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<h3><a href="/go=news.detail&gid=437579" target="_blank">
Diaz wants Pride Rules for WAR
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<p>Nick Diaz has been working furiously on all the last minute work that a debut promotional effort entails. His WAR streams live on Saturday June 22, 2013 at 8:00 pm ET from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, California.</p>
In an interview with Sherdog's Beatdown Radio, Diaz's attorney Jonathan Tweedale discussed intended rules changes that the promotion is working towards.
"In the first event, what Nick's trying to do is introduce some rule changes -- relative to the rules that many of the fans may be familiar with already -- to try to push the action a little more towards the sport as Nick envisions it.
"That, first of all, is in a ring versus a cage, not simply because of the dehumanizing element that some fighters have talked about, fighting in a cage, but combat sports have always happened in a ring whether we're talking boxing, kickboxing. When did we use a cage? It's only a subset of pro wrestling that uses a cage. Removing the cage, moving to the ring changes things in terms of takedowns, changes things in terms of how you can get up. That's the first change.
"Removing elbows on the ground is a big deal too because that is going to require fighters, if you're on top, you can't just be rubbing your elbows into the guy's face on bottom... You're going to have to create space, try to punch down, and that space is exactly the space the guy on bottom needs to either try to get up or work his submission game. Alternatively, the guy on top is going to need to advance his position. We're going to expect some more action and more fighting.
"Those are two shifts aimed at moving the fights more towards the sort of Japanese MMA that better represents the kind of fighting that Nick wants to see in MMA."
Other rules changes Diaz hopes to implement include use of the 'Yellow Card" and kick or knees on the ground. The yellow card is a means by which judges can spur the action - in the case of timidity or stalling, a yellow card warning is issued. A percentage of the purse is deducted after the second yellow card warning. Diaz's group is also seeking for soccer kicks and knees on the ground, but acknowledges that that is sometimes off in the future, as it requires approval by the athletic commission.
Transcription by MMAMania.
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