UFC 137: Why Nick Diaz Should Be Ranked Ahead of Jon Fitch

After all of the chaos, all of the drama and all of the controversy surrounding the build up for UFC 137, Nick Diaz lived up to every ounce of his hype with a three-round massacre of MMA legend B.J. Penn.

Diaz’ brilliant and devastating display of technical boxing and ferocious intensity battered and bloodied Penn en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Penn, a former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion, announced his retirement from MMA competition following the fight. The loss marked the first time in Penn’s career that the proud Hawaiian had ever been dominated and beat down in the striking department before.

However, even after a dominant performance over a former champion and a fighter that is rarely dominated in the Octagon, pundits are still skeptical to hop on the Diaz war wagon.

In their eyes, perennial contender Jon Fitch is still the clear-cut heir to the welterweight throne. Fitch, who hasn’t lost a fight since a 2008 loss to St-Pierre, is certainly one of the division’s elite competitors, but should he still be placed in that No. 2 slot following UFC 137?

Diaz Is a finisher, Fitch Is a Grinder

Their argument is based off the fact that Fitch has dominated every opponent put in front of him, besides St-Pierre and Penn. His grinding style has neutralized opponents such as Thiago Alves, Ben Saunders, Mike Pierce, Paulo Thiago and Diego Sanchez.

Undoubtedly an impressive resume but, other than Alves and Sanchez, none of those wins were against a top-ranked opponent.

In Strikeforce, Diaz wasn’t competing against the upper echelon of the division, either, but at least he was finishing his victims at their own game and doing so violently. Fitch hasn’t finished a fight since a 2007 submission win over Roan Carneiro.

Now granted, finishing a fight is not the end-all, be-all in determining a great fighter.

At the end of the day, winning is the name of the game, but when Fitch wins a decision, it doesn’t feel like you just watched a fight. Fitch takes his opponents down at will but does not do much of anything besides maintaining position.

Fitch’s approach to the sport is intelligent but could also be viewed as overly safe. The same could be said about welterweight champion St-Pierre.

Diaz, on the other hand, will stand and bang with a striker and pick them apart on the feet in Freddy Krueger-like fashion. He will also go to the ground with a submission specialist and out-technique his opponent before earning the tap-out victory as well.

Fitch cannot finish a meatball sub, let alone a high-level MMA fight. Diaz will swallow that meatball sub in one bite and then knock the chef out with a brutal body shot for good measure.

A Common Opponent

You can call it MMA math, MMA science, MMA biology, MMA social studies or even MMA home economics for all I care. The fact of the matter is that Diaz beat Penn into an early retirement and Fitch went to a majority draw with the former champ.

Penn arguably did enough to earn a decision over Fitch in their UFC 127 bout last year in Australia. Fitch, who is considered one of the best wrestlers in the division, was taken down by Penn twice. For a man who is supposed to be a dominant grinder, he sure did struggle against “The Prodigy."

Meanwhile, many analysts (including myself) predicted a victory for Penn against Diaz, and they weren’t even close.

How two athletes compete against a common opponent is usually irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. This is a totally different scenario, however, as Diaz is essentially a better version of Penn.

Diaz proved he can do everything that Penn does but do so in a way that “The Prodigy” could not.

The Myth of Diaz’ Wrestling Kryptonite

Everyone likes to bring up the fact that Diaz hasn’t fought a wrestler since a 2006 loss to Sean Sherk at UFC 59.

Diaz can consistently put on some of the most exciting performances in the entire sport, but irritating “experts” will tell the world that he’s just some guy that will lose to a good wrestler.

The former Strikeforce champion has evolved tremendously over the years. Just because he hasn’t been competing against elite wrestlers doesn’t mean that takedowns and top control are still his kryptonite.

Fitch can take Diaz down at will, but Diaz isn’t going to just lay there and play the guard game anymore. He understands how the judging system works and he’s going to find a way to either get back to his feet or advance into a dominant position on the ground.

The days of being able to put Diaz on his back and cruise to a decision are long gone. This is a different animal and one that will make wrestlers regret shooting in for a takedown.

Marketability

Let’s be real, when is the last time Fitch ever had anything even remotely entertaining to say? The answer is never. He is extremely generic in interviews and when you add that in with his dull fighting style you get an athlete with little to no marketability whatsoever.

Diaz might be a headache to deal with in the media, but there is always some sort of chaos leading up to his bouts. He is one of the most entertaining fighters to watch in the cage and is also incredibly marketable due to his bad-boy persona.

Skipping out on press conferences is deplorable and an action that I certainly do not condone, but at the end of the day, Diaz always comes to fight. Even with Fitch at a press conference, his fights do not generate the type of buzz Diaz’ do even when the Stockton native isn’t promoting his fights in the media.

Diaz vs. St-Pierre for the title in February is going to be a blockbuster event. If it were Fitch vs. St-Pierre II, I would rather swim naked in a lake filled with crocodiles than watch that rematch.

Mitch Ciccarelli is the sexiest featured columnist on B/R MMA and a United States Airman. Follow Ciccarelli on Twitter    @mitchciccarelli