UFC 143 Results: Was Nick Diaz's Rise a Complete Farce?

Nick Diaz went from disliked mid-card punk to dangerous anti-hero who was set to take away Georges St-Pierre's welterweight title.

It was a story that was too good to be true.

But was it just that, too good to be true?

Maybe.

Diaz's first run in the UFC ended in disappointment in 2006. The Stockton brawler was only 4-4 during his initial stint with the company.

After his time with the UFC, Diaz went to the emerging EliteXC promotion where he began to establish a name for himself. 

Once EliteXC went under, he moved to Strikeforce, where his mystique and aura continued to grow, as did the amount of media and fan attention he received.

The style of Diaz, as well as his brash attitude, was making him a much talked-about figure. Whether you loved him or hated him, you knew about him and knew when he was fighting.

People tuned him to see him kick ass or get his ass kicked.

Diaz had immense success in Strikeforce and captured the promotion's welterweight championship. The stars seemed to align for Diaz, as he was eventually called from Strikeforce into the UFC (after Zuffa purchased the perennial "minor league" of MMA) to face UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

In an infamous series of events involving Diaz failing to show up to two press conferences, and St-Pierre injuring his knee, the unheralded Carlos Condit was set to face Diaz for the interim welterweight title. 

This was supposed to be Diaz's finest hour but it wasn't. His rise was halted (possibly forever, if he was true about his post-fight retirement speech) and he was kicked off Mount Olympus.

So how much of the story was "fake"?

Parts of it. 

Diaz was shielded from the highest echelons of competition in Strikeforce so he was able to create an aura of a nigh-invincible, street-tough, Stone Cold Steve Austin-esque brawler during his time there.

This persona resonated with fans since they lived vicariously through Diaz when he flipped people off and acted wild (how desk jockeys and other restrained office folk wish they could act but can't).

Diaz became popular due to this, and he became popular enough for the UFC to bring him in once they purchased Strikeforce.

So once he was in the UFC, he was given the fast track to the top-level competition and didn't have to go through fighters that were bad matchups for him (Jake Ellenberger, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Rick Story, Diego Sanchez, Charlie Brenneman, etc.) and instead was immediately made a top star whose abilities were somehow unquestionable.

Thus, the rise of Nick Diaz wasn't a complete farce because he did have some great victories, but some elements of it were definitely hype and creative marketing, smoke and mirrors.

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