Diaz vs Sakurai Possible For Dream.11
by Robert Sargent
Over a year after the fight was originally scheduled to take place, Nick Diaz may in fact travel to Japan to compete for DREAM once again, as it has been reported that he will battle Japanese legend Hayato "Mach" Sakurai at Dream.11.
The fight, which was originally set to be contested for the DREAM Welterweight Championship last year, will now be a non-title bout, but could be a pivotal one.
Sakurai (35-9-2) made it to the semi-finals of the DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix, but was knocked out by eventual tournament winner Marius "The Whitemare" Zaromskis at Dream.10. A win over Diaz would immediately put Sakurai back into title contention, but he seemed to be one step behind Zaromskis for their entire fight. Diaz will be just as active and agile as Zaromskis was, which could spell doom for the legend.
Diaz (20-7-0, 1 ND) was set to face Jay "The Thoroughbred" Hieron to crown the first Strikeforce Welterweight Champion at Strikeforce: "Carano vs Cyborg" this past Saturday, but failed to show up for a pre-fight drug test. He was subsequently removed from the fight and Hieron went on to win a non-title bout against late replacement Jesse "JT Money" Taylor.
Should the fight between Diaz and Sakurai finally take place, Diaz's best strategy would be to mimic the tactics employed by Zaromskis in his battle with Sakurai at Dream.10. If Diaz is able to use his trademark quick punches to keep Sakurai off-balance, he could pick up a huge win early on.
On the other hand, Sakurai needs to set up big strikes with his patented leg kicks. It is unlikely that Sakurai can win the fight by anything other than a knockout, or perhaps by a decision under certain circumstances, and he would be well-served to look to land big punches early and often.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, eager to continue to develop relationships with DREAM, had no problems with Diaz competing overseas.
Meanwhile, Diaz's trainer, Cesar Gracie, is looking to work with the California State Athletic Commission to establish a "Therapeutic Usage Exemption" program, similar to that employed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which would allow Diaz to use his prescribed medicinal marijuana to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
If Diaz and Sakurai do meet, it would be an interesting battle between two very different fighters who are at vastly different points in their careers. What is certain is that the fight would be an explosive one.
