Nick Diaz is likely the most misunderstood fighter I've ever come across. I remember watching Mike Tyson as a young sports fan, wondering to myself "what the hell is wrong with this guy?" It wasn't until years alter and his career played out for all to see that we learned about Iron Mike's dark past. Nick Diaz is a lot like Mike Tyson, with one very large exception. Iron Mike loved attention from the media. If you stuck a microphone in his face he would go on and on about, well, often nothing at all. Nick Diaz is not that way. Prior to his Welterweight title fight with Carlos Condit last weekend in Vegas, UFC did something very smart. They pretty much stole the HBO 24/7 format and called it UFC: Primetime and followed both fighters in the weeks leading up to their scheduled championship fight. It was pure genius. We got a chance to hear about Carlos Condit and his childhood, we saw his father, the media attention starving former aide to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson ( I honestly think they mentioned that like 13 times) and we got a glimpse into his plush life. Nice house, almost cute wife and young child. On the other hand, we learned about Nick Diaz, the real person under the hard and seasoned exterior that he wants you to think is the guy you hate. I watched all the episodes and never once did he mention his mother or father. In fact, the only time he mentioned a family member (other than UFC lightweight champion brother Nate) was when he mentioned that his aunts and uncles were kinda crunchy granola and often ate rice cakes because they were concerned about their diet. I never imagined that I could relate to an athlete as fierce as Nick Diaz, never thought for a second that we had anything in common, until I realized that we are a lot alike. I wrote an article yesterday breaking my anonymity and telling the world of the demons I faced and the addictions to alcohol and drugs. When I watched Nick Diaz sit in front of the camera and attempt to explain why he is so angry, I couldn't help but accept that we may have walked the same path, just in a different part of town. I heard the darkness of his past when he spoke of his childhood; the desperation to fit in with other kids and the inability to make friends because he felt angry all the time.
If you follow UFC closely, you already heard about Nick Diaz testing positive for marijuana after his loss to Carlos Condit and the 1 year suspension that may follow because this is the second failed drug test of his career. I can't help but feel for this guy and wonder if he is able to be saved from his dark passenger. Far too often, we see an athlete on TV and we automatically label him a bad guy based on public perception and leave it at that. I feel compelled to admit that I think Nick Diaz is actually one of the good guys. He's genuine, authentic, and that's a tough pill to swallow primarily because he's the polar opposite of who we want him to be. GSP fans would prefer Nick Diaz to wear a suit and tie to press conferences, answer questions with a large vocabulary and smile for the cameras. It begs the question. If Nick Diaz is real then are the other fighters fake? That's a topic for another day and clearly we will never have a crystal clear answer, but in short I think the answer is yes.
Nick Diaz has made it known that he doesn't like his opponent, in fact he hates them. He doesn't like media attention, following rules, acting like he is someone he is not and he hasn't exactly done much to change, despite UFC President Dana White's endless encouragement to change. Nick Diaz is likely out of the fight game for the duration of 2012 and that's a shame. Not because I won't get to see one of my favorite fighters whoop some ass, but because the further out of the picture he falls, the more unlikely it is that he will get the help he so desperately needs. But then again, I presume he wouldn't be a big fan of getting the help he needs either. I would enjoy nothing more than watching Nick Diaz return to the octagon in 2013 a new man, a changed man, but that's likely not how this story ends. More than likely Nick will never find himself because more than likely, he's not looking for himself.
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