Nick Diaz vs. Joe Riggs II possible for August 15 Strikeforce card (updated)
Carson’s Corner host Bob Carson reported on his June 28 podcast that Nick Diaz will be fighting Joe Riggs on August 15 as part of the “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Santos” card taking place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
If true (and Carson seems damn sure of his source), this will be the second time Diaz and Riggs have met in the cage. They first fought back in Feb. 2006 at UFC 57, with Diaz losing a unanimous decision to “Diesel.”
Both fighters are coming off impressive victories at the June 6 Strikeforce card in St. Louis. Riggs won a unanimous decision over the ever tough Phil Baroni, and Diaz took out Scott Smith with a 3rd round rear naked choke.
It was not reported at what weight this fight would occur. Riggs fought his last fight at 170 lbs. and Diaz fought at 179 lbs., so maybe they will meet at 175 lbs., who knows. Strikeforce has never been one to let weight classes stand in the way of a good fight.
Other fights on the Aug. 15 card include headliners Gina Carano vs. Cristiane Santos, and Gilbert Melendez vs. lightweight champ Josh Thomson. Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem is also expected to appear on the card.
UPDATE: 6-30-09 at 12:05 AM CST – PRO MMA (promma.info) finally received a text reply this evening from Joe Riggs’ trainer and Arizona Combat Sports owner Todd Lally that they know nothing about this fight. We are currently trying to contact the other parties involved as well, stay tuned.
UPDATE: 6-30-09 at 10:47 AM CST – PRO MMA (promma.info) received an email from Strikeforce Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz today stating this fight is not confirmed and the sites that are reporting it as such are only speculating.
Filed Under: Jack Bratcher • Nick Diaz • Strikeforce
