Inside the Octagon following his loss to GSP last night at UFC 158 Nick Diaz claimed that he was now going to retire again, yet backstage a few minutes later he was singing a different tune.
“To be honest, I’d like a rematch, you know, because…Georges St.Pierre, if you would give me a rematch I’d really appreciate it cos I think I can beat you,” Diaz told Ariel Helwani backstage.
“I’m trying to retire, I’m trying to get out of this gig, but I would like a rematch. I think I can beat you, I really do. I think I can beat you. I think I could stop the takedowns the first two rounds and fight you the whole five rounds. I think I can beat you, really. You know, I’m not hurt. He hits like a woman.”
He does however admit that he doesn’t think it’s likely he’ll be given that opportunity.
“I’ll take the rematch if I can get it, but I doubt they’ll give me it. I doubt he’ll give me – I don’t think he wants to fight me again, especially if I come in trained.”
Later at the post-fight press conference Diaz was also suggesting that he’d like to fight Anderson Silva as well.
“I think I might be a better matchup for Anderson Silva as well, but we’ll see what happens,” Diaz told reporters.
Oh, and just when we thought there was nothing else left that Diaz could say to surprise us, Diaz casually mentioned that he’s never paid his taxes.
“you know, I’ve never paid taxes in my life, I’m probably gonna go to jail. That’s not because I don’t have, that’s not because – what, nobody wants to hear about that, nobody wants to hear about that kind of talk, or what’s really going on with me.”
That bombshell may have far greater repercussions than he appears to realize.
Immediately after the fight Diaz had indicated that he hoped he’d made enough money from this fight to retire, and with the PPV buy rate apparently trending high then he may well have earned a sizeable amount of money.
However, if the IRS comes knocking at his door, and surely they now will, then he’s going to be in a lot of trouble and may never see a lot of that money.
Watch Diaz’s full post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani below.
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