Issue 081

November 2011

Diaz’s against-the-odds victory over former Japanese superstar Gomi was epic – but it crashed and burned due to his herbal high

NICK DIAZ vs TAKANORI GOMI

Gomi shoots for the takedown. As the pair hit the canvas, Diaz deftly snakes his leg over the arm and under the neck. With his shin pressing into the Japanese fighter’s windpipe, his hands meet behind Gomi’s head and pull him closer to defeat. An audible gasp of realization comes from the crowd. The gogoplata, that rarest of submissions, is on. Inevitably Gomi taps. Moments later, blood gushes from the victor’s cut cheek as he is carried round the ring in triumph. Not a trace of a smile. Merely the defiant, me-against-the-world Nick Diaz stare.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Pride 33: The Second Coming in April 2007 was an attempt by the Oriental promotion to raise their profile in the US. A major part of the hearts and minds campaign was Takanori Gomi. ‘The Fireball Kid’ had been dropping bodies for fun in Japan and was riding high in most pound-for-pound lists. On paper, Nick Diaz was perfect for him. 

After his electrifying early days, he had hit the wall in the UFC, getting the wrong end of decisions when stepping up in class. Outside the Octagon, he was not a good company man. As Zuffa pushed for respectability, the last thing they needed were incidents like Nick’s post-fight brawl in the hospital with Joe Riggs. Durable but lacking the cutting edge at the top level, Diaz was tailor-made. He’d stick around and allow Gomi to show the Vegas crowd what all the fuss was about.

Round one was epic. It’s the round you show someone you’re trying to convert to MMA. The action switched from feet to mat and back but never let up for a second. Neither man gave an inch as they furiously traded punches. Early in the second, a gaping cut opens under Diaz’s eye. The man usually cast as a hot-head retains grace under fire. Moments after Gomi double-legs him he applies the subtlest of finishes.

Diaz versus Gomi is one of the most action-packed MMA contests ever. However, what followed resulted in many people’s opinions of it being skewed. The Nevada State Athletic Commission announced Diaz had tested positive for THC (the main psychoactive substance found in cannabis). The NSAC considered a THC level over 50 a positive result for marijuana use. Nick was off the chart at 175. NSAC chairman Dr Tony Alamo speculated that, in this instance, marijuana was a performance-enhancing drug as Diaz was feeling no pain. Essentially, he thought Nick Diaz was stoned throughout the fight. Diaz was fined heavily and his greatest win became a no contest.

Yet Diaz refused to be bowed during his six-month suspension and was typically outspoken about the affair: “I said, ‘I didn’t know we can’t smoke pot.’ What the f**k? Who the hell wants to tell me that we can’t get high and smoke weed? No-one’s ever said that. That’s ridiculous. They want to come in and regulate things, but you know something. I tested positive a s**t-load of times and they never said anything.”

Nick was a rebel with a cause. He had walked out of high school because he “didn’t want to fall into line and have my mind controlled by those bastards.” The authorities had prescribed Ritalin to help him ‘concentrate.’ Nick preferred to self-medicate with natural herbs and spoke openly about it. He said: “I think it (smoking weed) is highly beneficial to fighters. A lot of the time, people are getting stressed out and everybody does something. Everybody drinks, smokes or does steroids. If you’re going to do one of the three – I think it should be smoking weed. You’re worried about this big fight, ‘Oh f**k, I’ve got to fight Wanderlei. Wanderlei’s going to kill me. S**t.’ And then, next thing you know, you smoke a little weed. You’re like, ‘F**k, I thought I gave a s**t. Who cares. Wanderlei, let’s rock.’ You can be a miserable piece of s**t and walk round in circles all day and stress out on everything. Or you can just get high and go get on with your day.”

The more Diaz talked about doing triathlons stoned or toyed with the idea of quitting the sport to live in a tent on the beach in interviews, the more attention he got. The emerging ProElite snapped him up and marketed him as ‘The Freedom Fighter.’ That company evaporated, but the Diaz brand only grew stronger with Strikeforce. 

In the era of GSP-style efficiency and respectability, Nick Diaz stood out. Every time he fought, he threw down. Every time he opened his mouth, he said whatever he wanted without a care for sponsors. Everything that a marketing man will tell you is career suicide made Nick Diaz more popular. His ascent to the top of the MMA game started on that night at the Thomas and Mack Center. It gave him a license to be himself. The years of brawling, blunts and brutal brilliance followed. Most importantly, he kept winning and rolled on to be the face of Strikeforce.

The guy in the other corner has gone in the other direction. Takanori Gomi went into the fight as a star with the world at his feet. Since then, he has recorded an underwhelming 4-4 record. With even hardcore fans losing faith, each time he enters the Octagon, he knows it could be his last time.