Nick Diaz says friend Ronda Rousey made 'simple mistake' in UFC 193 title loss

Ronda Rousey

Many have jumped off the Ronda Rousey bandwagon following her second-round knockout loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193. Nick Diaz, though, isn’t one of them.

Rousey (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) have a well-documented friendship that goes back several years. While some of Rousey’s fellow fighters, including former foe Miesha Tate, opted to kick the former champion, Diaz opted to show support after the shocking upset by Holm (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC)

Diaz took to Twitter to question why Rousey is the brunt of so much criticism for the head-kick knockout loss (watch the Holm vs. Rousey video highlights). He said all “Rowdy” did was make a “simple mistake” due to poor game-planning. It led to the end of her nearly three-year title reign and first defeat of her career:

Diaz hasn’t competed since he fought Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in January. He’s currently serving a five-year suspension after he tested positive for marijuana, which marked the third violation of his MMA career.

The former UFC title challenger received tremendous public support following the suspension, including a strong rant from Rousey toward the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which has reportedly entered settlement discussions to reduce Diaz’s suspension.

Before the result of the Silva fight was overturned to a no-contest, though, Diaz had originally dropped a unanimous decision in a performance he still believes should have led to a victory.

Diaz said he believes if Rousey replicated his strategy for “The Spider” and had not chose to rush Holm and fight too aggressively, the UFC women’s bantamweight belt would still be in her possession (via Twitter):

For more on UFC 193, check out the UFC Events section of the site.