ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

By the time the smoke cleared, and Georges St-Pierre was eating pizza off the floor in celebration of his eighth title defense, Nick Diaz became MMA’s equivalent of the “boy who cried wolf (tickets).” He told Joe Rogan after the fight that he was through. Done. Kaplooey. Giving up the racket. Just like he did after his loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 143.

Nobody believed him. Just like we didn’t after his loss to Condit. The difference this time was his change of heart happened quicker. Much quicker. Half an hour after retiring, Diaz was requesting a rematch with St-Pierre (using expletives for emphasis) in the bowels of Montreal’s Bell Centre. One minute he’s done, the next he’s not. You never know with Diaz (although you always know).

There are hurdles to this fantasy rematch that will never happen. His tests need to come back clean, something Diaz himself isn’t so sure about. Those metabolites can be hostile tenants. And he needs to pay his taxes. Even unpamapered fighters who have the burden of tweeting their own tweets have to pay their taxes. Uncle Sam doesn’t care about your geography.

Beyond the usual Diaz histrionics, the three focus-point fights of UFC 158 played out more or less predictably. St-Pierre continued to dominate, Johny Hendricks defended his No. 1 contender status a third time, and Jake Ellenberger continued lighting people up like a showroom gala. "People," in this case, being Nate Marquardt.

FIVE QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Q: When Diaz gets taken down, can he get back up?
A: Turns out, no. Not really. Sometimes, but not often. And though Diaz was actively searching, he wasn’t particularly dangerous off his back, either. He was just on his back. And while there he was fending off incoming elbows, hammerfists and knees. Just the same as the noble optimistic fighters who went before him (Condit, Hardy, Alves, Penn, Shields). The thing is, once you get taken down by GSP, there is no takeup.

Q: Can St-Pierre get a finish?
A: All week the talk was “is Diaz in St-Pierre’s head?” If he was, surely he’d have needed a headlamp to find his way through the dark places. And as it turns out, St-Pierre treats people who get in his head the exact same way he treats people who have no in with his psyche. He dominates them thoroughly. (The answer to the question is: This isn’t 2006! Stop living in the past).

Q: Does Hendricks get the next title shot with a win?
A: At this point, if St-Pierre came out on record saying he’d like to fight Anderson Silva next -- even though Silva has a fight with Chris Weidman in July, meaning St-Pierre’s fight would be somewhere in the vicinity of November -- this would be the ultimate compliment to Hendricks. Problem is, it would feel like another slap across the bearded fellow’s face. Hendricks should be next. Under any meritocracy he should be. Should is a funny word, though. So is “merit,” which sometimes in the UFC means “LOL.”

Q: Can Diaz win a decision in Montreal?
A: Turns out Montreal had less to do with it than the tyranny he was facing with the wrestling skills. Remember when we were wondering if St-Pierre might be tempted into a dogfight with Diaz out of anger? Let me tell you something: Anger gets locked away in St-Pierre’s dark place come fight night. From cageside you could hear it banging and screaming to get out, but he is a strict disciplinarian. He just ignored it.

Q: What happens if Ellenberger/Marquardt goes to the second round?
A: We’ll never know because Ellenberger will be throwing them bombs, baby! Marquardt was hit with a mean combo in the first round and down he went. He surfaced a few moments later to protest the stoppage, but as Bellator’s Jimmy Smith pointed out on Twitter, “if somebody tells you ‘you were knocked out,’ you should generally take their word for it in my experience.” We were all witnesses, Nate.

FIVE NEW STORYLINES

Turns out Condit wins even in losses
Hendricks did everything he said he wanted to do. He threw his left hand early and often, and he connected plenty. He took Condit down and worked his ground and pound. He tied up, dirty boxed, and used his horsepower. And yet no matter what he did, Condit kept moving forward. Condit kept coming. Condit wouldn’t be put away. Condit is the spirit of the fight game.

Diaz and his taxes
Out of all the bizarre things that happened this week in Montreal centered on Nick Diaz (from his “wolf tickets” rant to the St-Pierre steroid allegations), his admission that he has never paid taxes in his life was startling. Does he wind up in jail? The future always looks like a minefield when talking about Diaz.

Ellenberger as a contender In the past three years, Ellenberger has lost once. And even in that one (a TKO loss to Martin Kampmann) he was dominating early but didn’t get the job done. If Hendricks’ injured left hand ends up sidelining him for a long period of time, it’s possible Ellenberger gets the call to see St-Pierre next. Nobody can question his credentials: 8-1 in his past nine fights, with five finishes.

MacDonald can still get his wish
Condit won’t be fighting for the title next, which means Rory MacDonald can still get his shot to avenge his only professional loss when he comes back from injury. That is, if the UFC still wants that. MacDonald is on a northbound surge up the welterweight rankings, and Condit has lost two in a row.

It’s Hendricks’ time
It’s either give Hendricks a title shot, or let him continue wrecking every contender coming up the ranks. In fact, if the UFC gives St-Pierre anybody other than Hendricks at this point, Hendricks should demand a fight with MacDonald to (A) take out a teammate of St-Pierre’s and (B) punish the UFC by batting back a hot prospect.

UFC 158 STOCK REPORT

Trending Up
Hendricks: The “Bigg Rigg” has been headed north for a long time now, and he’d love to finally arrive at his destination (St-Pierre). And you’ve got to love his style, too. He could have taken Condit down and kept him there for three rounds. Instead, he pursued Condit with sequences of big left hands, and absorbed more than a few head kicks in the process. When he did take Condit down, it felt like it was more for points. He wasn’t intent on keeping him there.

Ellenberger: He loves Canada. Last time he fought in Canada, it was against Sean Pierson at UFC 129. He blasted right through Ontario’s native son. This time it was veteran Marquardt who was on the wrong end of Ellenberger’s furious first-round volley. How would a fight between him and Hendricks play out? Dude.

Chris Camozzi: It was tougher than he wanted it to be, and he didn’t finish Nick Ring, but the Colorado fighter eked out his fourth consecutive victory. It might be time to test himself against a top-10 middleweight.

Darren Elkins: Somebody dubbed him the “anonymous contender.” That pretty much sums it up. He’s won five in a row at featherweight.

Trending Down
Diaz: The two losses in a row are somewhat justifiable, given that they were against Condit and St-Pierre. But the skipped open workouts, the question marks on his drug tests, his unpaid taxes, his inability to at least “play the game a little bit” ... this all adds up to something other than a feel-good story.

Marquardt: The loss to Tarec Saffiedine in his first title defense/last Strikeforce fight hurt more than this one. But the fact is that Marquardt is almost 34 years old and is riding a two-fight losing streak. Another loss in the division, and he might be out of the UFC.

Dan Miller: For as much as he’s a warrior (both in and outside of the cage), Miller has lost three of four. The loss to Jordan Mein hurts, too. He looked good from the gate, but things went south in a hurry when the armbar attempt came up empty.

MATCHMAKER

Next for St-Pierre? A showdown with the now marketable Hendricks.

Next for Ellenberger? Demian Maia. Two guys on the verge of something who would put on a great show.

Next for Condit? At last, that rematch with MacDonald.

Next for Camozzi? To paraphrase Goethe, “Be bold, and Wanderlei Silva will come to your aid.”

If we learned anything about Nick Diaz from the epic oratory performance he put on at UFC 158, it’s that he’s not going to lie to us.

Diaz can be called a lot of things, but "liar" certainly isn’t one of them. If anything, the American ambassador to the 209 was painstakingly honest last week before, during and after his lopsided loss to Georges St-Pierre on Saturday night.

As things progressed he was lobbed numerous queries -- about steroids or marijuana or whether he thought the UFC wanted him to lose -- which probably would’ve best been handled with a simple “no comment.” Diaz, the guy who theoretically hates doing media so much he sometimes doesn’t bother to show up, never once demurred. By the end, one thing was clear: Ask him a question and you will absolutely not get a straight answer, but the extended jumble-jamble of words that tumble out of his mouth won’t be sugarcoated or politically correct or -- for that matter -- filtered in any way.

So, if the question we’re asking ourselves on Monday morning is whether to believe Diaz when he tells us he’s retired from MMA, the simple answer is “yes." Yes, we can believe he was telling us the truth about that ... at the very moment the words left his lips.

Thing is, Diaz has a more complicated relationship with the truth than most people. He’s what literature buffs might call an unreliable narrator. That is, a guy who can’t be trusted to see the world the same way the rest of us do.

Keep in mind that this is a fighter who on Saturday night announced his retirement for the second time amid a fairly rambling response that also intimated he thinks the rules of MMA are set up for him to fail and stopped just barely short of blaming his loss to St-Pierre on some kind of spygate conspiracy within his own camp.

“To be honest, I don’t know if I really got it anymore," he said, during one of his more self-reflective moments. "I don’t make excuses. I think I’m done with mixed martial arts. I’m tired of getting banged up like this. ... Hopefully I made enough money to invest in something.”

At that second, it was the truth according to Nick Diaz, and we couldn’t help but notice it sounded eerily similar to a truth he voiced 13 months ago, on the heels of an only slightly less definitive loss to Carlos Condit: "I think I'm done with this MMA stuff,” Diaz said at the time. “I don't think they can pay me enough to do this again.”

We all know that particular truth changed a few months later, when rumors first circulated that Diaz would consider coming out of “retirement” for a superfight against middleweight king Anderson Silva. By November, he’d somehow talked his way into a shot at St-Pierre’s welterweight crown. Now that fight has (finally) come and gone and Diaz is retired anew, though this truth, too, had begun to morph into something different by the time he wandered into the postfight news conference some 30 minutes late.

"I just feel like I fought everybody that I set out to fight ...,” he said, taking the stage at the event only after UFC president Dana White announced Diaz wouldn’t be there at all. “But I want a rematch. I think I could beat [St-Pierre]. I think I may be a better matchup for Anderson Silva, as well, but we'll see what happens.”

So there you have it. Diaz wants to retire. Or he wants a rematch. Or he wants to fight Silva. Or something. He wants them all simultaneously and at once manages to give the impression he wants none of them at all.

If he does walk away from MMA forever, seemingly in his prime at the age of 29, it’ll be far from the strangest thing he’s done in his career. Or even last week.

For now the truth is, Diaz is retired, until he decides he’s not.

As always, the truth will continue to be whatever he wants it to be.

Georges St-Pierre is the most dominant 170-pound mixed martial artist the sport has produced.

His supreme class was on display Saturday in Montreal during yet another shutout of an experienced fighter inside the Octagon. And so it has reached the point with St-Pierre and the welterweights that clean-slate title defenses are expected, and therefore dismissed as if they aren't incredibly impressive. Thus the division itself, long residing beside light heavyweight as the UFC's money class, is perceived to be less than interesting because no one can seem to touch the man at the top.

Well, stop all that.

Welterweight has never been better, and St-Pierre is lined up to face the most difficult challenges of his career. An emerging contingent of contenders appear capable of beating the French-Canadian fighter. And not just in the maybe-he'll-win-a-round-or-make-it-competitive sort of of way. Like actually stopping St-Pierre from doing what he wants, and maybe, just maybe, stopping him outright.

There are, in my estimation, three fighters at 170 right now that can do this: Johny Hendricks, Demian Maia, and Jake Ellenberger. And others appear to be legitimate threats. Carlos Condit is young enough and dangerous enough to pull something off if he gets another shot.

Tyron Woodley looks specially built to test GSP. You’d be a fool to sleep on Tarec Saffiedine, even if wrestling isn’t in his blood.

First up, according to UFC president Dana White, comes a deserving Hendricks, whose fight of the night brawl with Condit stacks up just fine against anything 2013 has produced thus far.


Hendricks comes off like a smaller, left-handed version of Dan Henderson. He believes he's the best. He simply has no fear. He can punch with anyone. And if a fighter is going to wrestle with St-Pierre, the physical two-time national champion wrestler from Oklahoma State would be the guy.

Hendricks is so dangerous that St-Pierre could come to the conclusion it's finally time to fight Anderson Silva. Don’t be surprised if that's how it went down, presuming Silva handles Chris Weidman in July. Both bouts provide the UFC and its fans everything they could ever want, though at this stage, crazy as it sounds, I'd rather see St-Pierre against Hendricks. To me it’s the best intra-divisional fight the UFC can make.

Ellenberger's first-round destruction of Nathan Marquardt signaled that "The Juggernaut" won't go away before all the hard work he's put in over the years pays off in a title shot. Should it come against St-Pierre, the champ will have to contend with a heavy hitter who can wrestle and scramble and do so for a high pace over a long stretch. Bottom line: No one wants to be hit by Ellenberger.

Then there's Maia, the Brazilian grappling master who made it look too easy against Fitch in February. Maia's entry into the class has been a delight. If he can own Dong Hyun Kim, Rick Story and Fitch on the canvas, doesn't he at least seem like a fighter who can hang with St-Pierre? Sure does to me. At a minimum, he's not a contender the current champion will want to spend much time on the floor with, because Maia is that good at jiu-jitsu.

Since regaining the belt in 2007, St-Pierre has lost only seven of the 43 rounds he's fought in the Octagon -- that includes duplicates based on three judges scoring a contest. He's essentially been perfect. But what's done is done. There are new threats on the horizon, a beckoning group eager for a chance.

As that gets sorted out, UFC welterweights will jockey for their spot. UFC 158, which featured 12 170-pounders, offered a revealing showcase for what's to come. A warhorse like Rick Story looked great. A kid like Jordan Mein made a statement in his UFC debut. A veteran seeking new life like Patrick Cote squeezed by, while his opponent, Bobby Voelker, looked good too. Rory MacDonald, who was originally scheduled to fight on Saturday but fell off the card with an injury, has all the tools. And on and on.

The division that produced Pat Miletich and Matt Hughes has never been better, and that seems indisputable.

MONTREAL -- For everything the Georges St-Pierre-Nick Diaz bout wasn’t -- enthralling, competitive, an out-and-out war -- Georges St-Pierre versus Johny Hendricks just might be. And that’s the silver lining after UFC 158, where wolf tickets and dark places finally converged.

Hendricks was victorious over former No. 1 contender Carlos Condit on Saturday in Montreal, and made his case (yet again) for a fight with St-Pierre. Unlike when he defeated Josh Koscheck and Martin Kampmann, this time everybody -- including UFC president Dana White -- seems to be on board with the idea.

“There’s no doubt, as far as the welterweight division is concerned, Johny Hendricks is next in line,” White told ESPN.com moments after UFC 158 wrapped up. “As for a superfight with Anderson Silva, that’s up to Georges St-Pierre. If Georges came out today and said he wanted to fight Anderson Silva, I won’t be upset about it.”

With Silva booked to fight Chris Weidman in July at UFC 161, Hendricks is finally the guy. He and Condit went toe-to-toe for three back and forth rounds, with Hendricks using his All-American wrestling in spots throughout to control the action. Other times he pursued Condit across the cage winging huge left hands, some of which found their mark. Each time Condit truly pressed the action, he was dumped on his back. When they stood, the exchanges were fierce.

It was good enough for "fight of the night" honors. More important, it really pushed Hendricks (15-1) over the edge as a legitimate contender for St-Pierre.

Suddenly, Hendricks’ punching power, combined with his ability to dictate the fight, looks very interesting against the champion. It feels like a battle of strong nullifying wrestlers who can throw hands. Hendricks feels like an actual threat to the throne.

“I think [Hendricks] is fantastic, and he’s a great athlete and he deserves a shot,” said St-Pierre’s coach Firas Zahabi. “I don’t make those decisions, though -- it’s the UFC, it’s the management. I’m pretty confident it’s going to happen. I think it’s going to be a great fight.”

“He’s a great wrestler, good power,” added St-Pierre, who was eating a slice of pizza and feeling good after so many weeks of animosity toward Diaz. “We’ll see what’s going to happen. Obviously I want to fight the best.”

After his eighth title defense (50-45 on all scorecards over Diaz), St-Pierre is finding himself almost too far ahead of the competition. Carlos Condit was hoping for a rematch with St-Pierre, but it never felt like the UFC was behind the idea 100 percent, even if Condit had won. Diaz, who has been the bane of St-Pierre’s existence for the last year-and-a-half, promptly ended his retirement talk by telling MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, “I want a rematch!”

That’s also highly unlikely to happen anytime soon. If ever.

The problem is, St-Pierre has handled everybody he’s faced over the last few years to the point that no rematch is ever truly coveted. Not a rematch with Condit, not with Diaz, not with anybody. St-Pierre wins too convincingly. These days you get one shot, and you had better make the most of it.

“If you look, he’s fighting all the best welterweights in the world, and continues to win,” White said. “I think Georges had a really great game plan. He went in there, and he stood up [with Diaz]. He went to the ground. The fight went everywhere, and he won again. I don’t know what else to say. It was a great fight.”

One might say, too great. So great that it looked lopsided. Did it feel that way to St-Pierre?

“Yeah, but he was dangerous the whole time,” he said. “It was one-sided but he put me in danger sometimes. So I always had to be aware of the danger.”

It didn’t appear that way. It was the same old dominant Georges St-Pierre. It turns out he fights the same when somebody is in his head as he does when they’re not.

“It was huge because it was such an emotional thing,” Zahabi said. “I’ve never seen Georges so emotional. He really wanted this fight. He wanted to fight Diaz before anybody else does, and I think he got his fill tonight. I don’t think he’s going to want to fight Diaz again. It’s over.”

It’s over for Diaz. It’s on for Hendricks.

Georges St-Pierre swears he isn't angered by Nick Diaz, yet his body language and promoter tell a different tale.

"Georges is being weird right now," UFC president Dana White said Thursday. "Georges isn't close to being Georges.

"There's no doubt this thing has messed with his head. I just think he's pissed. He's a in a different place than he's ever been because he's mad."

“

Georges is being weird right now. Georges isn't close to being Georges. There's no doubt this thing has messed with his head. I just think he's pissed. He's a in a different place than he's ever been because he's mad.

” -- Dana White on Nick Diaz's head games before his showdown with Georges St-Pierre.

White said he visited the 31-year-old welterweight champion in the Montreal hotel hosting UFC fighters this week and the man wasn't his polite self. St-Pierre was curt. He was "different, weird." St-Pierre's sighs and eye rolls and perturbed facial expressions at the final news conference before meeting Diaz at the Bell Centre on Saturday sure were hard to miss. At a minimum he appeared frustrated with having to listen to Diaz rant again, that "uneducated fool." At most, he’s steaming mad, like White suggested, and thusly off his game.

As UFC 158 approaches, the intrigue hangs on St-Pierre’s attitude and whether it will impact what he attempts to do to Diaz in the cage. Will the estimable champion’s distaste for Diaz lead him to try to bury the challenger from California? Or will he lift off the gas and stay conservative, a recoiling reaction to what he’s feeling inside?

Control has always been the name of St-Pierre's game. Mentally. Tactically. Physically. Emotionally. He does not go off the rails because he just doesn't. Well ... hasn’t.

"As crazy as Nick Diaz seems,” White insinuated, "there's strategy in it."

Has that strategy worked on a man with just one fluke loss in 17 fights since 2004?

Asked whether St-Pierre really is upset enough with Diaz ahead of another monster fight in his hometown to do something foolish, John Danaher, the champ’s jiu-jitsu trainer and cerebral guru, demurred.

"He is a professional and a tactician,” Danaher said. “He knows that technique wedded to physical preparation guided by strategy wins fights; not emotion."

St-Pierre, to be fair, is also a man, one -- based on recent evidence -- seemingly not above wearing frustration like his tailored pinstripe suits. Even the best of us are capable of succumbing to that reality from time to time, no?

"A man who extolls high-percentage approaches to gain competitive advantage,” Danaher responded. “Emotions are for amateurs."

How is this even possible in a hot-blooded sport like MMA? To be so detached as to remove all emotion?

St-Pierre has been tagged as some sort of automaton, so if there’s a person able to live above the fray, perhaps it’s him. Yet his reactions to Diaz, the pressure that comes with fighting in the city that raised him, the expectations built into a St-Pierre fight ... none of those things come across as emotion-free.

Which thoughts will prevail in his head as he stands across from Diaz on fight night:

Anger? Hate? Self-preservation? Control?

For all of White’s selling of St-Pierre as somehow off his French-Canadian rocker, it is a difficult notion to accept. Nothing in St-Pierre’s history, at least caged history, indicates he’ll forgo tactics for a firefight. Nothing. He’ll walk into the cage having been buoyed by the preconceptions of superiority, and for good reason. St-Pierre appears stronger, more athletic, more ring-intelligent. Diaz gets hit too much in the head and St-Pierre holds speed, power and reach advantages. Diaz can’t defend low kick and St-Pierre will really turn into them when he wants to. And Diaz won’t be able to stay off his back against the best MMA wrestler in the sport. From his back Diaz is dangerous yet wide-open, and St-Pierre has always been aware and efficient.

You see, St-Pierre should be able to dictate what he wants, which is why the potential for him losing it is so interesting. Every perceived advantage is in his corner. He’s as pro as pro can be, and remember, emotions are for amateurs.

Given everything that’s transpired in the lead-up to this title fight, it’s difficult to picture, if afforded the chance, when risk is minimized and the advantage is clear, that St-Pierre wouldn’t attempt to pound Diaz into the canvas.

Out of anger. Or not.

MONTREAL -- The big news was that Nick Diaz showed up. Believe it or not, this was a concern after the challenger skipped Wednesday’s open workouts in Montreal. And after, you know, his history of sort of not showing up.

“Well it was either I miss that, or I miss this, but I was going to have to catch up on some sleep,” he explained right off the bat at the press conference to promote his title fight against Georges St-Pierre. His flight from Northern California touched down in Quebec at midnight Tuesday evening. Wednesday was no good for him, but by Thursday, he was at last refreshed and ready to talk.

And talk he did. Diaz careened off into subject matter that ranged from sweating out toxic water, to his outdated likeness on the UFC 158 promo posters, to point deductions being handed out for stalling and holding guys down (some psychology aimed at St-Pierre), to the UFC selling wolf tickets (“they’re selling you all wolf tickets and you people are eating them right up”).
Snake oil was never mentioned. But had it have been, it would have fit right in. “Diazisms” were a dime a dozen. St-Pierre, whose own distaste for press conferences and the redundancy of the questions was barely contained, fired back once in a while. But most questions were directed at Diaz and Dana White, who was looking down at him with a red, muted face as if to interject (or destroy him via telepathy).

Meanwhile, Carlos Condit, Jake Ellenberger and Nate Marquardt, all on the card and present, never said a word. Marquardt smiled and chuckled along with the media. Ellenberger might as well have had laryngitis. As for Condit, he did roll his eyes at one point when Diaz went off on yet another tangent.

Actually, hey, let me get out the way and post a couple of those tangential highlights. My thoughts follow in italics.


“I would like to put out the best image I could. To be honest with you I think a lot of times they make me out to be the evil guy. I fit the description of the evil villain. I think Georges fits the description of a good guy. I mean, look at my poster. No offense, but [the UFC] has had plenty of time to switch my poster. That picture of me is from years ago. Can I get one buttered up, photoshop picture on a poster?”

It’s true. The poster features a younger Nick Diaz, who is mean-mugging more than entirely necessary. Come to think of it, he has a legitimate beef here.

–- “Georges likes to say I remind him of the bullies that picked on him growing up. How many times did you have a gun to your head, Georges? How many times has somebody put a gun to your head? How many of your best friends have been shot through the chest with a .45? How many of your friends have been stomped and put to sleep in a coma? How many kids put gum in your hair?”

He reiterated a form of this in an ESPN interview. The guess here is GSP can count on one hand how many times he’s had gum put in his hair.

–- “Georges here is selling wolf tickets. Dana here is selling wolf tickets. The UFC is selling you some wolf tickets. You guys are eating them right up.”

Wolf tickets are now out-hashtagging GSP’s dark place on Twitter.

Meanwhile, White, who curtailed some of the “antagonism” headed Diaz’s way and had a semi-heated moment with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, did a good job of reminding everyone of why we were here.

“All the stuff that leads up to this thing, all the selling of wolf tickets, all the things that happen leads up to this fight -- there is going to be a fight Saturday night.”

Condit done with being cautious


There was a moment at UFC 154 when it looked like Condit was going to break the heart of Montreal when he rocked St-Pierre. It was only for about 90 seconds or so of a 25-minute fight, but it was enough to bring him to a realization: Should he get that rematch with St-Pierre, he’ll go for broke.

“In [the St-Pierre fight], I think I hesitated,” he told ESPN.com. “Sometimes I was a little bit gun shy. I just need to go back to letting it all hang out, leaving everything in the cage, and really just focusing on what I bring to the table as opposed to training for the other guy’s strengths.”

When asked if he can let it all hang out against a smasher like Johny Hendricks, who has an anvil for a left hand, Condit thought about it for a quick second before answering.

“I can, but I just have to be smart,” he said.

Potluck

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto asked Diaz if he changed anything in his use of medical marijuana after what happened last time (when he tested positive for metabolites in Nevada, and was suspended for a year).

“I think I tested for metabolite, or nanogram, or something,” he said. “I just did a little more than I did last time, so sorry if I don’t pass the test -- but I think it should work out. I’ve passed plenty of them before, unless they just weren’t testing me. I wonder how much they test people around here.”

Then he shot St-Pierre a strong, insinuating glance. What does it all mean? Not even remotely sure. But “it should work out” didn’t exactly come off like reassurance to the boss who was standing right next to him.

(White mentioned later in the media scrum that, should Diaz test positive for marijuana again, he would “probably” be cut).

Brotherly gloves

Diaz’s younger brother Nate, who will be in Nick’s corner on Saturday night, was at the press conference and speaking to media. Somebody brought up the incestuous matchmaking methods of the Canadian promotion MFC, which recently booked a fight between brothers Thomas and Mike Treadwell.

Since we all know Nate Diaz is a “Diaz brother” and not just Nick’s brother, he was asked about his thoughts on that.

“That kind of makes me sick, when you think about it. Guys fighting each other, and they’re brothers? They’re a bunch of idiots as far as I’m concerned. It’s ridiculous. Do they even know each other?”

What exactly is Georges St-Pierre's "dark place"? It has become a hashtag on Twitter for one thing -- an unlit place where St-Pierre himself never goes. Leading up to this weekend's fight with Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in Montreal, the UFC ran a slick promo package with St-Pierre cautioning Diaz about an unfathomable self within. This would have passed off as normal PPV shtick if emotions didn't turn so raw in the media call last week.

Then it became actual theater.

Diaz alternately complimented St-Pierre and spat on him, often in the same breath. St-Pierre, who is usually a picture of intense cool, came unmoored a little bit. He had trouble getting a word in edgewise as Diaz rambled on about being pampered and St-Pierre's tight shorts. By the time St-Pierre called Diaz an "uneducated fool," his dark place seemed like more than "putting American quarters in vending machines," as MMA Junkie's Dann Stupp joked on Twitter. His personal torment bubbled up to the surface for a minute for everyone to glimpse.

All of this begs the question: Is Diaz in St-Pierre's head a little bit? The answer is: of course! He can't not be. But this is all just fun with intangibles. When you think about the fight itself, it's easier to imagine St-Pierre's wrestling nullifying that "Stockton Slap" than vice versa. If Saturday night's main event goes to the ground, and St-Pierre puts the hurt on Diaz (for five rounds, or for one explosive one), the sound you'll hear might be laughter emanating from St-Pierre's dark place.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW/STORYLINES

Jake Ellenberger as dark horse contender

The third welterweight fight on the card pairs up Jake Ellenberger with Nate Marquardt. No, a win over Marquardt won't be the same as if he had beat his original opponent, Johny Hendricks. But an emphatic victory still might launch Ellenberger into title consideration if (A) Hendricks loses to Carlos Condit, (B) St-Pierre handles Diaz and (C) the UFC thinks it's too soon to roll out Condit-St-Pierre II.

The rise of Darren Elkins

Darren Elkins wasn't a slouch as a lightweight, going 1-1 before dropping down to 145 pounds -- but he has been gangbusters since losing that weight. Elkins is 4-0 as a feather (even if you eye the Michihiro Omigawa decision somewhat suspiciously). If there's a knock, it's that all of his wins have come via decision. An exclamation point finish over Antonio Carvalho would do wonders.

The rise of Chris Camozzi

The middleweight division has gone on a long time without a Chris Camozzi to come along and mess things up. But guess what? If Camozzi gets by Nick Ring on Saturday night, he's suddenly riding a four-fight winning streak and begins to encroach on top-10 radars.

St-Pierre, Diaz as rivals

Rivalries consist of more than heated arguments and rising dander, don't they? The headlining fight between Diaz and St-Pierre is being loosely dubbed a "rivalry," even though this is their first meeting. Yes, they were booked to fight each other in 2011 before Diaz's insubordination became a thing. But a rivalry? If Diaz pulls off the upset Saturday night, then we've got a rivalry. Forget rematch -- that would open the floodgates to a trilogy.

Diaz's long layoff

Diaz will have gone 405 days between fights, which is the longest layoff of his career. Just how this will affect him remains to be seen. The longest he went before that was 314 days between his first pro MMA bout and his second, back in 2001-02. How did he respond to that gulf? By decisioning Chris Lytle. Of course, that was eons ago, when he was barely 18 years old and things like metabolites were still tucked away in their lexicons.

FIVE QUESTIONS

Can Diaz get back up?

We've seen optimism from everybody St-Pierre has faced going back to Jon Fitch. They all talk about staying off their backs, and then end up staring at the Octagon lights for five rounds (except for Josh Koscheck and Jake Shields, who couldn't see anything past the jabs crashing into their sockets). Diaz isn't known for thwarting bull rushes. But he is known to be crafty on the ground and in scrambles. Can he get back up? Aha! That's the question. Crazier, can he reverse St-Pierre and submit him on the ground?

Can St-Pierre get a finish?

It has been four years since St-Pierre finished a fight, and that was at UFC 94 against B.J. Penn. Even in that one, it wasn't overly dramatic -- Penn simply didn't answer the fifth-round bell after a steady mauling. A statistic such as that can lead to "pressure," and St-Pierre can't help but feel it. Chances are, when the fight feels comfortable enough, he'll look for the finish.

Is Hendricks next with a win?

We've been asking this same question since last year when the tulips came up in the spring and Hendricks was fighting Koscheck -- does a win get Hendricks a title shot? The answer is, of course -- maybe. Hendricks not only beat Koscheck, he salted Martin Kampmann next for good measure -- and yet here he is again opening for St-Pierre's big act. Unless the roof falls in on the Bell Centre, a win over Condit should get him that evasive title shot.

Can Diaz win a decision in Montreal?

Diaz doesn't particularly like judges, because he suspects they don't like him (see: UFC 143). But let's make something clear: If his fight with St-Pierre, a native son of Quebec, goes to the gavels, his chances of victory share a percentage with the world's most popular milk (2%). Not necessarily because of hometown favoritism (though there's that), but because can you imagine St-Pierre getting outpointed?

If Marquardt-Ellenberger goes past the first round, then what?

Your guess is good as mine. As Brett Okamoto pointed out, Ellenberger likes to throw punches with such all-or-nothing force early in fights that he's running on fumes toward the end. Then again, Marquardt has had some trouble with determined wrestlers (such as Yushin Okami and Chael Sonnen), and if patient dictation of the will is Ellenberger's tact, this thing becomes a crapshoot.

WHO’S ON THE HOT SEAT

George Roop -- Granted, losing to Hatsu Hioki (narrowly) and Cub Swanson (definitively) isn't all that bad. But a third loss in a row, against Reuben Duran (1-2 in the UFC), just as the UFC is tidying up its roster? Not good.

Reuben Duran -- See above, only reversed.

Rick Story -- Remember when he dominated Thiago Alves and was calling out Fitch and Koscheck? Distant memory. Losing to Strikeforce immigrant Quinn Mulhern would make it four losses in five fights, which is a roundabout way of saying "curtains."

Patrick Cote -- Since coming back to the UFC, he lost very unspectacularly to Cung Le and then was the victim of a series of illegal back-of-the-head blows from Alessio Sakara last time the UFC visited Montreal (remember that inexplicable brainlock?). Play the dramatic doom music: Cote is walking the plank against Bobby Voelker this weekend.

Mike Ricci -- That knockout of Neil Magny during TUF 16 was fun, but if he drops to 0-2 in the UFC by losing to Colin Fletcher, it's hard to justify his roster spot.

Colin Fletcher -- The mask. Won't. Save him.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Because it's a welterweight bonanza that features the best 170-pound fighter ever (St-Pierre) ... because St-Pierre has good reason to abandon "safe" in his attempt to punish Diaz ... because Diaz doesn't do "safe," and fights off his back like a fire hose that got away from its handler ... because with Hendricks, the word "southpaw" barely describes the brute force in that left hand … because Ellenberger leaves behind his aura each time he throws a first-round punch … because that's Marquardt's chin he's aiming at … because Carlos Condit is due for a finish after going 0-for-2 in 2012 in that department … because St-Pierre's dark place becomes, for one night only, a popular destination.

The rivalry between UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz comes to a head Saturday in the main event of UFC 158. Here are the numbers you need to know for the title fight:

6.03: Diaz's strikes landed per minute in UFC/Strikeforce fights. Diaz has landed more than 100 significant strikes in four of his last five fights, with the lone time under 100 being a first-round TKO of Paul Daley. The leader in strikes landed per minute in UFC-only fights is heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez at 6.37 per minute.

1.2: St-Pierre's strikes absorbed per minute -- sixth best in UFC history and first among active welterweights. In his last five title defenses, none of St-Pierre's opponents have landed more than 24 percent of their significant strikes.

Georges St-Pierre's significant strike defense in last five fights:

UFC 154 - Carlos Condit: 76 percent
UFC 129 - Jake Shields: 81 percent
UFC 124 - Josh Koscheck: 88 percent
UFC 111 - Dan Hardy: 85 percent
UFC 100 - Thiago Alves: 81 percent

55: Average number of significant strikes landed per fight for "Rush" in 19 UFC fights. St-Pierre's total of 1,048 significant strikes landed is the most in UFC history and 190 more than second-place BJ Penn. Diaz has landed 604 significant strikes in 12 UFC fights, for an average of 50.3 per fight.

78: Percentage of takedowns landed for St-Pierre. In his last fight against Condit, St-Pierre took down "The Natural Born Killer" seven times, tied for third most in a UFC fight for the champion. Diaz hasn't been taken down multiple times in his last 15 fights, spanning back to February 2007 at PRIDE 33 when he was taken down three times by Takanori Gomi.

3:38: The minimum amount of time the fight against Diaz must last for St-Pierre to eclipse UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture (4 hours, 41 minutes, 50 seconds) for third-longest total fight time in the UFC. St-Pierre has had two UFC fights shorter than 3:38 -- a UFC 69 loss to Matt Serra and a UFC 48 win against Jay Hieron.

2: Diaz is just the second southpaw St-Pierre has faced in 19 UFC fights. At UFC 54 in 2005, "Rush" faced Frank Trigg in his only UFC matchup against a southpaw. Trigg landed one punch in three attempts before succumbing to a rear-naked choke in the first round.

405: The number of days Diaz will have gone without a UFC fight -- a span of over 13 months. Diaz was suspended due to failing a post-fight drug test after UFC 143 and fought just once in 2012. The only other year in his MMA career Diaz fought once was his first year of competition in 2001.

Nick Diaz's longest MMA layoffs in days:

February 2012-March 2013 - 405
August 2001-July 2002 - 314
July 2008-April 2009 - 258
June 2009-January 2010 - 237

5: Consecutive title defenses for St-Pierre without a stoppage -- the same as Anderson Silva and Jon Jones have combined in the UFC. Eleven of Diaz's 34 MMA fights have gone to a decision, including six of his eight career losses.

17: The combined number of UFC or Strikeforce main events both fighters have been involved in over their careers. The champion has been in the main event 10 times in his UFC career, starting with his first title victory over Matt Hughes at UFC 65. Since then, only two of St-Pierre's fights haven't been the main event (UFC 100 against Alves and UFC 74 versus Koscheck). Diaz is no rookie, as his last two UFC bouts have been main events as well as five of his six appearances for Strikeforce.

5: The number of men who can say they've fought St-Pierre and Diaz in MMA competition. Penn lost to both men (St-Pierre twice). Condit defeated Diaz for the interim title before losing to St-Pierre. Karo Parisyan faced Diaz (UFC 46) and St-Pierre (UFC 49) in back-to-back UFC appearances, defeating the Stockton bad boy but losing to the Canadian. Sean Sherk went in the opposite order, losing to St-Pierre at UFC 56 before defeating Diaz at UFC 59. Thomas Denny lost to "Rush" in 2003 and Diaz in 2008, the only fighter to be stopped by both men.

Descending into the rabbit hole that is Nick Diaz.

Last week's all-time terrific conference call featuring Diaz and UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre ahead of Saturday's title fight in Montreal was revealing in many ways.

It opened a window, at least one I hadn't had a chance to peer into before.

I had no sense prior to Diaz’s back-and-forth with St-Pierre that the man coveted anything more than good times with his friends, the space to live as he pleased, the chance to be a martial artist, and the opportunity to fight -- because for the past 12 years as a pro he made it a point to express just how little anything else meant to him.

Choose your path. Walk it. What comes, comes. That’s what Diaz did.

In some ways that has yielded tremendous success. Take the title shot with St-Pierre. Fans had an expectation to see him fight GSP, and Zuffa is in business to capitalize off of stuff like that. No problem. He may not “deserve it” in the sporting definition of the phrase, not coming off a loss against Carlos Condit. And certainly not in place of Johny Hendricks. But he scored the fight because he developed a following over the years for exciting action and unpredictability.

Yet, the unpredictability that produced Diaz’s counter-culture following also ensured endorsement deals and the like won’t come his way. Even if he beats St-Pierre to claim the title, it’s hard to imagine that changes. Opportunities in and out of the sport have been limited solely by him. That fact has prompted many of Diaz’s fans, other fighters, his promoters and even his closest allies to call into question his ability to think and act in the ways society expects people in his position to think and act. Which is totally fine. Everyone has the right to self-determination. Attitudes, however, have consequences.

"Nobody knows who I am,” Diaz lamented during the teleconference. “I mean, I guess, everybody does, but as far as like your mainstream magazines and your Nike, adidas and all your good stuff, I'm left out of that.”

Whose fault is that?

I can say I've tried to get some access to him and cover him more closely since joining ESPN, only to be turned down by his trainer Cesar Gracie, who said he did so after asking his fighter. Outside of the veteran trainer, who also was highly influential over Nate Diaz, Gilbert Melendez and Jake Shields to name a few, Diaz never had use for handlers, or public relations people, or a social media marketing campaign, or anything that coincides with brand building. And, ironically enough, that became his brand. He only had his hands, which were balled up in fists or assembled in such a way as to send a pointed message.

Now the man is ogling recognition and red carpets and pampering? Now he wants everything that requires consistently diligent work and, dare I say it, playing the game? I believe that’s what he said, though sometimes it can be difficult to decipher, and he’s prone to contradictions. Well, that’s not how life normally works, especially not when reputations are hardened like bunkers.

“I'd like to be known as someone who kept it real … I just don't like that I'm made out to be this evil person that needs to be down or you know, that needs to be like conquered,” Diaz said.

Fair enough. Diaz isn’t remotely evil or ill-intentioned. He's said to be a great friend to the people who know him that way. But he has been controversial and, at times, socially odd and a major pain for people who would like to rely on him.

Some fans love Diaz for being this way. His rants against fighters with painted toenails and Las Vegas and the people it attracts are infamous. The fakers, the lowlifes, the people who refuse to remain who they are in the face of celebrity and the like. Those are things he has slammed -- the anti-“fake” part of him he alluded to last week.

Less and less these days people seem willing to sacrifice money, or fame, or celebrity for keeping it real. Diaz was that guy. Perhaps as he approaches 30, that’s changing. MMA has come to accept that Diaz doesn’t give a damn, mostly because he led us to believe that’s how he preferred it.

Last week’s window into his soul somehow suggested otherwise.

Nick Diaz, image-conscious kid from the streets of Stockton, Calif. That’ll take some getting used to.

Canadian lightweight Mike Ricci is in for some night on March 16.

In the span of about six years, Ricci has gone from a novice martial artist learning Kung Fu out of books to a meeting with Colin Fletcher on the main card of UFC 158.

The event takes place in his hometown of Montreal. Several of his Tristar Gym teammates are on the card, including welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

"It's going to be a moment I'll never forget, right?" Ricci told ESPN.com. "These are definitely the ones that matter -- the ones you'll always remember."

Ricci, 26, has traveled an interesting path.

It truly began when he met trainer Firas Zahabi at Tristar, about six months after he'd been training himself and attending random classes. He drove to the Montreal suburbs to attend a class taught by St-Pierre, who he knew little about at the time.

"I heard 'GSP,' who is this GSP guy?" Ricci said. "I heard he was teaching classes so I drove over to a small gym in South Shore, which is like country area, and trained with him. That was the first time I met Georges."

Ricci compiled a 5-0 record to start his career, suffered a brutal knockout loss to current Bellator featherweight champion Pat Curran in 2010, nearly retired, then eventually earned a roster spot on the 16th season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

Things were far from easy on Ricci once he got into the TUF house. In addition to the social strains the show has on contestants, the season featured welterweights -- meaning Ricci was fighting up a weight class.

"It was short notice," said Ricci. "I didn't have time to effectively gain weight. I could have ballooned up, but I didn't think it would be beneficial. My first fight at welterweight I won by TKO. Dropping a guy that size, I thought, 'Wow. I can hurt guys at this weight.' It gave me a boost of confidence right from the go."

Ricci went on to win all three of his fights in the house and advanced to the finals against Colton Smith in December. Given the very difficult time he had in the house, it almost seemed fitting something would go wrong in the finale.

Seven weeks prior to the fight, Ricci suffered a knee injury that would significantly shorten his camp. Colton smothered him throughout three rounds for the decision.

"When I went back home [from the TUF house], I really should have taken a break," Ricci said. "I ended up tearing my LCL in my knee. I was on the sideline for four weeks. I was ill-prepared. It probably would have been best to back out. Right away [in the fight] I thought, 'I'm in deep water. This guy is prepared. He has a good strategy.'"

Ricci is back where he wants to be this month, at 155 pounds. The opportunity to fight in his hometown in the packed Bell Centre is, in some ways, the reward for the path he's traveled, but hopefully the start of a new one, too.

"In my case, I feel I've improved by fighting at 170 pounds," Ricci said. "Adjusting to that different level of power and what not, it really taught me how to be a different fighter."

Georges St-Pierre is promising to give Nick Diaz a shocking lesson at UFC 158, insisting the challenger will know after five minutes that he has made a bad decision stepping into the Octagon in Montreal. More »

The loser of UFC 158's main event between Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz will be able to console himself with the prospect of a future fight with Martin Kampmann. More »

In Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz, the welterweight division has found its odd couple.

They despise each other, and we love it.

Headed into their clash for St-Pierre’s 170-pound title at UFC 158, we quite simply can’t get enough of it, thrilling in that singular way the fight business can at each and every cross word between them. They are perfect together, a headline-stealing machine, as GSP’s straight-laced French Canadian patience slowly unravels in front of the hypnotic skew of Planet Diaz.

It’s no wonder the other four fighters involved in last week’s prefight conference call couldn’t get a word in edgewise. This is a beef for the ages.

Yet even as the great Diaz-St-Pierre feud of 2013 gobbles up all the attention, two of UFC 158’s additional welterweight bouts -- Carlos Condit versus Johny Hendricks and Nate Marquardt versus Jake Ellenberger -- will arguably do just as much on Saturday night to plot the course of the division.

One need look no further than the show’s co-main event, where, as long as Hendricks can take care of business against Condit, it will be difficult to deny him the next available crack at the gold. Of course, that’s exactly what we all thought after Hendricks starched Martin Kampmann in 46 seconds in November and what we thought when he edged Josh Koscheck by split decision six months before that, too.

The story of Hendricks’ UFC career to date has certainly been one of delayed expectations. The guy is so overqualified to be the No. 1 contender, it’s astonishing to behold his 11-1 combined UFC/WEC record, his five straight wins, his nine stoppages in 15 career fights and realize he’s still waiting for his chance. By all rights it should probably be Hendricks fighting for title this weekend, were Diaz-GSP not worth its weight in pay-per-view gold.

The very fact that Hendricks is already so deserving of a championship opportunity is the most nerve-wracking thing about his upcoming fight with Condit. MMA can be a fickle mistress, after all, and if a guy is going to get the rug pulled out from under him in this sport it typically happens just as his fingers are about to close around the brass ring. Long story short: A Condit victory is certainly very possible here, and a loss by Hendricks could potentially be the most chaotic outcome of all.

It would certainly put guys like Demian Maia, Martin Kampmann and Rory MacDonald back in play for No. 1 contender status.

It would also probably do good things for the fortunes of Ellenberger, who could scrawl his own name near the top of the queue if he comes out on top against Marquardt. Ellenberger’s solid wrestling and heavy hands make him nearly as compelling a matchup for St-Pierre as Hendricks, if -- and this is a big one -- he came into their fight prepared to go five full rounds without slowing down.

Perhaps the biggest wild card of all is St-Pierre himself. Assuming he beats Diaz, will he stick around in the welterweight division long enough to fight Hendricks or Ellenberger or anybody else? Or will the champ finally concede to the pressure to head up to middleweight for a big-money superfight against Anderson Silva, leaving this fresh crop of challengers to fight it out among themselves?

Whatever happens, we should at least have a better idea where we’re headed after Saturday.

Unless Diaz wins, in which case all bets are off.

When the UFC first announced the next challenger to Georges St-Pierre’s title would be Nick Diaz -- Nick Diaz, the guy coming off a drug suspension, not to mention a loss -- plenty of people had a problem with it.

Jake Ellenberger wasn’t one of them.

As a rising welterweight contender, one would think Ellenberger (28-6) wouldn’t be too happy to see Diaz (26-8) jump him in line. But Ellenberger, who is set to face Nate Marquardt this weekend at UFC 158, didn’t mind at all, actually. He got it.

“I really didn’t have a problem with it,” Ellenberger told ESPN.com. “Nick’s been one of the top guys in the division for years. As a fan, I want to see that fight. Nick is dangerous. You’ve got a guy who is good at getting takedowns, and Nick is good off his back.

“How could you not be excited to see that fight? It’s a ticket-seller.”

One matchup Ellenberger doesn’t get, however, is the UFC 158 co-main event between Johny Hendricks (14-1) and Carlos Condit (28-6).

Ellenberger was originally scheduled to face Hendricks, but the fight was canceled when Condit’s opponent, Rory MacDonald, withdrew due to injury. Hendricks agreed to replace MacDonald shortly after.

To Ellenberger, it felt like a “duck” -- like, maybe Hendricks opted for an easier fight.

“I was p---ed,” Ellenberger said. “I spent 10 weeks training for one guy. He’s not a hard guy to figure out. He throws hard punches and he’s good in a scramble. That’s it.

“

He's not a hard guy to figure out. He throws hard punches and he's good in a scramble. That's it

” -- Jake Ellenberger, on Johny Hendricks

“I have him figured out and I will beat him. He knows I have the potential to beat him, so he takes a less dangerous fight.”

In addition to the frustration he has over lost time preparing for Hendricks, Ellenberger questions the logic of the move. Condit, after all, is coming off a loss to St-Pierre in November.

Should he end Hendricks’ five-fight win streak, the welterweight division will be absent a No. 1 contender.

“I’m not disrespecting Carlos Condit, but are they going to give him another fight with St-Pierre if he beats Hendricks? I don’t think so,” Ellenberger said.

“Carlos is a really dangerous guy at a certain range. If he fights at his range, he’ll do really well. I wouldn’t be surprised if Carlos won. I really wouldn’t.”

As he discusses Hendricks, Ellenberger’s tone quickly changes, and suddenly, as if he’s reminding himself of something, he dismisses the opponent change. It is what it is. He’s over it and focused on Marquardt (32-11-2).

For the record, though, next time Diaz complains he isn’t getting the respect a No. 1 contender deserves, he should know Ellenberger agrees with the main event -- just not the fight that will precede it.

“There’s not an anger feeling. It just doesn’t make sense to me,” Ellenberger said. “It’s out of my control. That’s on [the UFC].

“I forgot about it. I’m still fighting. I’ll be ready to fight on Saturday.”

GLENDALE, Calif. -- Simply happy to be there, boys and girls, women and men, milled about the sunlit mat like swarming bees.

This was AnnMaria De Mars’ fun kickoff to a two-hour charity-inspired mixed martial arts and judo clinic hosted by her recently famous 26-year-old daughter, UFC champion Ronda Rousey.

Thirty Good Samaritans each ponied up at least $200 to train (or have a loved one do so in their place) with Rousey at her home base in the shadow of downtown Los Angeles at the Glendale Fighting Club. The goal was to raise money to support mental health associated with eating disorders -- something the new UFC star was too familiar with.

All told, including a $5,000 donation from Rousey, the aptly titled “Don’t Throw Up, Throw Down” event raised $11,800 for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, a Southern California-based organization that provides counseling and substance abuse services for people who can’t afford another option.

De Mars’ instructions for “partner tag” were clear: chase and evade and chase again until everyone was warmed up enough so her daughter could show them how to take a person down and snap an arm.

Late last month against Liz Carmouche, Rousey practiced what she preached and became the most prominent female figure in MMA. This prompted her chronically driven mother to wonder how much good could arise out of such a thing. De Mars wanted a group or person to support, so she asked the champ for her thoughts. Without hesitating, Rousey mentioned that people with eating disorders have the highest mortality associated with mental illness.

“I went home, looked it up, and it is true,” De Mars said.

It wasn’t as if Rousey pulled that fact out of thin air. She lived, suffered and survived it.

Leading up to the historic fight with Carmouche, dramatic pieces of Rousey’s life were highlighted on television, online and in print.

She’s utterly fascinating. The camera loves “Rowdy” Ronda. And like her mother, Rousey is a treasure trove of quotes and anecdotes. That’s one reason why everyone who joined the two-time Olympian, a bronze medalist at the Beijing Games, on Saturday was aware of her father’s tragic suicide, and the anger, passion and perseverance it inspired.

Lesser known, though it will become a significant part of her story, is Rousey’s battle with body issues. Competing on the demanding international judo circuit, Rousey got it in her head that being off weight meant she wasn’t pretty, or she had character flaws, or she was “weak willed, or not disciplined enough.”

Rousey struggled with her weight in two ways. The toll of week-in, week-out cuts (judo weigh-ins take place the morning of competition), was physically draining enough on its own. Worse yet was the mental beating. She traveled around Europe, trying to maintain 63 kilos (139 pounds), and had it in her head that the more she struggled, the weaker she was.

“I didn't think there was actually anything wrong and I didn't reach out to anybody about it,” Rousey said. “It was kind of my private personal battle that I was forced to work out on my own, and people shouldn't.

"Did you ever see the commercial with the chick chained to a scale dragging it along? It was very much like that.”

In 2007, the year Rousey qualified for Beijing, she aimed not to hurt herself anymore.

"No more bingeing or purging,” she promised herself. “None of that anymore. I was going to do it the right way. I grew 4 inches since I started and couldn't make the weight anymore.”

“

I didn't think there was actually anything wrong and I didn't reach out to anybody about it. It was kind of my private personal battle that I was forced to work out on my own, and people shouldn't.

” -- Ronda Rousey, on dealing with weight issues

But this only made things more difficult. She said she suffered a heat stroke at a tournament in Belgium, and actually hallucinated, seeing fire. Two weeks after a terrible weight cut at the British Open in London, a tournament she won, Rousey headed to Paris. It was the last time she attempted to make 63 kilos. She recalled the smell of singed hair, that and the fact that she just couldn’t sweat. Paris is the only time Rousey missed weight in her life. She was mortified.

“I was too scared to call anybody,” she said. “I just fell off the face of the earth for a week."

Rousey resurfaced in Austria, broke down and called home. De Mars was “just dying” not knowing what was going on with her daughter and believed Rousey “could have been on the edge of having a real problem.” So on the advice of her mom and her coach, Jimmy Pedro Sr., Rousey skipped the hard cut, moved up 7 kilos, enjoyed a good meal and returned to championship form. She remained at that weight the rest of her days in judo.

For as much as Saturday’s seminar participants might have felt they knew Rousey, they likely weren't aware this was why they were asked to raise money for Didi Hirsch. Certainly 11-year-old Persephone Schrick wasn’t. She hadn’t even known she’d be in Rousey’s presence until her dad, Aaron, surprised her. Wearing a pink rash guard and a perpetual smile, Persephone called herself Rousey’s biggest fan.

"I like that she can always get arm bars in any position,” Persephone beamed. “And that she's the first girl ever to get the belt in the UFC."

Youngsters like Persephone have someone to look up to now in MMA, though Rousey pointed out that the only young girl she intends to be a role model for is her teenage sister, Julia.

“She's the one I'm responsible for,” Rousey said. “If stuff that I'm doing helps other kids out, that's awesome. But I can't really control the way that I'm perceived. I'm not perfect.”

Rousey, of course, is responsible for herself. At the end of the month she’ll take a much-needed week off to recharge, suggesting an island with coconuts and no cell phones is in her future. She wouldn’t say where, exactly, and won’t even tell the UFC or her coaches.

“I feel like this last year was three years’ worth of activity,” she said. "There were just so many experiences shoved in such a short period of time. It seems like this last year has taken forever.”

Take last week, for example.

“I promised I'd do this clinic and I was obligated to go,” she said.

“Yesterday I had food poisoning and I promised I'd be on 'Good Day L.A.' I promised, and it was going to be [broadcast] live. I'm glad I went because Mike Tyson was there, but I threw up in the parking structure on the way out. I was in no position to be anywhere. And I already promised I'd be at some charity basketball thing that night. I had a horrible fever and I drove all the way from Santa Monica to Glendale, and went to the one thing because I promised I'd be there.

“My word's my word. And that was right after I got back from a trip where I was in five cities over six days. I went from L.A. to Vegas to shoot a commercial. To New York City to do 'Fox and Friends.' To Albany to speak to the state assembly about legalizing MMA. To Vegas to do a whole media day and get my MRIs and doctor stuff done just as a checkup after the fight. Then back here. Got food poisoning. Went to 'Good Day L.A.' Went to the basketball auction thing. Slept. Woke up. Did a workout before the clinic. Did the clinic. And now at 3 p.m. I have a call with producers of Jim Rome. And, umm, what time is it?”

It was 3:04.

"F---," she said.

Rousey spent the next 20 minutes on the phone, listening to questions she would have preferred to answer live on air. By the time she wrapped up, the gym was clear of seminar attendees. Persephone Schrick had long gone, presumably giggling all the way home, eager to affix a newly signed poster to her wall, filled with memories of learning a setup to an arm bar from the Queen herself.

De Mars handed Rousey a blended drink from Starbucks and a gluten-free cookie, which were devoured while they discussed Julia, the youngster they're responsible for.

"It's just a question of energy," Rousey said. "Every person you talk to pulls a little energy out of you. Every single interview you do pulls a little energy. Every workout. Anything. It just pulls energy out. So as long as I can maintain energy, I can do everything."