We’re back with a new Today in MMA History article. Since COVID-19 has canceled most MMA events, MMASucka has decided to take a look at some fights from the past. Today’s article takes a look back at a Strikeforce fight between two MMA legends. That’s right, we are talking about the fight between Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz.
April 11, 2009- Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz
Coming into this matchup both fighters had carved out an impressive MMA career. Diaz already had wins over names like Chris Lytle, Robbie Lawler and Katsuya Inoue at only 25 years old. Shamrock was already a legend of the sport. He had wins over Bas Rutten, Tito Ortiz, and Phil Baroni to name a few. The 36-year-old fighter was coming off a loss to Cung Le, a nasty fight that ended leaving Shamrock with a broken arm.
Reach played a big factor in this fight. Diaz had a two-inch advantage and he used it perfectly. Shamrock had a hard time getting past the reach of Diaz to land anything significant.
Early in the first round, Diaz was able to catch a body kick from Shamrock and take him to the mat. Shamrock would eventually get back to his feet and both fighters would exchange shots back and forth. With thirty seconds left in the first round, Diaz was able to mount Shamrock. After a flurry of punches from Diaz, Shamrock was able to ride it out until the end of the round.
Shamrock looked tired coming into the second round. Diaz was able to keep Shamrock to the outside and ending up stunning him with a body shot. Looking relaxed, he started putting multiple combinations together and Shamrock was unable to answer back. With just over a minute left in the second round, Diaz landed another body shot that dropped Shamrock. Diaz pounced on top and showered down punches and elbows. Referee John McCarthy was forced to stop the fight at 3:57 of the second round, giving Diaz his fourth straight TKO victory.
After The Fight
After his loss to Diaz, Shamrock took about a year to think his career over and announced his retirement in June of 2010. He had an incredible MMA career, he was the first-ever UFC middleweight champion, he won the Strikeforce middleweight championship, and he was named “Fighter of the Decade” in the 1990s. Shamrock finished his career with a record of 23-10-2.
Diaz would go on to dominate Strikeforce, he eventually became the Strikeforce welterweight champion after beating Marius Zaromskis with a TKO. He would go on to finish his Strikeforce career with a TKO win over Paul Daley which set Diaz up for his return to the UFC. In his second stint with the UFC, Diaz would win a decision over BJ Penn, but he would drop his next two fights to Carlos Condit and Georges St. Pierre. His last fight was back in 2015 at UFC 183 where he fought to a no-contest with Anderson Silva.
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