Diaz adds to media miscues for UFC 137

A demotion that cost Nick Diaz a title shot and a great deal of money apparently taught the enigmatic fighter very little.

Either that, or he truly doesn't care.

Just a month after being yanked from an Ultimate Fighting Championship main event welterweight title fight against Georges St. Pierre for failing to meet media obligations, Diaz nearly missed a conference call promoting Saturday night's UFC 137 card at Mandalay Bay.

Diaz was 45 minutes late for the conference call with media Wednesday afternoon, the day after he was moved back into the main event against BJ Penn when St. Pierre had to withdraw from his fight. UFC representatives and Diaz's manager, Cesar Gracie, among others, scrambled to locate the fighter until he eventually joined the call.

"Nobody called me in the last week or couple days or anything and said there was a call," Diaz said when he finally got connected.

He explained he was simply taking a nap after training.

"I woke up, my phone was dead, and my brother's telling me I'm supposed to be on a call. I don't know anything about it. It's as simple as that," he said.

The 28-year-old wasn't willing to admit he had made any mistakes as far as handling his responsibilities for promoting the fight, choosing to instead focus only on what happens inside the cage.

"I better plead the fifth on that," Diaz said. "I didn't make any mistakes as far as training and doing what I do. I've been there putting in 100 percent. I always thought that was what the sport was -- people want to see good fights, they want to see good fighters. That's what I'm trying to bring to the table."

Diaz is scheduled to fight Penn on Saturday night, although with a media workout on Wednesday and public news conference at noon Thursday at the Brooklyn Bridge outside New York New York, nothing is for certain.

■ FLORIAN TO RETURN -- After losing a UFC featherweight title bout to Jose Aldo on Oct. 8, Kenny Florian said he needed time to think about the next step in his career and was contemplating retirement.

Florian, 35, posted a link on Twitter this week to a Boston Herald story in which he spoke to the paper to announce his decision.

He will continue to fight, but move back up to lightweight.

"I still love this sport tremendously and still want to be a part of it," Florian told the Herald. "I know myself and it's not even just being competitive, but it's just being there learning and competing. There's still very much a fire burning there, so I'm going to do it."

Florian said he needs six months off to rebuild his body back to 155 pounds from the 145 he has competed at in his last two fights. He went 1-1 at the lighter weight.

■ TOMPKINS MEMORIAL -- A public memorial for mixed martial arts and kickboxing coach Shawn Tompkins will be held at Tapout Training Center, 4040 W. Hacienda Ave., No. 130, at 6 p.m. Friday.

The Las Vegas resident, who trained such UFC fighters as Sam Stout and Mark Hominick, died in August at age 37.

The memorial will include a silent auction to support the Tompkins Memorial Fund.

■ 'THE HAMMER' -- The movie about the life of retired UFC fighter Matt "The Hammer" Hamill will premiere Friday night in select theaters across the country.

"The Hammer" will be shown locally at Rave Town Square 18 for two nights, Friday and Nov. 2.

The film details Hamill's journey to become the first deaf NCAA wrestling champion and his eventual transition into MMA.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter @adamhilllvrj.