This weekend was yet another example of how quickly the sport of mixed martial arts can move once it gets going.
A historical Friday event can feel like old news following a Saturday card. A former WEC champion's retirement during prelims can be somewhat forgotten after a five-round war in the main event.
To me, the No. 1 story was Nate Diaz, a highly talented 29-year-old approaching a crossroads in his career. Does Diaz deserve to make more money? I think one can argue that, yeah. Is UFC president Dana White correct in saying Diaz does not "move the needle"? Of course not, and White knows it.
But should the UFC be obligated to renegotiate Diaz's contract at this point in time? Unfortunately for Nate, not really. Diaz signed his current deal in late 2012. He showed up at the UFC offices in Las Vegas with representation present. He put his name down in ink. The UFC isn't required to now rip up that contract.
Take nothing away from Rafael dos Anjos' performance on Saturday, but Diaz looked terrible. He blamed a pre-fight injury and "issues" in camp. Whether that's true or not is not hugely relevant to me. My Diaz questions relate to his future.
If he truly is burned out on MMA, either due to his contract situation or the physical and mental toll of the sport, he needs to not step in the cage again. His fight against dos Anjos was hard to watch, and Diaz isn't going to draw any bad opponents at this point in his career. Personally, I don't want to see him get demolished again. There wasn't anything entertaining about it.
If he puts his head down, finishes out the four fights on his contract on a high note and regains leverage in the form of wins -- that's the feel-good ending for Diaz. He'd be around 31 year old (the same age Gilbert Melendez was when he finished his UFC contract, accepted an offer from Bellator MMA and leveraged the two into a sweet financial deal that came with a title shot).
Again though, I only want to see Diaz attempt that route if he's all-in. And that's for his health's sake.
Quickly, the No. 2 story to me was the non-evolution of Junior dos Santos. The same issues that plagued him against Cain Velasquez reappeared against Stipe Miocic on Saturday. I am amazed by dos Santos' heart, toughness and will, but where were these improvements we were expecting from his decision to change camps? They were absent.
He said he came out of Saturday's slugfest relatively healthy, but he's shaving years off his career. You hear the phrase, "He's too tough for his own good," and that applies to dos Santos, who in my estimation has taken about seven years worth of damage in the last two.
And coming in at No. 3, let's not forget Carla Esparza. As mentioned at the top, it would be easy to do with everything that went on in Phoenix, but the night before in Las Vegas, Esparza delivered an incredible performance against Rose Namajunas. You could look at it in such a way that Esparza has already defended her belt several times, including the fights on the show.
Those TUF fights shouldn't be on official records because they come under weird circumstances, but it's unfortunate they're rarely remembered. So let's pinky promise we won't forget Esparza beat three solid competitors in the TUF gym in Angela Hill, Tecia Torres and Jessica Penne.
Fighter grades are in for TUF 20 and UFC on Fox in Phoenix.
