforce main event may be K.J. Noons and Nick Diaz’s prior meeting in 2007 for the then vacant Elite XC Lightweight Championship. Diaz-Noons I was a highly anticipated affair at 160 pounds between the Cesar Gracie BJJ black belt and the heavy hitting boxer/kickboxer. Noons stuffed or evaded 7 takedown attempts, and dropped the Stockton native with a stiff counter right hand. Diaz was bloodied with a pair of cuts that forced a TKO stoppage after the first round, and eventually forced surgery to remove scar tissue and grind down the sharp bones that caused repeated cuts. Diaz pushed a cameraman and stormed out of the ring after the stoppage. Following a K.J. Noons win over Yves Edwards 6 months later, Diaz entered the cage with his fight team to challenge him to a rematch and caused a minor scuffle.

Since that meeting nearly 3 years ago, Nick Diaz has registered 7 straight wins fighting with Dream, Elite XC and Strikeforce. After winning the Strikeforce Welterweight title with a dominant first round TKO over Lithuanian high kick specialist Marius Zaromskis, Diaz will make his first title defense against Noons. The Hawaiin born, San Diego native Noons took a near 2-year break from MMA to re-ignite his professional boxing career. From 2006 to 2009 he earned 7 wins, 2 by knockout, and 2 losses. In his second MMA fight for Strikeforce in August, Noons bloodied and battered former ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ competitor Jorge Gurgel. Inexplicably Gurgel tried to stand and bang with Noons, and he nearly became a blood spot on the canvas as a result. K.J. was not without controversy of his own, landing a heavy punch that wobbled Gurgel after the first round bell. He contested the punch was thrown before it rang. Gurgel did not recover completely for the second round, and Noons landed an illegal knee to a downed opponent during a flurry to end the fight.

Predictions for Diaz-Noons II could legitimately fall anywhere across the map. “I have respect for Nick Diaz as a fighter, he is the best in the world at 170 pounds,” K.J. Noons said during a recent media conference call. “But as a person I have different views, which will make it an interesting fight.” When asked whether that personal dislike may change the way he approaches the fight, Noons had a straightforward answer. “I might just throw everything out the window and try to take this guys head off, and he might do the same.”

In a fight week interview after a training session, Nick Diaz offered his thoughts on the fight. “I just want a fight for real.” Diaz said. “If I am going to lose, I am ready to take an ass whooping for real.” He also commented on the first matchup with Elite XC. “I wasn’t excited for that fight, that is why I kept running in on him… I was angry and careless… I was used to fighting really good opponents, and I had no idea who that guy was.” Diaz also touched on a possible matchup with post-brawl opponent Jason “Mayhem” Miller. “I don’t know why people want him to fight me, he keeps losing.”

Main card notes:

Showtime Sports produced a three-part documentary in the leadup to the event titled ‘The Path to Diaz vs. Noons II’. The first two episodes are live on sho.com, episode one is available here, episode two is available here. The co-main event on Saturday night will feature Women’s Welterweight champion Sarah Kaufman vs. a member of the Dutch Golden Glory camp Marloes Coenen. Kaufman won the inaugural Strikeforce WWW title against a game Takayo Hashi on a ShoMMA challenger card at the Civic Auditorium in San Jose. She later earned a highlight reel win with a rare power slam against Roxanne Modafferi in July. After repeatedly criticizing Strikeforce for not putting her on main Showtime/CBS cards, she makes her non-ShoMMA debut Saturday.

Also on the main card former Strikeforce Lightweight champion Josh Thomson (17-3-0) will be looking to climb back into title contention with a very difficult match against K-1 and Dream veteran Gesias “J.Z.” Cavalcante (15-3-1). After dropping another fight of the year candidate decision loss to Gilbert Melendez in December, 2009, the San Jose native Thomson will face the former top-10 ranked American Top Team veteran Cavalcante. Josh Thomson put on a striking clinic to defeate Melendez for the Strikeforce Lightweight title in 2008, against Cavalcante keeping his distance will be key. “I think we are just completely different fighters,” Thomson told Fight News. “He is shorter, he is stockier, he is probably going to be stronger than me.” If Josh Thomson can earn a solid win, a match against Japanese standout Shinya Aoki could be a solid #1 contender match for Strikeforce if they can work out details with Japanese MMA promotion Dream. According to The Fight News video preview at the top of this post, there is a rumor Strikeforce Lightweight title holder Gilbert Melendez could be up for a re-match with Aoki in Japan.

Rounding out the main card, Strikeforce prospect and former University of Missouri wrestler Tyron Woodley (8-0) will meet the highly decorated Brazilian grappler Andre Galvao (5-1). Galvao’s only defeat came in Dream 10’s Welterweight Grand Prix tournament final against Jason High. A former World Jiu-Jitsu Champion and multiple ADCC submission grappling medalist, Galvao could be fast tracked for Strikeforce’s Welterweight division with a win. Woodley is looking to make an impression for his first main event, main card Strikeforce appearance. “Every fight is your most important fight, a loss takes you down a whole different path,” Woodley recently told the Sherdog Radio Network. “If your goal is to be a champion, you want to take the easiest, straightest, most direct path straight to it. If you take a loss, you may have to take a few side streets to get back to that road.” When asked what fans should look for from him on Saturday, Woodley was clear he did not just want to win. “If you win, but you don’t win in a dominant fashion, that might not put you up there. For me (what I want) is winning, and winning in a dominant fashion.”

[Update] Primer: Strikeforce ‘Diaz vs. Noons II’ – Sherdog.com.

[Update2] K.J. Noons Says Skill Will Make the Difference Against ‘Delusional’ Nick Diaz – MMAfighting.com.

[Update3] Gesias Cavalcante might be the best unknown fighter in America, Calvancante is Strikeforce’s hidden gem – Dave Meltzer for Yahoo Sports.