Nate Diaz vs. Josh Neer Headlines First Ever UFC Event In Nebraska
Spike TV will be seeing Cornhusker red this fall as the network travels to Nebraska for the first ever UFC event in the state with an action-packed card featuring former “The Ultimate Fighter†champions Nate Diaz and Mac Danzig, and Omaha’s own, Houston Alexander. Spike TV’s live “UFC Fight Night†will emanate from the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska Wednesday, September 17 from 9:00pm-11:00pm and will lead into the premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter 8.â€
Nate Diaz (8-2) rose to national prominence by defeating Manny Gamburyan in the finale of “The Ultimate Fighter 5†in June 2007. Since then, the 23 year-old mixed martial arts prodigy has won three straight bouts, all via submission, most recently against veteran Kurt Pellegrino in April. The Stockton, CA resident trains with his brother, mixed martial arts fighter Nick Diaz, and the Cesar Gracie Fight Team. His opponent in the main event will be Josh “The Dentist†Neer who trains with the Miletich Martial Arts Team in Bettendorf, IA. Neer has an impressive UFC resume with victories over Joe Stevenson, Melvin Guillard, and, most recently, Din Thomas this past April. “The Dentist†will look to extract Nate Diaz from his winning ways in a battle of lightweight contenders.
Mac Danzig (19-4-1), winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 6,†is a rising star in the UFC lightweight division. Fighting out of Los Angeles at the renowned Legends Gym with fellow UFC fighters Karo Parisyan and Manny Gamburyan, Danzig (19-4-1) was among the top fighters in the King of the Cage mixed martial arts promotion before he gained national acclaim as a standout fighter on “The Ultimate Fighter 6.†His domination over Tommy Speer in the finale last December, along with a victory over Mark Bocek at UFC 84 in April, has elevated Danzig to among the top contenders in the 155lb division. His opponent will be Chicago native Clay “The Carpenter†Guida (23-9), regarded as one of the most exciting fighters in the sport. Guida is coming off of an impressive victory over Samy Schiavo this past April. However, it was his epic battle with Roger Huerta last December on Spike TV that places Guida in UFC lore. Unfortunately for Guida, Huerta rallied to win their dramatic duel in the Octagon with a stunning rear-naked choke submission in the waning moments of the third and final round.
Fighting in front of his hometown fans, the pride of Omaha who claims to bleed Cornhusker red, Houston “The Assassin†Alexander, desperately needs a victory over Eric “The Red†Schafer to get back in the hunt for the UFC light heavyweight title. The 36-year-old Alexander burst onto the UFC scene in May 2007 with a shocking first round knockout over Keith Jardine at UFC 71. A victory over Alessio Sakara at UFC 75 last September elevated Alexander to the division’s elite. However, losses to Thiago Silva and James “The Sandman†Irvin have derailed his path to a title shot. Alexander will certainly be a local favorite, as the single father to six children serves as a community activist and radio deejay in Omaha.
Schafer (9-3-2), a Milwaukee, WI native, has dropped his last two fights in the Octagon, to Stephan Bonnar at UFC 77 in October 2007 and to Michael Bisping at UFC 66 in December 2006. The 30 year-old veteran looks to disappoint the partisan-Alexander crowd by defeating Omaha’s prodigal son.
Lightweight Joe Lauzon made an impressive debut in the UFC with a knockout over Jens Pulver at UFC 63 in September 2006. Lauzon, from suburban Boston, gained further acclaim as a standout fighter on “The Ultimate Fighter 5.†However, his road to a UFC title shot was thwarted by Kenny Florian this past April in a nationally televised bout on Spike TV. Lauzon looks to get back on the winning track against up-and coming talent, 25 year-old Kyle Bradley (13-5-1), fighting out of Baton Rouge, LA.
Also on the undercard, “The Ultimate Fighter 3†finalist Ed Herman (15-5) fighting out of Portland, OR, who has won three out of his last four UFC fights, takes on Alan Belcher (11-4) fighting out of Biloxi, Mississippi.
Tags: Alan Belcher, Clay Guida, Ed Herman, Eric Schafer, Houston Alexander, Joe Lauzon, Josh Neer, kyle bradley, Mac Danzig, Nate Diaz
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Diaz Neer should be a good fight, go Diaz! Houston Alexander and Ed Herman both need wins bad!
this is gonna be a great fight night card..cant wait for some of these fights…here’s my picks for the annouced fights so far!
diaz will submit neer
danzig by split decision over guida
the nebraskin assassin wil ko the red
lauzon will tko bradley
herman will submit belcher
Diaz needs to win this to get him up the lightweight ladder…I’d like to see him and Penn go at in a couple of years when Diaz has fought some better opponents and become more well rounded
Good card…Question for Cole Miller what would be your timetable for a title shot if everything went your way?
Diaz Penn would be a great submission match if Diaz could get it to the ground.
Unfortunately, I don’t see Penn staying at 55 long enough to give Diaz time to win 2 or 3 more, or whatever it would take for a shot.
GUNSLINGER: I AGREE WITH ALL YOUR PICKS EXCEPT 1. I THINK GUIDA IS GONNA TAKE IT TO MAC… BUT EVERYTHING ELSE LOOKS GOOD. I WOULD JUST LOVE TO SEE NATE FIGHT BETTER KNOWN TOP GUYS… HIS TALENT HASN’T REALLY BEEN PUSHED TO THE LIMIT. I LIKE THE DIAZ BROTHERS AND I WANNA SEE THEM ON TOP.
for arguments sake…i think Diaz will lose…obviously, if i had to put alot of money on the fight..id pick diaz…but, I just like Neer in this fight….Diaz is good…but has he fought a striker like Neer before??? I have so much respect for Neer ever since that fight with Guillard where he was cut open bad…and should have lost…..came back and chocked out Guillard… great fight…I just like Neer here.. he has a punchers chance…and I dont think Diaz’s chin has really been tested…but it will be a good matchup…
I think Belcher will handle Herman…other than that, I agree with the picks…
WHAT DO YOU MEAN DIAZS CHIN HASN’T BEEN TESTED. HES BEEN TAGED HARD. TO ME HE HAS A GOOD CHIN
After Nate wins this fight he’ll start fighting the bigger names. I think the UFC wants to give him 1-2 more fights then work on getting him ranked and closer to title contention. Nate really seems like a future champ to me and someone the UFC has long term plans for. I just wish his brother would string together some wins and shut his mouth for a few seconds. I’m a big fan of both and wish both were in the UFC to support my UFC NAZI heart. Guida is going to hurt Danzig……it’s going to be disturbing.
THANK YOU KOUCH YOU WORDED IT BETTER… LOL
good to see nick is one of the main attractions to this card im a big diaz fan both him and his brother nick, i see diaz winning this then i want to see him fight the loser of kenny an rodger,
i hope danzig gets knocked out inside 5 seconds the f*cks off out the ufc an becomes a pro bird watcher then start a campain to stop putting salt on slugs but it backfires when some1 pours salt on him and he melts away just like his slug pals….. what im trying to say is i hope guida wins!
I agree, I think he will start to get some of the bigger names to prove and climb that ladder.
HEY JOHNYBOY IM SURE YOU MEANT TO SAY NATE BUT ITS COOL WE KNOW WHAT YOU MEANT MAN. LOL. BUT I CAN’T STAND MAC. THE DUDE IS A DORK. TRUST ME GUIDA WILL WIN. I MEAN HE ALMOST GOT PAST HUERTA…
my bad. yeah im glad other people dont like him dont think i could stand a danzig fan moaning at me lol
I DO HAVE TO ADMIT I WAS ROOTIN FOR HIM ON TUF UNTIL THEY DID THE INTERVIEWING AND HIS ATTITUDE ANNOYS ME AND THROUGH OUT THE SHOW I BEGAN REALLY DISSLIKING HIM..
Dietrich-
Do you mean for diaz?? I’d say it would be the end of 09 b4 diaz would hear anything about a title shot and thats if he gets some good fights from now until then…and I wouldn’t count Josh Neer as one of those, although he is pretty good. Diaz will submit him in the first..
Cole Miller,
Sorry I wasn’t clear I was wondering about your title run. I agree about Nate needing at least 18 months and what 2-3 more fights after Neer…
THAT ISN’T THE FIGHTER COLE MILLER IS IT? LOL
thats what im thinkin i dont belive that for one min i could change my name to chuck and claim to b the iceman dont think it would wash
lol…that’s just my username..I actually picked it at first cuz I was just going get on here and mouth people, because Im really not that big of a fan of cole miller, but I actually like gettin on here and discussing mma with everyone…I’d say Cole has about 3 years though..he got dominated in his last fight but i give him props for pulling out the win…
how come dietrich thinks ur the real cole miller then haha
TOOO FUNNY. I KNEW HE WAS THE REAL COLE…
Time well spent…
sorry guys Im a phony…didn’t mean to let you all down haha
I hope Houston’s Chin shows up for the fight…Diaz by Triangle or Guillotine RD 2
i could go either way in the guida vs danzig fight i just dont know….danzig trains at xtreme couture and thats usually good but guida is in my opinion a top ten lightweight in the ufc (not world)..ya he may have lost some but one can argue that he beat tyson griffin and he was tooling el matador until the end of the 3rd round..but RYDAWG houston chin is always in his fights….I mean its not his fault the sandman is so heavy handed….i mean irvin would have beat thiago if it wasnt for his injury…he was tooling thiago but i dont think eric shafer even has a sliver of a chance of dropping houston at least not standing.
also for some reason i just feel like mac “the vegan” danzig has got this one i dont know why though
Kris backed a “Cole Miller” on the board before so you let him down.
I met Guida at Brewfest in Ft Collins on the last weekend in June…hes a badass, really nice dude.
I hope he gets another crack at Mr. Decision Tyson Griffin. I think Guida could take him…and he sure as hell is gonna kick Danzig’s (not comin out to Glen Danzig which is a mistake) ass.
OK, I really want to know when a UFC event is coming to North Carolina. If Nebraska can get UFC, can we get some love in NC?
zac-
That would be a good fight(guida/griffin 2) the first fight was very fast paced and technical..would love to see them fight again although I think Griffin would still take the win
yea not a fan of danzig hes an idiot “i like flys cuz there always cleaning themselves” actually mr nature there spreadin there siliva to break down there food nothing to do wit cleanliness ever since he dropped that bit of dumbassness he has pissed me off wit his save the whales and trees attitude and eatin animal products is bad bull****
guida wins by meathouse slaughter
houston better beat weak a$$ schaefer if anyone is ever going to take him serious again. I got diaz by triangle, and guida by submission or decision.
Rutdog,
Unless Spenser Fisher falls into title contention
We have a better shot at WEC. Stann has connections with Jacksonville and Zuffa has been on a road tour.
i really hope that nate keeps up his wins which i think that he will but a milletich fighter will be different than fighting a jits guy. so i hope that he doesnt hold him down i hope that neer thows a lot of subs so that nate can counter him
i believe that ravishing red will take the corn husker.
next to the main event is an awesome bout between guida and danzig its hard to chose but i really looking for clay to pull this one off
Upset Prediction: Neer over Diaz
The Dentist is a bad dude…he knocked out something like 90 guys before he went pro. He takes some big chances, so there is always a possibility he can get caught, but I don’t know there if there is a more exciting fighter out there. Hope he takes Diaz out.