Nick Diaz and Ariel Helwani share awkward moments together

FW friend and occasional contributor Joel Gerson passed along this interview with Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz. “Uncomfortable,” is how Joel describes it and I’d also like to add “awkward” and “discommodious.” It’s also par for the course when it comes to Diaz, who defends his belt against Paul Daley on Saturday and generally comes across like a cocksucking extra from Deadwood.

I feel bad for Ariel Helwani, who’s a great interviewer stuck with a subject who’s a complete dick. You can see in Helwani’s eyes that he’s scrambling to keep the interview going, dealing with being accused of being a shit-disturber (which, if you’ve paid attention to Helwani’s laid back and always professional style, is completely ridiculous), with Diaz stating he’s being forced to do the interview, that he doesn’t get paid enough yet gets paid too much (whah?!) and on and on down the rabbit hole.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: professional fighters should behave like the professional athletes they claim they are, and that includes doing interviews. Perception is reality. If Diaz was in the NBA of NFL I’m pretty sure his team owner, the head of the league, his agents and his managers would be all over him for his complete lack of professionalism. But because this is MMA and personalities sell tickets – and I’m using the term “personalities” in the loosest sense in relation to Diaz, although it’s quite possible that there’s more than one voice screaming for attention inside his head – this behavior is excused.