Diaz Welcomes Return to 170, Denies He’s Ducking Hieron
John Chandler Jan 21, 2010
Following a pair of impressive performances at middleweight,
Nick
Diaz is eager to make his Strikeforce debut at 170 pounds when
he faces Dream champion Marius
Zaromskis for the vacant welterweight title in the main event
of Strikeforce “Miami” on Jan. 30 in Sunrise, Fla.
Diaz has not competed at 170 pounds since defeating Gleison Tibau at UFC 65 in November 2006. His time spent in Pride Fighting Championships and EliteXC saw Diaz compete in catch-weight bouts around 160 pounds amidst concerns that he would not be able to make it down to the lightweight limit.
“I’m happy to fight at that weight,” Diaz said during a Wednesday
teleconference. “I think I look and perform the best at that
weight. I’ve been waiting for a long time to fight in Strikeforce
at welterweight. Those last few fights weren’t my idea. I’ve been
fighting as a welterweight most of my life so jumping up was a new
thing for me but I’m happy to be fighting back down here.”
Prior to Diaz and Zaromskis being matched up against each other, both fighters were rumored to be meeting Jay Hieron, but neither bout materialized. Allegations of the trio somehow avoiding each other have followed. Diaz and Zaromskis aren’t too concerned about them.
“I’m just fighting who they want me to fight,” said Diaz. “That’s how it is. That’s why I don’t open my mouth and start talking shit. I can’t say ‘Georges St. Pierre is a pussy. He won’t fight me.’ I can’t just do that. I’m ready to fight anybody. I’m ready to fight Jay Hieron and everybody in this weight class.”
“I don’t listen to that kind of stuff,” added Zaromskis. “A fighter should fight whoever is put in front of them. If Hieron doesn’t think that I’m famous enough for a fight right now, I’ll have to wait until I become famous enough to get a shot at him. It’ll come eventually.”
The Diaz-Zaromskis matchup presents an interesting clash of styles. For the first time in recent memory, Diaz may be forced to ditch his peppering style of boxing in favor of his renowned ground game due to Zaromskis’ powerful striking prowess. The Lithuanian has used his patented head kicks to help finish off his last three opponents.
“I don’t actually go out looking to throw them; they just come,” Zaromskis said. “If I see an opening there for a split second, I’ll take advantage of it. I don’t go around looking for them though. I frequently use a heavy bag to increase the power in my legs. I’ve actually been practicing them before Mirko (Filipovic) became famous for them. I’m not trying to imitate him, although I would like to work with him if it would help me.”
Diaz has not competed at 170 pounds since defeating Gleison Tibau at UFC 65 in November 2006. His time spent in Pride Fighting Championships and EliteXC saw Diaz compete in catch-weight bouts around 160 pounds amidst concerns that he would not be able to make it down to the lightweight limit.
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Prior to Diaz and Zaromskis being matched up against each other, both fighters were rumored to be meeting Jay Hieron, but neither bout materialized. Allegations of the trio somehow avoiding each other have followed. Diaz and Zaromskis aren’t too concerned about them.
“I’m just fighting who they want me to fight,” said Diaz. “That’s how it is. That’s why I don’t open my mouth and start talking shit. I can’t say ‘Georges St. Pierre is a pussy. He won’t fight me.’ I can’t just do that. I’m ready to fight anybody. I’m ready to fight Jay Hieron and everybody in this weight class.”
“I don’t listen to that kind of stuff,” added Zaromskis. “A fighter should fight whoever is put in front of them. If Hieron doesn’t think that I’m famous enough for a fight right now, I’ll have to wait until I become famous enough to get a shot at him. It’ll come eventually.”
The Diaz-Zaromskis matchup presents an interesting clash of styles. For the first time in recent memory, Diaz may be forced to ditch his peppering style of boxing in favor of his renowned ground game due to Zaromskis’ powerful striking prowess. The Lithuanian has used his patented head kicks to help finish off his last three opponents.
“I don’t actually go out looking to throw them; they just come,” Zaromskis said. “If I see an opening there for a split second, I’ll take advantage of it. I don’t go around looking for them though. I frequently use a heavy bag to increase the power in my legs. I’ve actually been practicing them before Mirko (Filipovic) became famous for them. I’m not trying to imitate him, although I would like to work with him if it would help me.”
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