Graciefighter.com shares the news that Stockton bully Nick Diaz and pugilist Karl James (KJ) Noons have verbally agreed to light the fuse for their highly anticipated rematch.  The pair first sunk their teeth into on another in the now defunct EliteXC promotion, where Noons wrested the lightweight (162 pounds) championship belt from from Diaz in 2007.

Diaz came into the bout on an ungodly roll:  after dropping three consecutive razor-thin decision losses to Sanchez, Riggs, and Sherk that resulted in his departure from the UFC, Diaz wore out Ray Steinbess, returned to the Octagon for convincing stoppage wins over Josh Neer and Gleison Tibau, shocked the world by fitting Pride champion Takanori Gomi with a dramatic gogoplata, and edged Hawaiin Mike Aina on the score cards.

Conversely, the momentum of MMA newcomer KJ Noons was stifled when Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett unloaded a jackhammer that slumped Noons to the canvas just two fights previous.  After tagging the bout a sure victory for the mercurial Diaz, fans were stunned when Noons successfully executed a hardnosed sprawl and brawl strategy, peppering Diaz with airtight combinations while deftly maneuvering clear of his condor-like grasp.  Much to the chagrin of Diaz and his camp, the fight was stopped due to a nasty gash that Noon's cinderblock punches opened up on Diaz's face, after which the Team Gracie virtuouso underwent surgery to reduce the sharp edges of his cheek bones to reduce the potential of suffering such a cut.

Unsurprisingly, a confrontation inside the cage turned ugly after their next fights when Noons and Diaz both took out seperate opponents on the same EliteXC card.  What started with the classic, "Don't be scared, homie!" taunt from Diaz quickly escalated into a Strikeforce: Nashville-esque melee between both camps.  Noons then was held idle as disputes on his contract came to the forefront, and eventually vanished entirely from the MMA spotlight to continue his boxing career (now 11-2 with 5 KO's).  Immediately upon setting up shop with Strikeforce to re-engage in the MMA arena, Noons was willing and eager to give Diaz a chance for redemption, even if it meant abandoning the lightweight class to meet Diaz at 170 pounds.

This is a true grudge match with genuine dislike being shared by the two, and the guarantee of a colorful verbal war by both instigators will surely form a media maelstrom and bolster the match-up with a ton of hype.  The collision is being targeted for Strikeforce's upcoming event on October 9th in San Jose, CA.  The video of their first scrap is below.

 

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