Who is better weight lifter Frank Shamrock vs Nick Diaz?”
SI.com’s Josh Gross has the best seat in the house and is ready to provide first-rate analysis for tonight’s Strikeforce bout between Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz in San Jose, Calif. 11:54 p.m.: Of different generations. Of different philosophies. Of different motivations. Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz would appear to share very little, save, that is, the love of a good fight. In a bout few saw coming or even considered, Shamrock and Diaz collide Saturday in San Jose, Calif., where Strikeforce offers the first of its beefed up fair on Showtime. Shamrock, cocky and self-aware, wore UFC gold around his waist when MMA fans couldn’t fathom the sport landing on premium television. Diaz, a teenager in the late 1990s when Shamrock shone under an invisible cloak, lives on the edge. He speaks openly of his disdain for all things pop-culture, his need and use of marijuana — herbal cleansers, he said before the fight, will clear him of commission-assessed drug tests — and the necessity of a good
SAN JOSE — Nick Diaz finally showed Frank Shamrock some respect; of course, it came after he battered the former UFC champion from pillar to post in their main event scrap at Strikeforce “Shamrock vs. Diaz” before a crowd 15,211 at the HP Pavilion. The controversial and quotable Diaz (19-7, 1 NC), of Stockton, Calif., finished Shamrock with a salvo of punches along the cage after dropping the former UFC titleholder with a body shot. Referee “Big” John McCarthy implored Shamrock to defend himself, but he could not muster the strength to answer the Diaz outburst and McCarthy called a halt to the match at 3:57 of the second round. “I give everything to Nick Diaz,” Shamrock said. “I knew he was a dangerous opponent. Nick kicked my a– tonight; there’s no two ways about it. Nick was just the better man. He hit me in the guts, and that was about all the juice I had. I doubled over, and he put a whoopin’ on me.” Shamrock (23-10-2), fighting in his hometown, was expected by many to exploit a
