Quote:
Diaz vs. Noons rematch likely to take place on July 26 in Stockton, Calif.
June 22, 2008 By: Sam Caplan
The website GracieFighter.com has revealed that a planned welterweight title bout between Hayato Sakurai and Nick Diaz that had been scheduled for July 21 in Osaka, Japan during DREAM.5, has been canceled by EliteXC.
GracieFighter.com, a site owned and operated by Diaz’s trainer, Cesar Gracie, indicated that EliteXC made the decision to cancel the bout due to “contractual obligations.”
While no official announcement has been made, multiple sources have informed Five Ounces of Pain that rematch between Diaz and K.J. Noons for Noons’ EliteXC lightweight title is expected to be added to the promotion’s next primetime broadcast on CBS on July 26.
Sources have also indicated that plans to hold “Unfinished Business” in St. Louis have been scrapped and that the July 26 show is now likely to be held in at the Stockton Arena in Diaz’s hometown of Stockton, Calif.
According to an unnamed source, it’s considered likely that the event is being moved from St. Louis due to a concern that several major sporting events are already scheduled to take place in the city during a close proximity to the July 26 event.
One of the chief concerns in hosting the event in St. Louis is that there is a large Monster Truck rally that already has had tickets on-sale for an extended period of time. The belief is that due the concentration of events taking place around that same time period that ticket sales might suffer.
By moving the event to Stockton, EliteXC will be able to capitalize on the local drawing power of not only Diaz, but Jake Shields as well, who is scheduled to compete for the vacant EliteXC welterweight title vs. an unnamed opponent.
EliteXC: Unfinished Business will headlined by a EliteXC middleweight title rematch between incumbent Robbie Lawler and challenger Scott Smith.
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Well, I'm ambivalent about this.
PRO: I get to see Nick Diaz, one of my favorite fighters and one of the most exciting fighters in MMA, fight again for a major-org title.
CON: He had to forfeit, at least for the time being, his shot at another major-org title to do it.
PRO: We get to see the "bad blood" rematch between Noons and Diaz while the iron is still hot.
CON: The WWE feel is there, although that doesn't bother me as much as it bothers others. This is still real fighting.
PRO: Diaz - who at 25 is practically playing the role of the "old man" will get a chance to avenge himself against the "young upstart", and for a title at that.
CON: We all know Diaz is one of the best fighters on earth, but he hasn't been overly impressive in any EXC fight; the most recent one against Corbbrey has been his best, and he came in 8 pounds over weight! He shouldn't get a title shot after that.
PRO: The EXC 7/26/08 show is looking fucking
STACKED. Already confirmed for the show is a rematch of the MW title between Smith and top-5 Lawler, as well as a WW title fight featuring top-10 Jake Shields; and a HW title fight featuring Bigfoot has been rumored. There's a possibility of
four fucking title fights on this next CBS card, featuring several of the most exciting fighters on earth.
That last observation is so important, in my view, that there is no offsetting "con".
WAR EliteXC in putting great cards and great fighters on free TV for the public to soak up.
Rumor: Diaz-Noons rematch for July 26 card
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