K.J. Noons mulling permanent move to 170, wants trilogy with Nick Diaz

K.J. Noons is riding high after scoring a brutal 30-second knockout of Sam Stout at Wednesday’s TUF Nations Finale event in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, and it’s got him thinking about the near future.

The finish marked Noons’ (13-7 MMA, 2-1 UFC) first win via strikes since 2010 and the first time Stout (20-10-1 MMA, 9-9 UFC) had ever been knocked out in 31 professional fights.

Noons and Stout originally were scheduled to face off in a lightweight bout, but after crossing paths in Quebec City during fight week, they came to a mutual agreement to stop cutting weight and make it a welterweight contest.

After scoring a huge victory in his first 170-pound bout in nearly four years, Noons is wondering if a permanent move to the division is in his best interest.

“I’d definitely consider it,” Noons told MMAjunkie. “Sometimes the weight cut is so tough, you just don’t feel the same. I felt great in there. I was still around 170 for the fight and usually after cutting to 155, I’m like 175 to 180 because your body holds onto the water the next day.”

Extreme weight cutting is a very real and problematic issue in MMA. However, Noons thinks he could avoid any future healthy complications by staying in a division in which he may be undersized, but where he also feels much healthier.

“I saw him the day before weigh-ins,” Noons said. “We met each other, and we saw that we were kind of the same weight, and we did not have that much weight to lose. He said, ‘Why kill ourselves? Why don’t we put on a great fight and fight at what we would be at after weigh-ins anyway?’ So I could tell I was different by not having to cut that weight. I felt great, I didn’t feel bloated, and my body felt awesome. I feel at 170 like I feel at 155. I just feel healthier.

“You deplete your kidneys by cutting weight and dehydrate your heart. You never know. I personally think when you dehydrate so much – this isn’t medical – but I feel like you can get knocked out easier because you can’t recover as fast. We don’t want people to be slurring because of head trauma and cutting weight.”

After a run from 2010 to 2013 that saw him win just one of six fights, Noons has now earned back-to-back victories under the UFC banner. The second one was the crushing knockout of Stout that also earned him a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus.

The quick finish was one of the more surprising results of the night, if only because Stout is so well known for his durability. To that point, Noons said he was somewhat surprised when the fight-ending blow connected and Stout crumbled to the mat.

“I’m super pumped because he’s just a tough opponent,” Noons said after the event. “He’s got wars under his belt; I was ready for a war tonight. You always go for the finish. I expected to maybe knock him down a few times, maybe me get knocked down a few times, just a really long 15 minutes.”

While Noons is not yet ready to commit to a weight class for his next fight, he said there is one fight that would unquestionably incentivize him to remain at welterweight going forward: one with former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC), whom Noons defeated by TKO in 2007 and would lose competitive five-round decision in the rematch back in 2010.

A year ago Noons’ career appeared to be nearing the end, but now he’s revitalized his stock and wants his chance to settle the score with Diaz.

“I’m down to bring Nick Diaz out of retirement for our rubber match,” Noons said. “I feel like I’m back. I’m down for 170, I’m down for 155.”

For complete coverage of the TUF Nations Finale, check out the UFC Events section of the site.