Joe Stevenson vs. Nate Diaz Added To TUF 9 Finale
Posted by Kris Karkoski on Mar 10, 2009 at 4:16 pm ET31 Comments
Joe Stevenson
MMA Madness first reported the matchup earlier today.
Stevenson (29-10), who unsuccessfully challenged BJ Penn for the lightweight title last January, defeated Gleison Tibau in July before dropping back-to-back fights to Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez.
The winner of the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter, Diaz (10-3) won five-straight UFC bouts in a nine-month span before falling to Clay Guida at UFC 94 in January.
The bout joins Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida and Anthony Johnson vs. John Howard on the rumored lineup for the TUF 9 Finale.
For the latest The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.
Tags: Joe Stevenson, Nate Diaz
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Looking good so far with some top notch LW fighters. Guida def Sanchez, Johnson over Howard, and gonna say Diaz takes out Joe Daddy
Interesting matchup. Diaz is really good on the ground, whether it be on top or on his back and Joe Daddy has shown us he’s a bit weak against guys with good ground games such as Ken-flo and Bj Penn, but Joe Daddy is a tough guy so I don’t know who’s gonna win, but one big factor is going to be Nate’s reach and his ability to pick guys apart with his jabs. Joe Daddy needs to win by tko,sub or ko because he can’t afford to lose 3 in a row.
nate always seems like an underdog to me, just looking at him physically you don’t think he’s a threat compared to some of these dudes who are all muscled out… but i still agree that he takes the win. joe seems too one dimensional which is why diego beat him. he’s easy to plan for, easy to bait, and diaz is a smart fighter so i think he wins via submission. prolly 2nd round.
I like the fact that the Ultimate fighter finale’s are actually having quality fights on there in addition to the finale’s. Some of the finales have been rather boring due to only having one or two decent fights and the rest being boring.
Will- love your pick there tough to go against Sanchez but Guida could very well pull out a split. If Stevenson fights as laid back as he did against Diego then Diaz could easily out point him with basic jabs and what not but I think Stevenson over powers him on takedowns. Could very well be a coin flip on the cards like Hamil-Bisping was though. Johnson is a flat out beast I think he overwhelms Howard from start to finish.
I just really want to see a foaming Sanchez again yelling YES, YES, YES.. Guida is my caveman, you can’t beat that man. Diaz needs to get back to slipping his jab and takedown defense, lost it in the Guida fight. You are correct in Johnson will overwhelm Howard, guy has been on a mission since the B.S. Burns loss.
ahahaha that had me rolling. Was just sitting there like huh what’s he doing.
Guida-Sanchez is a cool fight for us fans. I honestly can’t say whats gonna happen in this fight. Guida always comes in crazy shape, he has that pace that wears guys down and guys can’t keep up with. Diego is a tough dude, he comes at you as well. I don’t think he’s in as good a shape as Guida but i think if Diego can take him down and keep him down he’ll be able to do his ground and pound. Standing up i feel like it’s kinda even, i mean Sanchez can kick now but Guida has power and quickness, the only thing is that Guida is short. I just hope someone steps up and really goes for the kill.
I like guida but I think sanchez could take this one, I think joe daddy is gonna man handle diaz the way guida did and not let him get the submission on there….Johnson will KO howard
I agree with the last two points. I think w/ guida-sanchez it’ll depend on if Diego wants to be a striker or if he fights the smart fight and uses his wrestling and ground skills.
dayyyyyum this is a good fight…
its going to look like that manny and nate fight again…
joe daddy can bully him…but if he is too agressive nate will break his arm…
this is a bad a$$ fight…ima nate fan!!!
holding it down for us latinos on the westside homeboy!!!!!!
rip tht foo diaz!!!!
eastcoast fo life
hahahhahah thats koo!
Diego’s striking has improved but it’s not at that level where he can ko anyone so his best shot is to take Guida down and try to finish him there. Guida’s best shot is i think to also take the fight to the mat and pound or sub. If they both decide to stand up i’m afraid they will they will cancel eachother out and the fight will be boring. On the other hand i may be wrong and they’ll have a battle standing up. And as for “Rumble”, after he ko’s Howard i hope he gets a contender to test his growth mentally because we’ve seen many good up and coming fighters who do great at first but when they get the spotlight they choke. Anyway, great card for that night.
Great fight i like the Diaz’s but i think i would really like Stevenson to win after losing 3 of last 4.
Nightmare, you always have badass leg kick pics.
I know
you need to change it to hamills head kick on mark munoz from last saturday
I Got It!
In the Guida Vs. Sanchez fight I cann’t see Guida doing much to Sanchez on the ground specially not submitting Sanchez.. this is like the Diego vs Fitch fight only thing is Diego is the stronger 1
anyone else think that guida didnt win that fight against diaz? i thought he was stalling alot.
Umm… Sanchez’s striking is leaps and bounds ahead of Guida’s. If the fight stay’s standing I’m afraid Guida will be picked apart. If It goes to the ground Imo advantage Guida even though Diego has some good wrestling skills only time will tell though.
I dislike both these guys but I want joedaddy to win cuz nate diaz is an illiterate punk. I live 5 min. From gracies in stockton where diaz trains and ive met the guy and he is a PUNK. With the other fight, im pullin for guida. Diego is one strange dude!
hell of a card so far. if it were a ppv I would definetely pay. my picks are rumble by GnP ko, guida by split decision, and diaz by armbar or rear naked. Joe cant seem to stop the rear naked, and if he trains really hard for that defense, he leaves armbars open when he tries to GnP. Go caveman and rumble two great fighters. cant wait to see this card.
Joe is finished, he’ll lose and then get em outta the UFC
Joe Daddy needs to win this fight badly. Nate is no joke but he is not as good as he thinks he is. Diego will destroy Guida in round 1, wont be close. AJ wins with big ko early. looks like it is shaping p to be a great card.
completly agree with you
This is a good fight comming up and hell this fight can go soo many ways the card is looking pretty damn good I cannot wait
I don’t think Stevenson would get cut, even if he loses, even though it is hard to justify a guy who is 1-4 in his last several fights. That said, I think that if Guida was able to beat Diaz, then Stevenson will be able to beat Diaz.
This really is looking like a good card, definitely looks like they’ll be going with a three hour show, I hope so at least.
I think Joe Daddy better start training harder and practice more on his ground game as well as his take downs. He is not a striker and he problably never will be. Even though he’s lost 3 of his last four i still think he’s good, but if he doesn’t start putting together some wins he’s problably going to get cut. I think he should give the 145 division a try.
But look who hes lost to. He lost to Bj Penn Lightweight champ. Kenny F. number one contender. And Diego who if beat clay guida will probley be the new number on contender.
jimmyG what gracies gym in stockton…there is no gracies in stockton…the nearest one to stockton is in pleasant hill….which is by concord..unless your talking about team stockton…or maybe you just don’t know what your talking about at all and don’t even live out there