EliteXC Strips KJ Noons of Lightweight Title
KJ Noons has been stripped of the EliteXC lightweight title for refusing to defend the championship against top 160-pound contender Nick Diaz.
“We are stripping KJ of his championship belt for refusing to defend against Diaz,”EliteXC Head of Fight Operations Jeremy Lappen said. “It’s a very unfortunate situation but we cannot have belt-holders who refuse to fight the top contenders. We want champions who will fight anyone, anytime, anyplace. That’s the mentality all champions should have.
“I feel very bad for KJ because I like him a lot on a personal level and have always thought he could be a big star. He’s charismatic, has a very exciting fighting style and is a top level fighter. So I’m obviously disappointed that he has chosen to take this stance.
“I don’t understand why he would turn down a chance to be a headliner on CBS on Oct. 4. KJ then turned down the fight again when we offered him a headlining spot on our next SHOWTIME date against Nick. From my view, it is a fight against a top-named opponent in Diaz (someone who beat the No. 1 fighter in the world in his weight class), a fighter KJ has bad blood with and most definitely a fight the fans really wanted to see. It seemed like a great opportunity for KJ to me.
“Personally, I do not think it was a smart career move, but I’m sure he sees it differently. KJ has two more fights remaining on his contract, so we are still looking forward to having him fight for us again soon, but not as our world champion.”
EliteXC will announce a matchup for vacant title in the near future.
nick diaz is gay im sorry he didnt deserve a shot at noons…i hope noons goes to the ufc
i’d like to see nick diaz fight yves edwards now
KJ is weak for not fighting (a champion defends, a champion fights,imo)
And KJ v Diaz wouldn’t headline the Oct 4 show anyways, why would u have a chanpionship bout headline a show when you have Kimbo v Ken Shammy Shamm(sarcasim, plus Sheilds is defending and he is headlining)
EliteXC is run horribly and I don’t believe they have a clue… The only reason a few talented fighters are there (Lawler, Ninja, Diaz, Shields, Alverez, I may have forgotten one or perhaps two) is because the UFC either doesn’t like them ie Diaz or StrikeForce couldn’t pay the enough $$$ when EliteXC goes belly up, the only thing that is going to bother me is I’m not going to have as much of an oppritunity to see Gina……
*Sheilds is defending and he ISN’T headlining*
i thought it was noons management that told him to decline the fight.
Well his (mis) management speaks for him, the contract that he signed with his management team probably states that the managers are able to accept or turn down fights as well… Only problem is now he isn’t the Champ anymore because he or his management turned down a rematch with Diaz, oops who knew?
wow what a dumbass. throws away the biggest fight of his career over some beef involving parents? i wouldve still had a good amount of respect for the guy if lost honorably to Diaz, but apparently he was scared…
this guy won’t ever be in the ufc. Why would Dana want to sign a guy who refused to defend his belt? Poor sportsmanship.
thats just dumb! why was Diaz let go from ufc? weed?
I do find this interesting, In my opinion the best fighters in the world (champion or not) are the guys that will fight anyone with reasonable notice. I would think this would be worse for his career than even failing to make weight as a champ…
I know there was a problem between the Noons family and the Diaz family, but what was it all about?
I agree with Elite for pulling Noons. He should have realized that he was the champ and he had to defend… He must have an entirely different idea about what a champion is and does.
i will b the one to defend noons here. first of all he beat diaz already and although i didnt see it from wat i understand nicks face told the story. 2nd diaz has fought 3 nobodies since then one of which took place outside elitexc. 3rd after the way elitexc brought diaz in to ruin noons win over yves edwards i would tell them to **** off too. listen its clear that elite wants diaz as there lightweight champ and theyll do watever it takes to throw noons under the bus and thats bull**** so just give diaz the belt. im glad noons is standin up to this shady promotion whos startin to become like a corrupt boxin commision wit the way they saved kimbo from josh thompson and now this. also last i checked gomi wasnt the number 1 lightweight in the world and its sad that his arguement is diaz beat the gomi when in reality diaz couldnt lay off the hooka and that win doesnt count doesnt matter. its like rickson gracie sayin hes undefeated in 400 grapplin matches and street fights doesnt count towards ur record doesnt count at all. good job kj stick it to these jerkoffs
and as for y diaz isnt in the ufc “However even after the win and the reassurance that the UFC would give him another fight, Diaz decided to sign with the Gracie Fighting Championships and leave the UFC” so it wasnt the ufc who kicked him out it was diaz who left
what a ****, i dont no why diaz is not in the ufc did he fall out wiv dana i remember he got caught smoking weed is that why? some1 help me out haha
did u read my mind huertarogerhuerta that mes wasn’t there when i posted that haha
Really Good News….:)
Gunslinger,
This is not about Nick. This is about Homo Noons being a bad employee by not following the rules and his orders by acting like a spoiled b!tch. He is/was “apparently the champion” but refused to defend his title against Nick. True champs defend their titles against anyone/anytime/any place. That is how it is suppose to be.
Another thing:
If you are not willing to fight for “it”(whatever that may be) you do not deserve it and it is not yours to keep. I use that rule for pretty much everything in life. If someone comes up to me and demands my wallet, I am willing to fight because I believe it is mine and I deserve it. Weapons make this rule a different question but I think you get my point.
KJ may have just committed career suicide. I cannot imagine antoher top promotion having long term plans with him after he “refused” to defend his title. I am going to stop now….I just think Noons is ****wad with itchy sand aggrivating his thought process. Who cares who his opponent was suppose to be aside from his scared/picky a$$? Is he a fighter? Is he a champion?
No argument here. Defend or your not a champion. Simple as that.
Noons is a complete utter tool.
FFS defend your belt even if Diaz does not deserve a shot in your eyes he is worthy according to Pro Elite and that is what matters.
Noons has really dropped the ball here who is going to employ and trust this guy ?
Who manages Noons is it family? I wonder if this is going to be one of those “the manager did it and I was being mislead” deals…
I think there’s something else going on behind the seens.Because i don’t think he’s scared of nick,he already kicked his ass once.And he must know it’s a bad career move.And even if he don’t think nick deserves a shot because he’s a fu cking re tard like his brother no offense.He should still do what the promotion asks of him.I think he wants out but with 2 fights left on his contract we’ll see.
The Rob, you are right on. Dana and the UFC wouldn’t take Noons. They take the cream of the crop. Noons is now overwith. I thought he was a talented fighter,but he’s no headliner. Unless it was for a Diaz rematch. Being on CBS, may have made him a big star. A lot of fans will watch that night for Kimbo, but every other fighter gains recognition from being part of the show.
Noons, you do not have much of a fighting career left. It’s all down hill from here. You peaked, won a belt, but you didn’t want to play ball. At the end of the day, MMA is a business. If you are not helping make Elite XC money, then it’s time to part ways.
At the end of the day XC just got its second PPV PR machine started.
(Kimbo-Gannon being the first.)
KOuch, dito everything you said. Hate to ride coat tails but I’m too damn tired to ride my own wave right now.
KJ Noons and War Machine must hang out with each other. They were probably both sitting in a (Milk) bar and they were talking… They both decided that they were being mistreated and they would show the powers that be who’s the boss. I guess we all now know who the boss’es are.
War was dumb to not fight because it cost him his position in the UFC. Noons was an idiot for not fighting because it cost him the belt that he wanted so bad. I don’t think either of them thought they could win those matches.
I have said from the begining that this is what they needed to do . KJ did it to himself . he was probably just holding out for more $$ and it screwed him . Most likely taking advice from the old man , bad mistake .
Lets get Diaz vs ishida or josh thomson to fight for the belt ……
First of all, The Elite XC created this dumb weight class because Diaz couldn’t make 155. Then when the fight they set up to give him a title goes off he looses to Noons on a cut.
Now Noons refuses to fight Diaz and it costs him some made up title, I say who cares. The Elite XC is dead and they have no hope of ever catching up with the best run organization the UFC any time soon.