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BENT: Previewing Strikeforce on Showtime - Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith
Jun 3, 2009 - 4:04:08 PM BENT: Previewing Strikeforce on Showtime - Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith

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Someone will emerge from this fight as the ultimate crowd pleasing fighter for the Strikeforce promotion, and it would seem to be that this one is tailor made for Diaz to finally arrive. Yes, he scored a dominating victory over Frank Shamrock, but weeks later all of the talk surrounding that fight seemed to center on the notion that Shamrock was and is washed up. Nick Diaz is like Tommy Gunn from 'Rocky V' who did himself no great favors by beating up on the old favorite. In Scott Smith he will be facing a guy who is possibly hungrier than Nick has ever been, and a fighter with a knack for the specatcular KO. Nick loves to trade, and Scott is willing to trade, so this one is at least guaranteed to provide some entertainment even though the catchweight implications are curious at best.

When you combine Nick's catchweight bout with Shamrock against the main event of Shields and Lawler from this card, and then add this bout against Smith it is clear that Strikeforce is looking for someone to carry a show rather than truly lord over a division. The winner of this bout is guaranteed to be pushed as a face of Strikeforce; and while this bout makes little sense in many ways, it makes all of the sense in the world as the winner will firmly cement himself as "Mr. Strikeforce," which means of course that Rick Martel will finally have to hand over his sash.

Nick Diaz is from the mean streets of Stockton, California. There, I have said it, and hopefully by saying this once it can stop everyone else from repeating it ad nauseum. I get the marketing of a fighter by pushing the notion that they are tough, and the whole "from the streets" vibe will help marketing more than a college degree, but enough is enough. Nick Diaz is not any tougher because he is from Stockton, California; he is just simply a tough as nails fighter who is as skilled on the ground as he is dangerous on the feet. Nick's black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which was awarded to him by Cesar Gracie, means a whole hell of a lot more than what city he hails from in terms of what he can do inside of the cage.

Nick Diaz holds a career record of 19 wins against 7 losses and 1 no contest with 11 of his wins coming by way of KO and 5 by submission. Diaz holds wins over such notables as Chris Lytle, Robbie Lawler, Josh Neer, the aforementioned Frank Shamrock and a decisive victory over Takanori Gomi, which ended up being ruled a no contest due to a failed post-fight drug test by Nick. Those who have beaten Diaz include Karo Parisyan, Diego Sanchez, Joe Riggs, Sean Sherk and KJ Noons.

His loss to Noons is notable for being a fight in which he was soundly beaten and bloodied which caused a doctor to stop the fight, but namely because he was unable to ever land a rematch with Noons. The argument was that Noons was running from Diaz, but I never shared this belief; I simply believe that Noons imagined that beating Diaz should have landed him into a new tax bracket, and I do not think he was prepared for the relatively low wages of a mixed martial artist's career. He has since gone back to boxing, and has so far been unsuccessful, so perhaps one day we will see Noons back in the world of MMA and against Diaz in what would at the very least be a fight many would still care to see.

Nick Diaz is a wizard on the ground, but his reputation as a capable brawler was secured when he scored a KO of Robbie Lawler on the UFC 47 undercard. This bout was exceptionally enjoyable to watch, and Lawler was expected to walk down Diaz and get the knockout himself, but it was Diaz who was able to land the fight ending blow. Diaz enjoyed only a brief moment of success in the UFC, and this victory over Lawler was the clear highlight of his tenure there as he left with a 6-4 record in the promotion.

Following his stint in the UFC, Diaz went to PRIDE and faced Gomi before settling in with Elite XC and now Strikeforce. The one thing that has been a constant since he became a member of Elite's roster was that he now fought in a custom made weight class, as they created a 160 lb. division just for him. With his loss to Noons and the inability to land the rematch, Diaz was never able to win the title that was created in order to be worn around his waist. Since then he fought Frank Shamrock in a catch weight bout contested at 179 lbs and was successful in battering the well known veteran to the point that many are calling for Frank to retire. Now, in fighting Scott Smith on this weekend's Strikeforce card, Nick Diaz will once again be fighting at a catch weight as this bout is to be contested at 179 lbs. once more.

The only true catch in this bout is that the winner will be poised for success and should then receive the bulk of all marketing efforts as Strikeforce is trying to find the one man who can carry them and stand comfortably under the spotlight. Nick Diaz is going to have to essentially knock out Scott Smith on Saturday night if he wishes to be the face of this company from a marketing standpoint.

Scott "Hands of Stone" Smith is every bit as tough as Nick Diaz, and is sort of a throwback fighter in that he is not necessarily the most refined mixed martial artist and instead he relies on his chin and punching power to save the day. He has taken part in some bouts which are nothing short of memorable, and has been in many a war, but it is likely that he is in for his toughest test when he takes on Nick Diaz on the undercard of Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields.

Scott Smith boasts a career record of 16 wins against 5 losses with one bout ruled a no contest and 13 of those wins have come by way of KO and 3 by submission. Notable fighters he has beaten include Pete Sell, Terry Martin and Benji Radach. Those who have beaten Smith are James Irvin, David Terrell, Patrick Cote, Ed Herman and Robbie Lawler. For the most part it has been true that Smith gives everyone one hell of a fight, but that he typically does not come out on top against upper tier or even upper mid-tier fighters. His victory over Sell was the stuff of legend and still makes the rounds of many an episode of "UFC: Unleashed," but the main fight of his career was in fact his first bout against Robbie Lawler on the first Elite XC on CBS card.

Were it not for Smith vs. Lawler, that very first Elite XC "Saturday Night Fights" card would have been complete and utter garbage as this bout alone was the saving grace of the entire evening. This was a fantastic back and forth battle which was called due to an accidental poke in the eye. Both men were awarded their bonuses and a rematch was scheduled and was the main event of the EliteXC: Unfinished Business event in July of 2008. This rematch was not kind at all to Smith as Lawler had his way with him from the very beginning en route to scoring a 2nd round TKO victory over "Hands of Stone." Smith did not win this fight but his two fight series with Lawler made him considerably more known to the fans and definitely brought him to where he is today with the opportunity against Diaz on Saturday night. Smith will most certainly come out with guns blazing and win or lose it can be guaranteed that he will give the fans their money's worth and give it his all.

For Scott Smith to win, he is going to have to avoid the jab of Diaz and keep this fight standing for as long as possible. Diaz can get a little sloppy so as far as pure technique goes, the edge is definitely Smith's in this one. Scott Smith has a great chance of stopping Nick Diaz if he can put his combinations together and find the range for his punches. Diaz' looping blows could be problematic so Smith will have to exhibit better head movement than ever before and be wary of blows from all angles. Diaz is not that technically sound, but when he hits it hurts, and Smith's chin is not good enough to withstand barrage after barrage from his opponent. Smith needs to turn this one into a brawl and utilize Diaz' aggression against him and pick his shots in order to come out on top. He has a tall order ahead of him, but for him to win the game plan is simple" bring your fists and throw plenty of punches.

For Nick Diaz to win, he is going to have to use his footwork and the ability to throw punches from all kinds of angles in order to confuse his foe. Diaz blew Shamrock away with just the jab and while none of Nick's punches pack any more pop than those of Smith's, it is the jab which could dictate the fight on the feet for certain. Scott Smith has so little of a ground game that it is virtually non-existant, and in Diaz he will be fighting a guy who is more than comfortable on the ground. Diaz has the benefit of knowing that he has the agility to move away from Smith at will and the comfort of knowing that should this go to the ground that it would be his fight entirely. With this in mind I believe that Diaz will choose not to take it to the ground and that he will look to stand and beat Smith at his own game early on. Should it hit the ground, Diaz will have no trouble submitting Smith and no problems with doing so but this is a fight he will be looking to win on the feet. While he doesn't have the punch or perhaps even the soundness of Smith, he brings with him tons of range to go along with excellent footwork and what I like to call "sneaky" power. Diaz does nothing quietly and this one will be a bit of a war while it lasts but the odds are that this will be another losing effort for Smith after giving it one hell of a go, and just another win in the books for Nick Diaz.

Bent's Prediction: Nick Diaz by 2nd Round TKO

I do not see this fight taking place on the ground at any time, and definitely not for any length of time. Smith does not want to go there and Diaz does not want to beat him there. Diaz will allow Smith to go where he wants, but look for Nick to stalk him down and batter him without mercy for the bulk of a round and a half before the referee mercilessly waves it off. Should be a great showing for Smith, and another one of those "out on his shield" sort of fights but an mark in the loss column nevertheless and a satisfying victory for Nick Diaz who can now move on to bigger and better things. I see a rematch between Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler taking place, and with Cung Le out it could be for the interim middleweight championship.