THE TORCH: THE #1 WORLDWIDE BRAND IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE - OVER 250 MILLION VIEWS & LISTENS PER YEAR REREACHING MORE FANS EVERY WEEK THAN ANY OTHER INDEPENDENT SOURCE • VIA THE WEB, MOBILE, PRINT NEWSLETTER, AND ITUNES
Jun 25, 2009 - 11:51:35 AM By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief K.J. Noons, the former EliteXC Lightweight Champion, has been out of MMA action since last summer as he's concentrated on boxing. He may be returning to the MMA before the year's out, however, as he indicated as much in an interview on MMAWeekly Radio.
Noons stated he was in talks with Strikeforce's Scott Coker, and that "we're just talking and just trying to see, and he's real flexible and he's willing to work with me." Noons has a boxing match scheduled for August 22nd, and he said he's "going to gear up and get ready for MMA for a couple months and fight somebody by the end of the year. I'm ready."
Noons last competed in MMA in a :48 second knockout of Yves Edwards in his first and only EliteXC Lightweight Title defense, a belt he won after a doctor's stoppage due to cuts against current Strikeforce catchweight specialist Nick Diaz.
A rematch between the two was long desired by Diaz, but never came to fruition. As Noons says, "I've never turned down the fight, it was just turning down getting paid three times less money than him. So if that's something that people want to see, I'm just looking to fight good fights that people want to watch. That's definitely one of the fights that's out there for me."
So nothing is yet set for a return, but Noons seems ready for late this year.
Penick's Analysis: Noons has been accused of being a coward and trying to duck Diaz since last year when EliteXC wanted to put the fight together. They went so far as to strip Noons of his title due to his refusal to accept a bout with Diaz for their ill-fated October 4th event. In Noon's defense, with him holding a victory over Diaz already and being their Champion, the pay disparity between the two was a ridiculous amount and not indicative of his stature as Champ. On the flip side, Diaz is clearly the more marketable fighter and has earned his paydays based on that for Strikeforce, and Noons was likely overestimating what he was bringing to the table from a money making aspect.
ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick, Rich Hansen, and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.
"There's still a large contingent of people, that they just want to see these guys almost die, or the other guy almost die and come back, and sometimes fights are like that. Certainly they are. But sometimes you get technical masterpieces too, and to hate a beautiful, technical fight - you're not really a fight fan...
Diaz has a granite chin, possesses perhaps the best recovery in the sport, his pace and conditioning are second to none and he sets records with the volume of his punches almost every time he steps into the cage. Nick Diaz is simply designed to fight the way he fights, and not many other fighters are...
"There was a lot of poison going on around there and I'm really disappointed because we had a good thing going. It was a good thing and I think people's egos got in the way. Well, not people just Javier, his ego got in the way, and too many cameras in the gym and him trying to build himself up and his brand, his AKA brand...
PART OF THE USA TODAY UFC GROUP