Tomorrow night live on Showtime its Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz and yours truly is here to break it down for you. Who will be victorious on April 11th-The confident legend or the trash talker from Stockton? Let’s find out on the BreakdowN!
Striking: Nick Diaz is a very technical/scrappy striker with a long reach advantage and a very durable chin. While I don’t think Diaz has a whole lot of power he is still able to cause a great deal of damage and pick his opponents apart with his technical boxing and long reach. Frank Shamrock might not be as technical on his feet than Diaz but he’s certainly more powerful and much more explosive. Nick Diaz like I mentioned before though has a very durable chin but I personally think Shamrock has the power to put the trash talking kid from Stockton to sleep. Technically Diaz is the more skilled striker but Shamrock held his own against Cung Le on the feet so I don’t think he will have any problems in a striking battle against Nick Diaz.
Frank Shamrock has the striking advantage, 10-9
Jiu-Jitsu: We all know that Nick Diaz is a very dangerous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt under Caesar Gracie but Frank Shamrock is not an easy guy to submit. Diaz obviously has the Jiu-Jitsu advantage and I think his best bet would be to try and get Frank to the ground and submit him. Frank has some good submission skills as well though so don’t be all that surprised if Frank ends up catching Nick in a submission either.
Nick Diaz has the Jiu-Jitsu advantage, 10-8
Wrestling: Shamrock has a huge strength advantage in this fight and I think that will come into play as far as wrestling is concerned. While Diaz is a very well respected Jiu-Jitsu ace he has never really been known for having an overwhelming wrestling base. I think Shamrock will overpower Diaz and dictate wherever he wants the fight to go.
Frank Shamrock has the wrestling advantage, 10-8
Cardio: Cardio has never really been a problem for either man and I think they both have the gas to go at a frantic pace for three rounds. On the other hand though you have to think with Shamrock being the bulkier guy could he possibly be more prone to gas out than Diaz would? Probably not but it’s a possibility that could come into effect in the later rounds. I don’t think either of them will suffer in the cardio department but I’m going to give Diaz the slight edge just because he’s the lighter guy.
Nick Diaz has the cardio advantage, 10-9
Final Prediction: Style wise it’s a very interesting matchup and it really could go either way. In my personal opinion I think Frank Shamrock will end up winning this fight though. I think Frank is better at blending all of the aspects of MMA together than Diaz is and he’s also going to have a significant advantage in the strength and power department. I can see Frank Shamrock knocking Nick Diaz out in the second round or it might end up going the distance with Frank winning unanimously.
Frank Shamrock by second round (T)KO
As always guys if you have any questions, comments, or concerns just leave me a comment on this article and I will reply to it as best I can. Oh and by the way Jessica Simpson if you are reading this can you please stop sexually harassing me on myspace. I don’t care if my BreakdowN’s turns you on… I’m way too good looking for you so go back to Tony Romo and leave me the hell alone!
-Mitch Ciccarelli
UNITED STATES
OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES
What'd ya think? Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment and let us know.
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6 comments:
Come on and bring it guys.
Here's my picks:
Frank Shamrock defeats Nick Diaz by decision
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos defeats Hitomi Akano by 2nd round TKO
Benji Radach defeats Scott Smith by decision
Gilbert Melendez defeats Rodrigo Damm by decision
Brett Rogers defeats Ron Humphrey by 1st round TKO
Luke Rockhold defeats Buck Meredith by 2nd round decision
Eric Lawson defeats Waylon Kennell by 1st round submission
Raul Castillo defeats Brandon Michaels by 1st round TKO
James Terry defeats Zak Bucia by decision
Shingo Kohara defeats Jeremy Tavares by 1st round submission
Nick Diaz over Frank Shamrock via Decision
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos defeats Hitomi Akano by 2nd round KO
Scott Smith over Benji Radach by 2nd round KO
Gilbert Melendez defeats Rodrigo Damm by decision
Brett Rogers defeats Ron Humphrey by 1st round TKO
Luke Rockhold defeats Buck Meredith by 2nd round decision
Eric Lawson defeats Waylon Kennell by 1st round submission
Raul Castillo defeats Brandon Michaels by 1st round TKO
James Terry defeats Zak Bucia by decision
Shingo Kohara defeats Jeremy Tavares by 1st round submission
I kept the ones the same that I don't have a strong opinion on/or just straight up agreed. Smith worries me, but I think he will come out like the 1st Lawler bout. Plus I think Benji was overhyped due to Bas' comments on his punching power. Ninja might be a game fighter, but it sure took a ton of power shots and back and forth momentum to finally get the finish.
And also, I am EXTREMELY confident in Diaz.
And even though I didn't pick it, watch for Humphrey to upset Rogers.
oh and Mitch, I would change these:
Wrestling:
Even. Franks knees make it hard for him to really shoot in well. However, Nick isn't notorious for his takedown ability either.
BJJ:
10-9 Diaz
While Diaz is the Gracie BB, Frank has tremendous sub defense. Also, I don't think Nick is quite as solid in MMA JJ as his brother, Nate is. I think this poses a stalemate in which the only outcome would be Diaz via superior JJ attempts decision victory. And yes, it would be EXTREMELY surprising if Nick (or Frank for that matter) got submitted! Nick hasn't been submitted and Frank hasn't since 1994.
Striking:
10-9 Diaz
Diaz has skill AND reach. Shamrock has power, but against a guy with a durable chin, one power shot won't be enough. Nick got his surgery to fix getting cut so much. Also, Nick is more explosive when he fights guys he really hates as opposed to when he doesn't, he is sluggish. Frank would have to use kicks, which have never really been a problem for Diaz. And Cung Le doesn't have nearly the reach as Diaz, plus the Lawler and Gomi victories evens that one out in my opinion.
Mitch my man I aint tryin to dump on your breakdown or anything just take this as friendly constructive criticism.
Frank Shamrock defeating Nick Diaz by 2nd round T.K.O is a gutsy pick but not a good one. Diaz has taken the best shots from Lytle, Lawler, Sanchez, Riggs, Sherk, Neer etc and did not get knocked down or out. If you watch the KJ Noons fight, he caught Nick Diaz off balance in the eye socket doesn't really count.
I can not believe I am saying this but I agree with Mike, Diaz has the clear striking advantage. Shamrock is more known for his ground game then his striking he only recently started to stand up and trade with people. All Shamrock has in that aspect is power but Diaz has the speed and technique and if you watch the legendary fight between Muhammad Ali n George Foreman....Ali showed that speed and technique (and a good strategy) defeats power any day.
Diaz has more ways to win, he can tire out Shamrock and put him in a position where he can be easily submitted or can not defend himself and get stopped.
Shamrock beating Diaz by 2nd round T.K.O is not a safe bet but if you are right I will bow to you for real, but I think Shamrock's only way to win is by Decison I do not see him winning any other way.
My pick is Diaz by 3rd round submission
Props to all of you who picked Diaz, and Mike who took my excellent opening picks and corrected my errors.
Rogers stays undefeated. Good for him, but I have to think Overeem would demolish him.
I have to agree with Pat Militech, you almost have to cheer for Akano with her being so outweighed by Cyborg. But I'm a Cyborg fan.
I definitely looked like Radach could have finished Smith after that hook knocked him down...and again in the second, but it was too, too bad he didn't. What a knockout by Smith!
Nick Diaz not only finished Frank Shamrock in the 2nd round, he finished Frank Shamrock's career! He really made him look like an old man. I'm really satisfied with this fight because it really shows us where Frank Shamrock stands.
I think this was a promising first show for Strikeforce. Already better than any of it's 2008 events, which averaged about 2.8 stars for the year and reached a high of almost 3.2 stars with the Shamrock vs. Le event.
With a controlled budget, an established product, more television deals than it can handle, and some already intriguing events on the horizon, I'm very optimistic about Strikeforce's future.
Wow I was WAYYYY off with this one.
lol so now my BreakdowN record on TLOS is 3-2 (correct picks- Diego, Rampage and Mike Brown, incorrect picks- B.J Penn and Frank Shamrock).
Strikeforce was awesome tonight! I'll give more feedback tomorrow, I'm way too tired right now haha.
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