Nick Diaz's refusal to promote his own title fight means he won't get it, after all.
In an unprecedented moment for mixed martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Wednesday replaced Diaz with Carlos Condit in the main event of next month's UFC 137 event in Las Vegas. Condit will challenge welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at the Oct. 29 show.
"I've promoted over 1,600 fights in my career," UFC President Dana White said. "This has never, ever happened once. Never. We've never had a situation where a guy just goes MIA and doesn't show up for this stuff."
Officials for UFC pulled Diaz from the bout after he failed to show up for a Las Vegas press conference on Wednesday to promote the event. Diaz also did not appear at an event earlier in the week in Toronto.
Three flights were booked for Diaz this week to attend events, White said. He did not make any of them.
Diaz's manager and head trainer, Cesar Gracie, said he does not know where the fighter has gone, White said. The UFC boss took a call from Gracie in the middle of Wednesday's press conference.
St. Pierre criticized Diaz's refusal to take part in pre-fight promotion.
"It's a lack of professionalism," St. Pierre said. "I showed up to do my job, but Nick Diaz did not show up to do his job. ... There's consequences to this."
Before Diaz left Strikeforce to sign with UFC this year, Condit was a leading candidate for a shot at the 170-pound title held by St. Pierre. Once UFC decided to pull Diaz from the fight, Condit was the natural choice, White said.
Diaz's bad-boy reputation and former status as a Strikeforce champion make him a far more prominent fighter than Condit in terms of name recognition and fan appeal. But St. Pierre believes he now has a harder fight on his hands.
"Condit has more power, way more diversity of attack than Nick Diaz has," St. Pierre said. "I think he's going to be a way more dangerous opponent than Nick Diaz."
The USA TODAY/MMA Nation consensus rankings at 170 pounds have Condit at No. 5, one spot behind Diaz.
Officials made the switch on the day that tickets for UFC 137 went on sale to select buyers. Those purchasers can get refunds, White said.
When he signed a contract to rejoin UFC earlier this year, Diaz promised to attend required press tours and promotional events for his bouts, White said.
"Nick looked right in my face and lied to me and said he would do it," White said.
Diaz, a former Strikeforce champion with 33 professional fights under his belt, has been vocal about his desire for a big-money fights with top stars such as St. Pierre. The money Diaz would have been paid for UFC 137 exceeds all the purses from his previous bouts combined, White said.
But Diaz has a history of erratic behavior when it comes to promoting fights, as well as occasionally reckless actions after bouts. White in the past has said that he would only bring Diaz back into UFC if the fighter would "play the game" by following certain rules of behavior and fight promotion.
"I knew what I was getting myself into when you get Nick Diaz," White said. "I didn't expect this, but I expected some problems and headaches over the next couple of months. But I didn't expect this."
Source: Diaz out of UFC 137 title fight vs. St. Pierre
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