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Nick Diaz‘s day on Thursday didn’t go very well, but at least he had some back up in the form of UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta.

Following a positive drug test for marijuana for his fight with Carlos Condit at UFC 143, Diaz faces disciplinary action from the Nevada State Athletic Commission that will end with a suspension and a fine.

While no suspension has been handed down yet, past repeat offenders in Nevada for similar occurrences have landed a one year suspension.

Diaz has yet to make a statement since the news was released on Thursday that he tested positive, and he stated during his post fight interview with Joe Rogan that he may very well just walk away from the sport all together.

Well, if he wants a job, the UFC appears more than happy to keep him on the payroll.

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta during a fan Q&A session on Twitter late Thursday night admitted he liked Diaz because he’s a ‘real fighter’ and stated he has a home with the UFC if he wants one.

“(I) really like the kid,” wrote Fertitta. “Just needs to get it together. I’m a sap for real fighters.”

When asked how he felt about Diaz testing positive for marijuana, Fertitta’s response was quick, but to the point.

“He will be back,” said Fertitta.

Now the question remains will Diaz want to return to the UFC or any form of MMA in the future?

Huffington Post:

Something quite bizarre happened last night: the main event at UFC 143 consisted of Nick Diaz stalking Carlos Condit while the latter spent the entire fight either backtracking or literally running away. One can sum up the bout by saying that Nick Diaz came to fight, and Carlos Condit didn’t. Diaz conclusively won rounds 1, 2 and 5 (the 4th legitimately went to Condit, and the 3rd was a close call). Towards the end of the fight, Diaz got Condit to the ground and took his back, had him in a body triangle, and nearly finished the fight via a beautiful arm lock (not common from that position). It was the cherry that topped what should’ve been an obvious Diaz victory. When it was time for the judges’ decision, the words “by unanimous decision” were perfectly expected, but the name that followed them wasn’t. The judges had decided that Condit won the fight.

There was a time early on in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) when bad decisions could be blamed on judges’ lack of familiarity with the intricacies of MMA (mistaking pulling guard for falling, not recognizing subtle position shifts and submission attempts, etc.). But over the past decade, particularly under Dana White’s leadership, the UFC mainstreamed MMA to a point where we should be able to assume that those selected to judge it know what they’re actually looking at by now.

Condit explained in the post-fight press conference that the game plan was to strike and run away, because actually coming to really fight would’ve likely given Diaz the victory (not quite in those words, but listen to it yourself and judge). The judges ignored Diaz’s control of the octagon, his near submission of Condit, and decided the strategy of occasional striking and frequent running was a good one.

Following the decision, my friends and I sat there in disbelief at the sports bar where we watched the event, and one of them speculated that granting the victory to Condit may have been a PR decision motivated by seeking to promote better representatives for the sport. With the UFC breaking ever deeper into the mainstream (and recently making it onto Fox), the speculation is that disrespectful trash-talkers like Nick Diaz are not the best representatives of the image the UFC would like to project. It is phenomenal fighters likes George St. Pierre (GSP) and Jon “Bones” Jones, who also carry themselves with class, who project the best image for the sport (and that much is pretty much true).

Of course, the idea of PR decisions influencing bout outcomes is extremely far-fetched, and last night’s outcome is particularly so, given the hype that awaited a potential GSP/Diaz fight for the Welterweight belt (the UFC definitely wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on that). But the decision to grant victory to Condit was so absurd that even informed MMA fans could not help but wonder about things we knew were very unlikely.

The most likely explanation is, once again, that the judges didn’t know what they were doing. This is inexcusable. Because of their incompetence, a great fighter like Diaz said last night that he was quitting the sport (whether that was just venting in a moment of frustration or whether it was a serious decision remains to be seen). Diaz said “I don’t need this sh*t, you know what I mean?! I pushed this guy backwards. He ran from me the whole fight… If that was the way they understand how to win in here, I don’t want to play this game no more.”

Of course, it’s not about Diaz or any one fighter in particular, it’s about respecting MMA fans’ understanding of the sport. We’re not just there to watch brawls or fancy spinning back kicks (well, at least many of us aren’t there just for that), we’re there because we appreciate both the intensity and the complexity of this great sport (I would argue “greatest” sport, but that’s a whole other article). That’s why a serious effort should be made to get better judges into the sport. I don’t have to agree with their decisions 100% of the time. They should just pick a winner for whom a plausible case for victory could be made. Condit’s “victory” was nothing of the kind.

As for the fighters, there are two lessons they could’ve taken away from the fight: the first lesson is that running away is a good way to earn yourself a victory. The second lesson is one that Dana White himself continuously urges: finish fights so their outcome is not up to judges. For the sake of the sport, let’s hope their takeaway is the latter lesson, not the first.

Follow Omar Baddar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/omarbaddar

Placerville, California was host to the West Coast Fighting Championship this Saturday and Team Gracie Fighter was represented by team members, Mike Persons and Darin Cooley. Persons opened the show, making quick work of his opponent with a triangle choke submission at just 1:05 of the first round.

Later on the card it was time for Darin “Whitey” Cooley to face off against Mike Christensen from the AKA academy. Whitey, a Brownbelt under Cesar Gracie has shown dramatically improved striking capabilities. Throughout the fight he outboxed Christensen, landing crisp jabs and a solid right hand, while also securing 2 takedowns in the first round to take a lead going into the second.

In the 2nd round Christensen was able to land into top position but he was hardly safe in the dangerous guard of the jiu-jitsu ace. Whitey was able to land a omoplata to triangle setup that had Christensen tapping. Whitey now improves to 5-1 and will be looking for bigger things in 2012 at the 145lbs weight class.

BJ Penn has apparently not come to terms with the beating he received at the hands of Nick Diaz. Below is his latest posting on his Twitter account:

@nickdiaz209 Look how much bigger you are in this pic..I thought you were gonna scrap from the beginning homie? What was that coward fence holding strategy to tire out the smaller man? Street fighter my ass! I made you fight like glass jaw @jonfitchdotnet poser!
I’ll be ready for that weak bs next time we fight!

At some point it is up to those around you to protect you from yourself. To take you aside and let you know you are wrong and help save you from your folly. Unfortunately for Penn he is surrounded by “Yes Men” that are unwilling to do that. The outcome will be predictable, resulting in a fighter that will never push himself to the fullest and will always have excuses for his losses.

bloodyelbow.com

If you have ever tried to follow the Brazilian MMA circuit, you know it can be chaotic. The vast, disparate patchwork of professional events play host to a rogue’s gallery of local toughs, fiery young UFC hopefuls and veterans who have achieved “grizzled” status in their 20′s. Sao Paulo Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Alessandro Ferreira (10-1, 1 NC) is an eclectic mix of all three.

Beginning as a professional in 2006, “Zoio” won multiple one-night, eight-man tournaments early in his career before being called up in 2010 to televised promotions Jungle Fight and Predador Fighting Championship. His run to the top in those events was derailed, however, by another chaotic force in Brazil: the officiating. A routine guard slam against Johil de Oliveira at Jungle Fight 22 was somehow ruled an illegal spike worthy of declaring the fight a no-contest, much to the crowd’s derision. If that weren’t enough, Ferreira was robbed blind at Predador 16, dropping a decision to Team Nogueira prospect Roberto Amorim after appearing to win all three rounds comfortably.

Bad luck aside, Alessandro has been virtually unstoppable. His superlative submission skills can end a fight quicky, but Zoio is dangerous anywhere. Huge slams and buckling low kicks litter his highlight reel, and he has the savvy to string together dazzling combinations of technique. Most recently he shocked 2011′s #1 lightweight selection Thiago Michel by chopping Michel’s lead leg out with an inside low kick, then taking his back as he fell in one fluid motion. The pro-Michel crowd had no time to rally before their champion was tapping to a rear naked choke.

After years of splitting time between Showtime Jiu Jitsu in Sao Paulo and Chute Boxe in Curitiba, Zoio tired of the travel time and expense the arrangement entailed. He took a respite in early 2011 before making the move to the San Francisco Bay Area, setting up shop as an instructor for Team Cesar Gracie. He chose an ideal environment to work on his one noticable deficiency: boxing technique. The team is home to Richard Perez, boxing coach to Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz.

With one of the top pro camps in America backing him, Ferreira should finally get the opportunities he deserves in 2012. A December M-1 Challenge match with Bao Quach on Showtime would have been a good start, but an unspecified injury took Alessandro off the card. M-1 is rumoured to return to Showtime in 2012, so hopefully a make-up date for that bout can be set in the new year

Terrell was an accomplished high school wrestler who used to work out and take long runs dreaming about being Royce Gracie. He grew up barely knowing his biological father, who died when Terrell was 5, the victim of an accident while serving in the military. Terrell was fortunate that a good man — his stepfather, Mike Camacho — stepped into his life. He was the one who helped cultivate Terrell’s shift to MMA.

Terrell boasted a 54-5 record his senior year while wrestling at 160 pounds. A passion for submission grappling began brewing when he was in eighth grade, around the time his family moved from Sacramento to where he presently lives in Santa Rosa.

The discipline was something fun, and he seemed to be a natural at it. Upon graduating high school, Terrell did not know whether or not he wanted to wrestle in college, so he pursued something else: Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
He sought out one of the true masters, Cesar Gracie, at
his gym in Lodi, Calif.

“David was really raw, but a raw talent and the kid was a good wrestler already,” Gracie says. “He was explosive, strong, and I could tell if he could mold that mind of power, he could get somewhere. I was very impressed with that. David’s biggest strength was his willingness to learn. He would come all the way from Santa Rosa, and the drive was kind of far, about three hours roundtrip. He would make that drive two times a week, and he was hungry to learn. Dave really wanted to get good.

“As for weaknesses at the time, I really didn’t see any weaknesses,” he adds. “He didn’t know the art of jiu-jitsu at the time, but you could tell David could do something.”

Terrell began competing at 19. Gracie was getting him fights, many of which came when MMA was still in its infancy in parts of the United States; so many were illegal at the time.

“It was hard back then, and everything was hard,” Terrell says. “My girlfriend’s parents thought I was a loser and my mother didn’t like what I was doing because it was fighting. My pro debut came when I was 19, and back then, it was against the law. The first event I went to was in Stockton, Calif. It was held in a small school rec center in front of what seemed like a lot of people. It seemed like a cool event, but it wasn’t legal.

“I remember at the time it was weird, because the first fight I ever fought in, I couldn’t hit the guy with a closed fist, but I could knee him or kick him in the head,” he adds. “The rules were different then. I was happy to get the experience. I tapped the guy out, but you know what I remember most about that fight? I tap the guy out, and after the fight, the guy I beat says I hit like a bitch. It struck me as funny how he said that and I tapped him out in about two minutes. We almost got into a fight after the fight.”

Many look at Terrell’s rise through MMA and the UFC as meteoric. It was not. As he mastered Brazilian jiu-jitsu, eventually becoming Gracie’s first black belt and prized pupil, Terrell forged his identity the hard way. No one handed him anything as he began making a name for himself in the jiu-jitsu world. He started honing his craft, mixing in more kickboxing and dabbling a little into boxing.

“As a fighter, I know it felt as if it was rapid, but David was fighting and doing these back-alley bulls— tournaments for years; he actually had a long run of competing for no money, but he loved it,” says Tom Call, Terrell’s business partner and adviser. “Dave lived a little life of poverty for a time there, and he really has evolved as a business coach and a leader right now, but he worked his way up.”

Gracie was right there by his side, serving as coach and confidante, all while taking on assorted other roles.

“The thing with David … it was a perfect storm of a lot of thing going on. Number one, I didn’t have many students at the time, and I was able to give him a lot of attention,” Gracie says. “Jiu-jitsu was not very popular in the United States, and I know Royce Gracie was winning some fights at the time. I was trying to build up my student base and I was trying to prove something, and I wanted to establish myself as a good teacher. I really put a lot of time and energy into David. He was willing to learn, and we started doing tournaments and he would mow through people.”

After winning a few fights in Japan, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva told Gracie he was willing to give Terrell a shot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Terrell went back to Japan and continued winning. He also suffered a broken left hand, the beginning of what turned into a series of nagging-type injuries that would plague him for the rest of his career.

“It’s weird how you can train and fight all year and then have things happen,” Terrell reflects. “I also trained way too hard. I wanted my confidence high going into these fights and would do whatever it took to get into shape. I definitely over-trained, and it weakened my body. One time, I had a Tommy John [ligament] tear in my right arm, and every time I punched, I screamed; the pain was that great. In 2008, I was supposed to fight Ed Herman [at UFC 78] and tore ligaments in my foot. It was stuff like that killed my confidence.”

Terrell never shied away from challenges. In his professional
MMA debut back in August 1999, he plunged in and took on Vernon White on short notice. Terrell was 21 years old. White had 33 fights under his belt at the time and had already tested himself against esteemed fighters like Bas Rutten, Frank Shamrock, Pedro Rizzo and Kazushi Sakuraba. Terrell lost a unanimous decision but raised enough attention to get other fights.

“David got used to winning, and he took losses too hard,” Gracie says. “We’re talking about someone who was so good in gi and non-gi competition. David not only went undefeated; no one scored a point on him. That was the impression he put on people. In the Abu Dhabi [Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships], he reached the semifinals and lost, but I think looking back, all champions learn from their losses. David was winning, and he put too much pressure on himself.”

Terrell won to such a degree that he took on 2000 Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland at UFC 49 in August 2004. It was Terrell’s sixth “recorded” professional fight, and “The Soul Assassin” came in touted as UFC’s next big thing. Terrell gained instant fame by pummeling Lindland in a mere 24 seconds. The victory changed his world and set up the February 2005 title fight against Tanner that eventually altered his world even more.

“Looking back at all the fights I won, I always took three-and-a-half months to train for my fights, and I [had] already fought three times [in 2004],” Terrell recalls. “Tanner was already set, Joe Silva told me, and, after fighting Lindland, it’s the first time I ever made 185 pounds. After the fight, I skyrocketed up to 235. I had six weeks before the Tanner fight and it definitely played tricks on me, dieting and training as hard as I could for five weeks.”

It all comes rushing back to him. Terrell walked out there and kept his sweater on. He did not feel right. He was even unhappy with his appearance, so much so that he was reluctant to remove his shirt.

What was draining him more than the weight loss was a closely and deeply guarded trust he felt he broke. It deflated him more than any punch Tanner would drop on him.

“I’ll be honest about what went on.” Terrell feels compelled to confess. “It was an ex-girlfriend who got an abortion, and I thought God was mad at me. I wanted to have the baby and I didn’t want to have that weigh on my mind. One of the last things I remember walking out to the Tanner fight was talking to God when I was coming out. I told God that I would give him this win. When I came out in the fight and dominated so bad, I was hitting Tanner and choking him. It was pretty much the first time in my life I laid back and thought, ‘God take this from me.’

“I just gave up,” he adds. “I was always known for having heart and the whole God thing was messing with my head. It wasn’t like me. You shouldn’t be in the title fight of your life thinking about a girl with an abortion. It’s something I wished I had a better frame of mind for, but it is something that will always haunt me. I gave up.”

That night, current Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez uttered a few profound words to no one in particular: “That was like watching Superman die.” The next time — and last time — Terrell fought, he forced Scott Smith to tap out to a rear-naked choke at UFC 59 in April 2006. He owns a 6-2 record, with four submissions. That has been it.

Terrell’s legacy can still be written on what he achieves as a trainer. He has a promising team developing, and he has not completely ruled out coming back, either. He recently addressed an undiscovered problem he had for years with his sinuses, undergoing an ear operation that could be the stem of Terrell’s constant sinus infections flaring up around fight time. He has molded what he learned under Gracie into his own patterns and systems. Terrell is seeing another side of life, too, chasing after a 3-year-old, barbecuing for the first time, and he just bought a fishing rod last year.

“I love what I’m doing today,” Terrell says. “It feels good building these guys from scratch, trying to be there for them. There’s no way I can take things back, but I can’t have any regrets. The fights and jiu-jitsu have been good for me. Career-wise, there are some regrets that I can’t change, but with everything that’s going on around me, the sport has been really good to me. I feel like I have found myself. I think I can still be competitive, but it has to be worth my while to come back. I definitely live a comfortable life. I spent time with my family. I am content and fulfilled.”

Call has seen the transformation. A friend who was lost for a time has found himself again.

“I’ve seen Dave come through the other side,” Call says. “I wouldn’t say Dave lost himself, but after the Tanner loss, he was battling depression, and even during that time, he didn’t seem happy. Since fatherhood, I’ve never seen him happier. He has a cute, amazing little son, and it’s scary how close they look alike. Dave is the kind of guy who might want to fight again on his own. He’s that kind of guy. He’s a very unique guy full of surprises.”