(Photo Credit; Nick Diaz posing for a photo with fans, UFC 100 Fan Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.)
Posted: by T.F.M. Staff / Written: by N. Brooks. March 13, 2013.
This Saturday, March 16th, 2013, UFC 158 takes
place live from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The main event being one of the most
anticipated fights in Mixed Martial Arts history – UFC Welterweight Champion
Georges St. Pierre (GSP) vs. Challenger Nick Diaz. In the lead-up to this epic showdown, much
has been said of Diaz’s behavior, attitude, antics, and what most would judge
as Nick Diaz’s character (among other things).
Everyday I read numerous online articles stating that “Nick Diaz is
classless.” “Nick Diaz is a common thug
and bad for the sport, etc.” Well I
write this article with precisely the opposite opinion. Nick Diaz isn’t want you think (hence the title - F*ck what you think). Nick Diaz isn’t how he is perceived in the
media. Nick Diaz is arguably “The
Baddest Man on the Planet” and one of the nicest individuals I have ever met…
In April of 2009, I started the clothing brand (The Fight
Mafia) in an 8x10 space in my basement.
Two hundred dollars ($200) and one t-shirt is how I founded The Fight
Mafia (TFM) brand apparel. Three months
later (July, 2009), still operating out of my basement, “The Baddest Man on the
Planet” did for me what I refer to as “a solid.” In July of 2009, I decided to participate my
brand in the first ever UFC Fan Expo at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in
Las Vegas, Nevada that coincided with UFC 100.
At that point I had only sponsored four athletes; Sam Stout (UFC 97),
Dan hardy (UFC 99), Chris Horodecki (Ultimate Chaos), and Nate Diaz (TUF Season
9 Finale). Everything I did was on the
tightest of budgets. I invited all four
athletes to appear in TFM’s UFC Fan Expo booth space. Each fighter’s management specified that
hotel and flights had to be paid in order for their athlete to make an appearance
in TFM’s booth except for Nate Diaz.
Nate Diaz’s manager Cesar Gracie notified me that Nate’s accommodations
were already taken care of and that Nate would appear in TFM’s booth if he had
time between commitments. Nate was already contracted to
appear in the official UFC booth as well as the booth of multi-million dollar
brand “Ecko.” I must state that Dan
Hardy declined to accept his flight being paid for and drove on his own dime from Los Angeles to
Las Vegas to appear in TFM’s booth (Dan’s my homeboy). Chris Horodecki was unavailable due to prior
commitments and I was very appreciative that Sam Stout and Dan Hardy were
committed to appear at TFM’s booth and Nate Diaz as well would try his best to
attend.
The Fight Mafia was a tiny basement brand with a limited
budget and even participating in the two-day Fan Expo was a huge financial
risk. I truly depended on fighter appearances
to make TFM’s participation a success.
The first day of the Expo started off without a hitch, UFC Lightweight -
Sam Stout was appearing at our booth as well as UFC Welterweight - Dan
Hardy. We were making rather steady
sales but I could see that hours of autographs and picture taking were beginning
to wear on both Sam and Dan. I could
tell that soon I was going to have to relieve them of their duties. With approximately four hours left in Day 1
of the Fan Expo, I relieved both Sam and Dan of their booth appearances and
made plans for them to appear again on Day 2.
I was extremely appreciative for both of their participations; however,
without a fighter in TFM’s booth, traffic was dwindling. I was hoping that Nate Diaz was going to be
able to find time to appear at TFM’s booth to keep the momentum going for the
rest of Day 1. I eventually got a phone
call from Nate Diaz’s manager Cesar Gracie and he informed me that Nate was
busy appearing at the official UFC booth and after that he would be appearing
at Marc Ecko’s booth. Therefore, it didn’t
seem promising for Nate Diaz to appear at TFM’s booth on Day 1 of the Fan Expo. Cesar however did state that Nate’s brother
Nick Diaz was willing to appear at TFM’s booth if I could find him. I hung up the phone and began my search. I had never sponsored nor met Nick Diaz but
he was one my favorite fighters and a world-class athlete. It didn’t take me long to find him as he was
just hanging out at the Expo backstage and as soon as I asked him to appear in
TFM’s booth, he said “Yes, let’s do it!”
We walked over to the booth, Nick put on a TFM Diaz Brother’s t-shirt, and
instantly a huge crowd formed. TFM’s
booth was packed with adoring fans and sales began to skyrocket. I had purposely designed TFM’s Nate Diaz
signature shirt to accommodate both Nate and his brother Nick to give the shirt cross-over appeal but I could have never imagined this…
Nick Diaz couldn’t have been nicer to both TFM employees and
to the fans. I kept asking him if he
needed anything and he always politely replied “I’m okay, thanks.” Nick Diaz appeared at TFM’s booth for
approximately four hours signing autographs and taking pictures with fans and
when the Fan Expo ended, he made sure he stayed late and that everyone in line got
a picture and an autograph. Imagine how
that made me feel, I was a $200 brand with one of the world’s greatest athletes
sticking his neck out for me. Keep in mind;
I had never met Nick Diaz before that day.
To say I was honored and appreciative would be a huge understatement. To top it all off, after
Nate Diaz finished his appearance at the UFC booth, Nate spent about 30 minutes
at Ecko’s booth (which was directly behind TFM’s booth) and then spent the last
2 hours of the Fan Expo's Day 1 at TFM’s booth and also stayed late until every fan got what
they came for. So for the last few hours
of Day 1 of the UFC Fan Expo, we had both Diaz brothers appearing at TFM’s
booth at the same time. It was nothing short of a mad
frenzy! For two guys who have been
referred to as “classless thugs” in the media, both Nick and Nate Diaz couldn’t
have been nicer gentleman or more professional.
(Photo Credit; Fans lined-up to see Nick Diaz, UFC 100 Fan Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.)
Once all fans had gotten a photo and an
autograph with both Diaz brothers, everyone was completely exhausted. We were tired and we were all hungry. Nick Diaz asked what everyone was doing for
dinner and offered to take everyone out for dinner. Here is a guy who spent hours of his
afternoon doing things for everyone else and he’s the one who wants to take everyone
out for dinner. Of course we could not
accept, Nick had already done so much for everyone.
We chatted for a bit and both Nick and Nate offered to appear at TFM’s
booth again the next day for Day 2 of the Fan Expo. I asked them what time they wanted to appear
and they replied that they get up early in the morning and 10am was a good time
for them. I thought perfect, get the
buzz going early. Everyone headed back
to their respective hotel rooms for a well deserved night of rest as Day 2 of the
Fan Expo was anticipated to be even crazier than Day 1. Of course, Day 2 was extremely interesting to say the least. (To be continued...)
