(Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)
March 10, 2006. The HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The first MMA event in Strikeforce history. A previously kickboxing exclusive organization was now delving into the wide open sea of MMA.
It was set to feature the MMA debuts of both Cung Le and Cesar Gracie, while at the same time re-introducing the MMA world to Frank Shamrock.
Le was the current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Sanshou Champion and brought an undefeated Sanshou record of 17-0 into the cage against Mike Haltman.
Haltman stood no chance and was easily disposed of in the first round, keeping Le's undefeated record in combat sports alive.
The main event of the evening saw Frank Shamrock make his return to MMA after a three-year hiatus taking on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master Cesar Gracie.
Gracie, known mostly for his students Jake Shields and the Diaz brothers, made his MMA debut last only 21 seconds after being KO'd by Shamrock in the first round.
Since then we've had the pleasure of watching Strikeforce become a major player in the MMA world. Cung Le has remained undefeated and won the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship.
Frank Shamrock has watched his career slowly slip away from him and has lost three of his last five bouts, while finding a niche behind the announcers' table.
Cesar Gracie has not returned to the cage, but he may have been the most successful. He has watched his students Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, and Gilbert Melendez run through their opponents. Diaz and Shields have become two of the most popular stars in the organization.
Earlier this month, Nick Diaz took another step in the direction of elitism. For the second consecutive time, Nick took a catchweight fight with a normally larger opponent.
In April, Nick took on MMA legend Frank Shamrock in a 179-pound catchweight fight. Shamrock, a normally 185-pounder, dropped six pounds to take on a top level 170 pounder.
Shamrock was looking for a name win in order to keep his elite status alive, while Nick was looking for a big-name victory in order to boost his recognition.
Diaz dominated the legend and would continue to take fights against larger opponents. His next fight came earlier this month against Scott Smith.
Smith, known for his incredible comeback knockouts, was looking to continue his two-fight win streak and possibly get another chance at middleweight champ Robbie Lawler.
Unfortunately, Diaz refused to be used as a stepping stone. In what I believe was the single greatest striking performance in MMA history, Diaz landed 192 of his 371 thrown punches for an incredible 52 percent accuracy rating en route to a third-round submission win.
Diaz proved that he is a true threat both on the ground and as a boxer.
Let me ask you this question. Would you rather take down this Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and risk the threat of being submitted, or try and stand toe-to-toe with a guy that is capable of throwing 371 punches in less than three rounds?
I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd reject the fight. Maybe now we can all understand K.J. Noons for ducking this guy.
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