Well there goes the neighbourhood.
Stockton’s native son, Nate Diaz, has been awarded the key to his home city.
Perhaps there’s no better recipient. Diaz, following in the footsteps of his older brother Nick, has proudly and unabashedly represented the ‘209’ (Stockton’s area code) on the world’s stage of mixed martial arts since appearing on The Ultimate Fighter season 5 in 2007.
Attending a G-league basketball game for the Stockton Kings on the weekend, Diaz was honored by city mayor Kevin J. Lincoln, who said the following:
“We want to thank you for the grit and determination that you display every time you step into a fight. And I want you to know that grit and determination is built into the very fabric of the city that you represent… It’s an honor to be here to present you, on behalf of the city of Stockton, with this key to the city.”
“I wanna say it’s an honor,” Diaz replied. “Thank you very much to Stockton, California, for rocking with me. I’ve been rocking with Stockton this whole time … I’m going to be forever rocking Stockton, I ain’t going nowhere.”
The AllStar MMA roundup
- The AllStar MMA Live: UFC Orlando Reaction, Recap
The best of the rest
- Bellator’s Scott Coker supports regulators’ actions in James Krause case – BloodyElbow.com
- Manager: Kevin Holland suffered broken hand in first round of UFC on ESPN 42 loss, needs surgery – MMAJunkie.com
- Cain Velasquez wins wrestling comeback for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide in first competition since arrest: ‘I will always continue to fight, forever’ – MMAJunkie.com
- Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson reveals what Kevin Holland said to him during UFC Orlando main event – MMAFighting.com
- Roman Dolidze calls out Khamzat Chimaev: ‘I respect him but I want to fight him’ – MMAFighting.com
The soapbox
Kevin Holland hasn’t lost his sense of humour:
The life of Randy Costa:
Tai makes his first statement:
Brian Kelleher got jokes:
The UFC outperforms Tyson Fury in Google searches:
That time when Rashad Evans’ Hall of Fame speech was interrupted by an earthquake:
The morning view
UFC 282’s TJ Brown catches up with JHK:
The Weasle breaks down Sergei Pavlovich’s insane knockout of Tai Tuivasa:
Dan Hardy previews Robbie Lawler vs Santiago Ponzinibbio:
Ian Garry discusses MMA’s biggest personalities:
Done Deals
Monday:
- None to note
UFC Roster Watch
Fighters removed this week:
- none to note
Fighters Added this week:
- none to note
Credit to UFC Roster Watch
On this day in MMA…
On the 5th of December, 2009, Roy Nelson earned his spot as the winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 10 at the TUF: Heavyweights finale in Las Vegas, Nevada.
‘Big Country’ would face Brendan Schaub, who had never seen the third round during his TUF run, in the tournament finals. Nelson, who himself had made short work of the much-hyped Kimbo Slice early in the season, needed just one clean shot to put Schaub’s lights out.
At just under four minutes into the first round after some back-and-forth striking, Nelson leaped forward and caught his opponent clean with a heavy overhand right, dropping Schaub instantly and forcing the referee to call the fight.
Nelson would go on to find mixed success in the UFC’s heavyweight division, notching up wins over Mirko Cro Cop, Stefan Struve, Cheick Kongo, ‘Big Nog’, and put on stand-out wars opposite Mark Hunt, Fabricio Werdum, and Junior dos Santos.