Frank Shamrock Says Nick Diaz Is 'Just a Knucklehead' on 'The MMA Hour'

Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz engaged in a war of words prior to their April fight on Showtime. So, when we asked Shamrock on this week's edition of The MMA Hour (to be posted later this week on MMA FanHouse), about the California State Athletic Commission not granting Diaz a license to compete on this Saturday's Strikeforce card because he failed to show up for a pre-fight drug test, "The Legend" didn't hold back.

We also asked Shamrock about his current health status and whether he would ever fight in the UFC again. Some highlights of the interview are below.

On the multiple changes to Saturday's Strikeforce card:
I think it's just bad luck. It certainly hasn't taken anything away from the girls. The girls have gotten more media and press for their fights than most of our events, and the girls always put on a good show. I'm not worried about the rest of the card. And, yeah, Strikeforce has had some serious hurdles in putting this card together, but you know, that's the game of fighting. You win some, you lose some, but the show goes on.

On why some of these changes happened:
Strikeforce is a young organization and a lot of our athletes are young guys. They don't know the big circuit; they don't know the big show, and a lot of them, frankly, don't have the big dollars to get stuff fixed, or get therapy, or get things righted. They go in and they do battle. A lot of our Strikeforce guys are still pretty much regular guys; they haven't made the big time yet. ... I think it's just a lot of immaturity with the guys, and a lot of bad luck. We've had a run of bad luck, [and] we had a run of great luck last year.

On whether Strikeforce should continue promoting Nick Diaz:
Sadly, it's a big problem because somebody's out a lot of money -- Strikeforce/Showtime -- and you know, that wasn't fair from a professional standpoint. But you know, I'm not matching the fights, and unfortunately, Diaz has a strong name right now, and he has a lot of value to somebody. I mean, UFC has expressed value. We all like Nick, he's just a knucklehead. And hopefully, he'll come into his own because he's coming into his own as a fighter, but his maturity, I think, is 10 years behind that.

Rationalizing Diaz's decision to not show up for the pre-license drug test:
I remember being 25, and when I was 25, all we did was train all day. That was it, and then we'd go out on Saturday night and that was my life for 10 years. So I can imagine that being a knucklehead involves: training all day, hanging out with your friends at night, and in Nick Diaz's situation, doing whatever he does, and then train all the time, and think about nothing but fighting. It makes for great fighters, but I think it kind of makes you a little irresponsible sometime.

On Dana White recently stating: "I could make up with Frank":
I got about 100 texts asking me the same thing at the same time. ... I have nothing against Dana. I never really have. I just don't believe in the master plan of what they are trying to do, and I said that and they didn't like that and that's OK. That's a disagreement, you know? But Dana took it a step further and erased me from all the history, and have been, you know, very mean about it. And I could care less. I'm not going to fight for them because I don't believe in their business model. I'm going to do something else. That's business; that's my right.

On whether he thinks he will fight in the UFC again:
Not unless something changes. You know, everything changes -- Obama is the president -- things change, but things got to change, because the way we're going, this sport is going to become UFC. It''s not going to become a sport anymore, and you know, we're going to lose it and that's not ... I didn't get in the business to build the UFC's company. I got in the business for the sport.

On his health:
I'm just waiting right now for the bone density in my arm [to heal]. I had the plate taken out, so I'm just waiting for the screw holes to fill in, and I go every three weeks for X-rays. So first one's OK, [and] I go in another week. They say by middle September it will be filled in, and I will try to fight by December or January.

On the future of MMA:
I think 2010 is a whole new world for MMA.

Why?
According to my growth chart and model, we're going to move to the networks. 2010 comes the time of the networks where the networks are going to battle. ... I just think in 2010, you know, all the gunslingers are gone, and the real business people are going to step back and go alright, 'What is the product and what is its value?' And then I really think the networks are going to go, 'Alright, OK, lets do it.'

The full edition of The MMA Hour will be posted later this week on MMA FanHouse.