strikeforce welterweight champion, Nick Diaz, if anything, is exciting.
The brash and controversial fighter, who is an open advocate of marijuana use (recreational or medicinal), most recently successfully defended his title for the first time against rival KJ Noons. The 170-pound affair went all five rounds, in what became a stand-up war when Diaz, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Cesar Gracie, abandoned all conventional wisdom when he engaged toe-to-toe with the part-time professional boxer in Noons.
While the Stockton native had a decided advantage on the ground over the Hawaiian, Diaz was able to outbox Noons en route to a unanimous decision victory, avenging a controversial 2007 loss to KJ under the Elite XC banner, and picked up his 8th consecutive win.
Out of the 6 televised cards which aired on Showtime, the television partner of Strikeforce, 2 of it’s events with the largest audience had Diaz at the top of the billing, this including last Saturday’s event.
There’s something to be said for that, when although love him or hate him, Nick Diaz is exciting nonetheless and knows how to bring in a crowd. MMAJunkie.com has reported that the broadcast peaked with approximately 509,000 viewers.
The following is a list of the reported ratings from each event on Showtime telecast this year, from largest to smallest.
-517,000 viewers, “Strikeforce: Miami” (January)
-509,000 viewers, “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons 2″ (October)
-412,000 viewers, “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum” (June)
-367,000 viewers, “Strikeforce: Houston” (August)
-308,000 viewers, “Strikeforce St. Louis: Heavy Artillery” (May)
-164,000 viewers, “Strikeforce: Los Angeles” (June)
“Strikeforce: Miami” was home to Diaz in action opposite of DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis, vying for the then vacant Strikeforce 170-pound title, where Nick eventually was able to TKO the head-kick specialist inside of the first round.
So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the numbers? Does Diaz pull in a crowd or what? Sound off in the comment section below.
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Comments
Is it just me, or do these figures seem to say that Nick Diaz is a bigger draw than Fedor Emelianenko? O_o
Diaz is an entertaining fighter that people love to see in the cage. His will to win and his single minded determination to destroy whoever is put in front of him has me chomping at the bit every time I hear he’s gonna fight!
Then you got those who love to hate him and tune in hoping for his destruction. It is what it is, and I for one can’t wait to see who he takes next!!
@Oliver Saenz
Could be, but I’m also unaware of the numbers Fedor pulled during the CBS broadcast.
Then again, “Weeds” is part of the Showtime lineup..ergo, Diaz being a ratings success makes a lot more sense now.
@mike perryman
I was always curious where the hate comes from against the Diaz brothers, I never really understood it. Someone, please explain this.
And Mike, do you think Strikeforce is becoming too small for Diaz? I see possible two more exciting fights worthwhile for Nick there (Paul Daley and Tyron Woodley), but beyond that…nah
Like Diaz said afer the fight… who is there left in his division. I love him on Strikeforce but I agree with the slim pickings. Daley and Woodley would both be good fights I think. With Daley it would be entertainment just to see who the bad guy was percieved as!
Woodley coming off that big win is also an option. But I’d like to see Diaz vs Miller at a catch-weight of 177; that way they can meet in the middle and Diaz can shut that chumps mouth for a couple seconds- til he wakes up thinking he won! I think this match provides the best option from a business standpoint. But more than that, I’d just love to see Diaz beat him up for the world to see.