On November 10, 2007, KJ Noons defeated Nick Diaz and won the vacant Elite XC Lightweight Championship. Noons dominated Diaz for the first five minutes and at the end of the first round, the ringside doctor stopped the fight due to multiple cuts opened up on Diaz’s face. Noons immediately celebrated his victory but Diaz was clearly not happy with the result as he flipped off both Noons and the crowd as he exited the cage.

Nearly three years have passed since their first fight and now Diaz is a completely different fighter. With every fight, he gets better and continues to impress and he is fully prepared for their rematch this Saturday, October 9, at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II.

After the fallout of Elite XC, Strikeforce acquired Diaz and has helped him rise to fame. In his first fight out of Elite XC, he defeated Katsuya Inoue at Dream 3 and continued the win streak back in the states with wins over Muhsin Corbbrey and Thomas Denny. Next Diaz was set to face MMA legend, Frank Shamrock at a catchweight of 179 lbs. Diaz controlled Shamrock the entire fight and ended it with a body shot that dropped Shamrock and finished with some ground and pound.

Diaz’s biggest opportunity came when he was signed to take on Marius Zaromskis for the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight Title. Despite the threat Zaromskis was thought to be to Diaz, the fight was completely one-sided. Diaz used his significant reach advantage and leg kicks to avoid Zaromskis head kick that won him the Dream Welterweight Grand Prix. Most recently, Diaz submitted Hayato Sakurai with an armbar at Dream 14.

A rematch with KJ Noons is something Diaz has been longing for and now he’s got his chance at revenge. He possesses all the tools to defeat Noons. His high level of grappling and much improved striking ability give him an advantage no matter where the fight goes. He is prepared to put the past behind him and prove all the doubters wrong by not letting Noons walk away with his title.