UFC 137 Results: Is Nick Diaz the Most Exciting Fighter in the UFC Today?

While Nick Diaz expertly picked BJ Penn apart with punches, busting him up and leaving him dazed and confused for most the final two rounds of their fight at UFC 137, I could not help but notice that no one around me had talked or looked away from the TV since the fight had started.

That’s the effect that Diaz has on people; he makes sure there is no reason for them to look away when he fights, but for a much different reason than most fighters.

While guys like Anderson Silva demand your attention due to their ability to finish a fight at any second from any position, Diaz has a much harder job, as he doesn’t possess the kind of one-shot finishing power like a lot of other fighters do.

Instead, he has to constantly work, throwing punches in bunches, putting an obscene amount of pressure on his opponents, and in most fights, taunting the man who is trying to take his head off.

For all of his shortcomings in the media, Diaz is a showman once the bell rings, and it is evident every time he fights.

Diaz goes to the center of the Octagon, draws a line in the sand, and basically tells you he’s going to beat you while he does it.

Last night, Diaz’s intensity during the fight set him apart from any fighter that we have seen inside the Octagon. He had at least four Nevada State Athletic Commission officials holding him back before the fight even started, he was literally waiting in the center of the cage for the fight to restart in between rounds, and you could hear people telling him to try and calm down as he was screaming obscenities about Georges St-Pierre post-fight.

The fact that GSP is next up for Diaz is as interesting a fight as any the UFC could make.

St-Pierre, who will fight Diaz on Super Bowl weekend in February, has been criticized heavily over the last few years for becoming a boring, points-driven fighter, something that Diaz has been known to despise.

It will be tough for St-Pierre to dominate Diaz the way he has the rest of his opponents, mostly because Diaz will refuse to back down. While other fighters have been conservative and apprehensive to engage with GSP, Diaz knows no other way to fight.

That’s the difference between Diaz and 90 percent of the fighters in the sport. Diaz is a fighter, while the rest of these guys are martial artists.

After last night’s performance, Diaz has the world in the palm of his hands, as he showed that he is easily the most exciting fighter in the UFC roster, and that he doesn’t mind playing the bad guy to get what he wants.

Who’s ready for Super Bowl weekend?