California native KJ Noons will step into the EliteXC cage Saturday to face his toughest opponent to date, fellow Californian Nick Diaz. The contest will be a title fight held at a catch weight of 160 pounds, a weight that both fighters seem to be better suited for.
Noons will be in for the fight of his life when he enters the cage with Diaz, a mixed martial artist and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu wizard who has 22 professional fights to his name. Diaz has been in the cage with some of the best competition the sport has to offer. Robbie Lawler, Sean Sherk, Diego Sanchez, Karo Parisyan and Takanori Gomi are but a few of his previous opponents.
Noons may only have seven professional MMA fights under his belt, but he knows that this could be his opportunity of a lifetime and he needs to perform well. He is looking forward to the chance he has to defeat a well-known fighter and to really make a name for himself among MMA fans.
“I’m just super excited to be fighting a guy of that caliber, you know what I mean? It’s going to be a great fight. You won’t be disappointed,” Noons said.
He is a good-sized lightweight, and not having to cut those extra few pounds is something that the young fighter has been looking forward to.
“Oh man, I love it. 155 [pounds] is so hard for me to cut to. I walk around probably at about 175. That last Showtime fight I had, I basically didn’t eat for a day or two. It was just so grueling.”
Noons continued, “You really don’t know how much you lose as far as stamina in the ring from not eating and not drinking and cutting weight and all that stuff the week before the fight, so I’m pretty happy. I’m actually eating a good meal right now.”
When asked how he likes the ‘catch’ class of 160 pounds, he said, “I think it just opens more doors, more opportunities for fighters … I’d love to stay at 160 for the MMA and eventually in the future move down to 155 for the boxing.”
There is no doubt that Noons is facing a talented ground fighter in this contest. Diaz has trained with Cesar Gracie for years and has held his own with and even submitted some of the games’ most proficient ground technicians.
Is Noons worried about the possibility of a quick takedown and an ensuing ground war against Diaz?
If he is uneasy at the notion, he certainly doesn’t let on about it. In a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio, he broke down his own ground game in addition to commenting on what game plan he believes Diaz will bring into this fight.
Of his ground game, Noons said, “It’s something I’m always focused on. Just because I haven’t submitted anybody or you haven’t seen a lot of it, that’s because I choose not to do it. I want to stand and fight. That’s something definitely that people want to see. If you’re going to do jiu-jitsu in MMA, progress and try to submit or get to a good position and try to finish. It’s not laying on the ground.”
Many people assume that this match up can be easily categorized as striker vs. grappler, but Noons sees something a bit different when he analyzes this fight.
“Of course, standing is what I want to do, but like I’ve said before, he’s stood with guys a lot bigger than me, Lawler, Gomi. He’s stood with a lot of guys toe-to-toe and everybody keeps on saying ‘he’s going to take you down, he’s going to take you down,’ and I think he’s going to stand to tell you the truth.”
He continued, “I think a lot of people underrate his stand-up. I’ve watched his tapes and I think he has good stand-up.”
Diaz’s name recognition among fans from his battles both in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride leads some to believe that he will walk through Noons with little resistance. Much like Randy Couture, though, Noons enjoys being the underdog … so much to gain with so little to lose.
He said, “I think I’m coming in as the big underdog … I like it. I figure nobody knows me, everybody knows him. He’s the top dog. I’ve got everything to gain, he’s got everything to lose.”
The big question for KJ is, ‘How is the fight going to go down Saturday night?’
“I see myself – and I’ve seen it over the past eight weeks a billion times – with my hand being raised at the end of this fight.”
Noons will be in for the fight of his life when he enters the cage with Diaz, a mixed martial artist and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu wizard who has 22 professional fights to his name. Diaz has been in the cage with some of the best competition the sport has to offer. Robbie Lawler, Sean Sherk, Diego Sanchez, Karo Parisyan and Takanori Gomi are but a few of his previous opponents.
Noons may only have seven professional MMA fights under his belt, but he knows that this could be his opportunity of a lifetime and he needs to perform well. He is looking forward to the chance he has to defeat a well-known fighter and to really make a name for himself among MMA fans.
“I’m just super excited to be fighting a guy of that caliber, you know what I mean? It’s going to be a great fight. You won’t be disappointed,” Noons said.
He is a good-sized lightweight, and not having to cut those extra few pounds is something that the young fighter has been looking forward to.
“Oh man, I love it. 155 [pounds] is so hard for me to cut to. I walk around probably at about 175. That last Showtime fight I had, I basically didn’t eat for a day or two. It was just so grueling.”
Noons continued, “You really don’t know how much you lose as far as stamina in the ring from not eating and not drinking and cutting weight and all that stuff the week before the fight, so I’m pretty happy. I’m actually eating a good meal right now.”
When asked how he likes the ‘catch’ class of 160 pounds, he said, “I think it just opens more doors, more opportunities for fighters … I’d love to stay at 160 for the MMA and eventually in the future move down to 155 for the boxing.”
There is no doubt that Noons is facing a talented ground fighter in this contest. Diaz has trained with Cesar Gracie for years and has held his own with and even submitted some of the games’ most proficient ground technicians.
Is Noons worried about the possibility of a quick takedown and an ensuing ground war against Diaz?
If he is uneasy at the notion, he certainly doesn’t let on about it. In a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio, he broke down his own ground game in addition to commenting on what game plan he believes Diaz will bring into this fight.
Of his ground game, Noons said, “It’s something I’m always focused on. Just because I haven’t submitted anybody or you haven’t seen a lot of it, that’s because I choose not to do it. I want to stand and fight. That’s something definitely that people want to see. If you’re going to do jiu-jitsu in MMA, progress and try to submit or get to a good position and try to finish. It’s not laying on the ground.”
Many people assume that this match up can be easily categorized as striker vs. grappler, but Noons sees something a bit different when he analyzes this fight.
“Of course, standing is what I want to do, but like I’ve said before, he’s stood with guys a lot bigger than me, Lawler, Gomi. He’s stood with a lot of guys toe-to-toe and everybody keeps on saying ‘he’s going to take you down, he’s going to take you down,’ and I think he’s going to stand to tell you the truth.”
He continued, “I think a lot of people underrate his stand-up. I’ve watched his tapes and I think he has good stand-up.”
Diaz’s name recognition among fans from his battles both in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride leads some to believe that he will walk through Noons with little resistance. Much like Randy Couture, though, Noons enjoys being the underdog … so much to gain with so little to lose.
He said, “I think I’m coming in as the big underdog … I like it. I figure nobody knows me, everybody knows him. He’s the top dog. I’ve got everything to gain, he’s got everything to lose.”
The big question for KJ is, ‘How is the fight going to go down Saturday night?’
“I see myself – and I’ve seen it over the past eight weeks a billion times – with my hand being raised at the end of this fight.”