Huge Supporter? KJ Noons Says That He Is a Big Fan of Nick Diaz

KJ Noons is a fan of Nick Diaz.

With all the trash-talking that the two fighters have done, hearing Noons compliment Diaz is somewhat surprising.

Diaz did get in a public altercation with Noons’ father after all.

 “I like to watch him fight like any fan would,” Noon said. “When I watch UFC or Strikeforce, I don’t watch every fight because the fight might not be entertaining to me.”

 “When I watch Nick Diaz fight, I enjoy his fights. When I watch his brother fight, I like watching his fights. They have a good style of fighting.”

 Back in June 2008, Noons defeated Yves Edwards in just 48 seconds to retain the now defunct EliteXC lightweight championship. Just after the fight, EliteXC officials asked Diaz to enter the cage to challenge Noons for a potential rematch.

 As we recently saw with the Jason Miller – Jake Shields debacle on national television, it is not a good idea to add Diaz to any combustible situation. Shortly after entering the cage, the Diaz brothers were involved in a pull-apart brawl with basically the entire Noons family.

“My dad will be in the audience watching,” Noons said. “He won’t be in my corner. We’re over all that. When that night comes and that bell rings, despite all the stare downs, despite all the talk, despite all the hype, it’s going to be strictly business.”

Even though Noons is fully focused on the fight, he understands the selling aspect of a big fight.

“This is the entertainment business,” Noons said. “You should have a little fun, but I never discredited the talent Nick Diaz has.”

Noons, however, has a different strategy than other well known trash-talkers.

“I don’t have to be like a Chael Sonnen and diss him or be like a (Ricardo) Mayorga and diss his family,” Noons said.

As Noons prepares for what he refers to as the biggest fight of his career, he also continues to hear questions about his last fight. Noons registered a controversial second round knockout over Jorge Gurgel.

At the very end of the first round, Noons connected with a vicious right hand that sent Gurgel to the mat. The punch landed extremely close to the end of the round. Clearly still dazed by the shot, Gurgel staggered out for the second round but was knocked down again. At that point, Noons connected with another debilitating blow – this time it was an apparent illegal knee.

The referee waved off the fight and gave the KO win to Noons. Noons could have been disqualified on two different occasions.

“If you want to see a late hit, go look at a Paul Daley video,” Noons said in regards to the punch landed at the end of the first round. “It wasn’t a late hit in my eyes. Action was going on, and I hit him at the bell.”

Noons also has an explanation for the knee to a grounded opponent.

“Thank god the knee hit his hand. When I threw the knee, he was getting up.”

To Noons’ credit, Gurgel said that he does believe Noons is a dirty fighter.

Now, Noons prepares for his second fight with Diaz. This time the match-up will be for Diaz’s Strikeforce welterweight championship. The bout is set for this Saturday night on Showtime – less than two months after Noons’ Aug-21 win over Gurgel.

“This will be my fourth fight in six-and-a-half months,” Noons said, referencing wins over Gurgel, Conor Heun, and Andre Amado.

All of Noon’s previous fights took place at a lower weight class than 170 lbs. Even though Noons will be facing Diaz for the 170 lb title, he prefers the fight at a smaller weight.

“In my mind, I was the top contender at 155,” Noons said “This fight was approached to me so I took it, but I do want to contend at 155. Gilbert Melendez was supposed to be next. Due to stuff Gilbert has going on, that fight couldn’t be made.”

Therefore, Noons is set to face Diaz. Their first fight was a one round TKO victory for Noons. The bout was stopped after the first round when the referee deemed an irate Diaz unable to continue due to significant facial cuts.

Since that time, both fighters have dramatically improved.

“Both of us are different fighters,” Noons said. “We’re both better fighters. We went on winning streaks for three years. You’re going to see a much better match-up.”

Even with the time that has elapsed between the two fights, Noons sees a similar result.

“I see my hand raised at the end of the fight being the winner.”