LayzieTheSavage of Middleeasy.com fame spoke with Cesar Gracie and got some choice quotes out of Nick Diaz's coach and manager. For those that haven't been paying attention, following the press conference on Wednesday, Cesar Gracie went on the defensive agreeing with the decision made by Dana White to pull Nick Diaz from the title fight with Georges St. Pierre at UFC 137. In a complete 180, Gracie's interview with LayzieTheSavage takes the side of his client and student.
On the current relationship with Nick:
"Nick is like family. People don't understand that you can get mad, you can get mad at your brother because it doesn't mean anything. Some people read into it like I kicked him off the team. I don't care what he does in the UFC. I mean I care but I'm not going to kick him off the team over it.
On the B.J. Penn fight:
"This is the better fighter of the two. Georges St. Pierre is the bigger fighter of the two. He can beat people by being bigger or whatever. But this is the better fighter of the two. He's more technical. He's got a better ground game. He's got a better stand up game."
On the title fight being cancelled:
"I talked to Dana after he pulled the fight. I explained why it was a mistake to pull the fight. I understood. I was as mad at Nick as anybody. When I calmed down a little bit and looked at the situation, I said not only am I Nick's trainer, manager...whatever, but I'm also a fan of the sport. And I'm thinking "why is Dana punishing the fans of the sport?" Punish Nick. Fine him a nice fat hefty fine. Do whatever you're gonna do and punish him. All he did was miss a press conference. Seriously? Did one fan in this world even care? It did not make sense to me. I told them this afterwards.
In the rest of the interview Cesar Gracie explains how B.J. Penn vs Nick Diaz is the real main event and what the status of his relationship with UFC President Dana White currently is. It's a short interview but due to LayzieTheSavage's relationship with the Stockton, he gets a lot out of his talk with Cesar Gracie.