Why Jake Shields Can Win...

So I, along with many people out there, have been watching the St.Pierre/Shields Primetime shows. In addition to that, I've been watching Jake Shields for a while now. Everything that Shields has been saying about his career is true: he has defeated equal level competition as GSP, he has been a champion of numerous other organization, he is one of the best jiu-jitsu practitioners in the world of mixed martial arts.  Some other statements which are equally true: GSP is probably the best welterweight who's ever competed, and one of the top 2 or 3 fighters in any weight class.  So after that laud, why is it that I feel Jake Shields can actually win this fight? Simple...Jake Shields is better than all of GSP's other opponents.  He's better than Serra, better than Koshcheck, better than Fitch, and certainly better than an aging Matt Hughes.  GSP has acknowledged such, even beyond his typical (and frankly trite at this point) declaration of this opponent (whichever one he's facing at the moment) being the toughest he has ever faced. You could argue that Fitch or Koshcheck is a better wrestler, for example, than Shields, and you'd probably win that argument. What I would argue, however, is that Shields is a better Jiu-Jitsu artist than Serra, a better Jiu-Jitsu artists than Koshcheck or Fitch is a wrestler, and for that reason he can win.

Cesar Gracie said on yesterday's Prime-time show that GSP is a phenomenal athlete, but he's not the toughest guy out there.  I agree, and I think that the only reason GSP has reigned as long as he has is because he's good enough to neutralize all of his opponents strengths, while simultaneously being a very good (not great) offensive fighter.  His defense is a mystery, and one that may be tested on April 30th. There are down sides to not losing a round, or spending less than 5 minutes on your back in 5 fights, the problem is that you have not been challenged defensively.  GSP's defense has been, quite traditionally, a good offense, and offense so good as to never require that he exist for more than a few seconds in a bad, let along dangerous, position.  The last time we saw GSP in danger was the Serra defense. Now, although just about every opponent since Serra (excluding Shields, thank god) has sited that fight as a way GSP can loose, there is something to that loss.  GSP holds a dichotomous distinction as simultaneously being one of the best fighters to ever breathe, and one of the few I've seen tap out to strikes.  GSP wasn't knocked out, he wasn't submitted, he tapped while an mounted opponent with a stronger punch than him reigned down blow after blow.  And while GSP has certainly learned his lesson about the dangers of underestimating his opponents, his ability to deal with pressure under fire has yet to be seen. His answer has been to avoid that situation by being too damn good, and that in and of itself is a feat worthy of endless praise. However, Shields has the ability to take him where Serra took him, to take him where Hughes took him when he hastily tapped to an armbar with seconds left to a round. Shields can win because he can challenge GSP, which no one has yet to do.

Why Nick Diaz is His Own Worst Enemy

It never ceases to amaze that someone who is willingly fighting outside the organization which houses the best fighters in the world, the UFC, continues to laud himself as one of the best in the world. Does Diaz truly believe that the elite of the welterweight division are ducking him, that they don't desire to fight him for fear of losing? It's a ridiculous claim, one that no reasonable fan of the sport could objectively believe. Nick Diaz specifically, and the Diaz brothers generally, do a wonderful job of looking mean, acting like street thugs, and claiming that everyone who has achieved more than them in the sport are somehow lesser fighters than they.  Would I love to see GSP vs. Diaz? Certainly, but Nick Diaz fails to grasp why such a match cannot (at this moment) take place. The reason he can't grasp it is twofold: first, he has a psychological need to believe not only that he is better than all other welterweights, but that anyone who hasn't fought him is afraid; secondly, Diaz seems unable to understand anything approaching professionalism. He belongs in boxing, an interest he expressed recently (and one apparently left open on his most recent contract). Boxing is filled with criminals unable to string a sentence together who can fight like a motherfucker. Nick Diaz falls into that category. The world of educated, articulate, professional martial artists is not for him. If you're a Diaz worshiper, you'd say that he hasn't sold out, hasn't done what Dana White has consistently referred to as "playing the game".  If you're a reasonable human being, you'll see that he sees any reasonable compromise as being a bitch.  That's street mentality, not that of a professional athlete whose popularity and paychecks are dependent on the very organizations they love to criticize.  If you don't want compromise, and want to exist on street cred and a lack or rules, pull a Kimbo and upload some YouTube clips of you boxing outside Wendy's.

Is Nick Diaz incredibly talented? Of course he is. Is he one of the best welterweights in the world? Probably so, yet I'm not entirely convinced he belongs in that discussion yet.  The problem with Diaz's complaints is that he had numerous opportunities to be in an organization which would allow him shots at the GSP's of the world. He couldn't get past Sherk, he couldn't get past Sanchez, and he couldn't stop acting like a complete asshole outside of the cage.  Dana White has said repeatedly in recent interviews revolving around the main event of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley, that Diaz would be in the UFC if he only played the game a little bit.  Therefore, Diaz has no right to stand on the sidelines and spew bullshit about other fighters ducking him when he had the opportunity to fight every last one of them if only he really wanted to. It's not the welterweight division of the UFC that's afraid, it's Nick Diaz.  A few less after-fight brawls, a few less offhanded comments, a few more smiles, and Diaz could be staring down GSP as Bruce Buffer announces "ITS TIME!", but that isn't likely to happen anytime soon. The truth of the matter is that Diaz is his own worst enemy, and he will continue to complain while unwilling to take the necessary steps towards what he claims he wants.