FAIRFAX, Va. – With Cody McKenzie (13-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC), the guillotine remains the same, even as everything else changes.

McKenzie beat Marcus LeVesseur with his favorite submission Tuesday night at UFC on FUEL TV 3, finishing the bout at the 3:05 mark of the first round. The Alaska native had won nine straight by first-round guillotine coming into “The Ultimate Fighter 12″ then made it an even 10 with a win over Aaron Wilkinson in the live finale.

Losses to Yves Edwards and Vagner Rocha followed, and McKenzie made a few changes. He’s training with the Diaz brothers. And his once-plentiful facial hair is gone.

“I was starting to look too old,” McKenzie said after the event, which took place at Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. “It was turning gray. I’m only 24 years old, and I’ve got gray hair all over. So I finally had to shave everything and start to look my age.”

That’s one indirect sign of the newer, maturing McKenzie. The bigger change is behind the scenes with his new training partners.

“Nathan Diaz helped me a lot with diet,” McKenzie said. “I called him yesterday even after I made weight and asked him what to eat. He’s a very smart guy, him and his brother Nick Diaz. I’ll be making the move from Las Vegas to Stockton very soon.”

So far, he hasn’t caught the Diaz brothers with his signature move.

“Practice is practice – sooner or later, I’m sure I’ll catch them,” McKenzie said. “But overall, a lot of those guys up there just rolled me up into a ball. They’re very good grapplers.”

LeVesseur, a distinguished wrestler making his UFC debut, tried to turn the tables and go for a guillotine of his own.

“He actually did go for a guillotine in a modified style for a little bit,” McKenzie said. “I was just relaxing, kind of seeing what he had. I could tell he was kind of stressed and tight and tense. He was going a little bit too hard. I was just hoping I could weather the storm and catch him later down the road, and it worked out.

“I watched his videos, and he didn’t see as comfortable as I am in there. He’s a tough guy for sure. I don’t want to take anything away from him, I wish him a good career.”

McKenzie, now a relative Octagon veteran, didn’t feel the same tension despite coming into the cage on the dreaded two-fight skid.

“I was a lot calmer for this fight than most of my fights. There’s always pressure any time you’re fighting somebody in the cage, but I was actually pretty calm. A lot of people are like, ‘This is your big shot, this is the UFC, this is your chance.’ To me, every fight’s just a fight. I don’t look at too much too seriously.

“You take life too seriously and you turn gray.”

RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Quite simply, Nate Diaz is for real.

For the third time in as many UFC fights, Diaz turned in what could be viewed as the best performance of his career, this time tapping out perennial contender and hometown favorite Jim Miller.

The UFC on FOX 3 main event took place at IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. It aired on the evening’s FOX-broadcast main card following preliminary bouts that aired on FUEL TV and streamed on Facebook.com.

Miller opened by attacking the leg from the outside, but the two quickly moved into the clinch, where neither could control the other. Miller slipped as they separated, but Diaz couldn’t capitalize. Miller tried to strike from the outside before getting into another clinch, but Diaz scored a crisp knee and elbow inside. When they pulled free again, Diaz wobbled Miller with a straight left. Diaz looked to attack in the grappling game, but Miller proved capable in escape in a rousing sequence to end the round.

The pattern continued in the second, and Miller came a little out of character by leaping on a wild flying knee. Diaz responded as expected, with a bit of taunting and trashtalking. He also stepped up the boxing, rattling Miller before diving in with an impressive power guillotine choke. THe hold wasn’t in right, but a quick adjustment changed the leverage and Miller was forced to tap for the first time in his professional career.

With the win, Diaz (16-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) now boasts three-straight victories at 155 pounds and has become a real part of the UFC title discussion. Meanwhile, Miller (21-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) falls to 1-2 in his past three fights and is stopped inside of regulation for the first time in his career.

UFC President Dana White spoke to the media Wednesday via conference call and confirmed title opportunities were technically on the line, but the chances of Miller or Koscheck earning those shots seemed remote.

“We’re in one of those situations that we were in before with [Phil] Davis and [Rashad] Evans,” said White, referencing the predicament affecting the aforementioned light heavyweights heading into UFC on FOX 2. “Should Diaz win, Diaz is definitely getting a title shot. Should Miller win, Miller’s probably going to be a fight or two away.”

White didn’t explain the calculation behind his decision. However, there is a meritorious and availability case to be made for Diaz. He’s 2-0 since returning to lightweight, beating Takanori Gomi by armbar at UFC 135 and throttling Donald Cerrone en route to a unanimous decision at UFC 141.

Miller, by contrast, had a superb run in the lightweight division from UFC 100 to UFC 128, but fell short against now champion Ben Henderson at UFC on Versus 5. The AMA Fight Club-trained fighter rebounded nicely against Melvin Guillard at UFC on FX 1, but his bout with Diaz only marks only his second fight since losing to Henderson.

According to the USA TODAY/MMA Nation Rankings, Miller is ranked 5th at lightweight while Diaz checks in at 7th. There are other lightweights ahead of both Miller and Diaz, but they’re all tied up in other bouts or have more recent career losses. Henderson is set to rematch Frankie Edgar at UFC 150 and Clay Guida will face off against Gray Maynard at UFC on FX 4. Guida is ranked higher than Diaz, but he and Maynard are also both coming off of losses.

As for Johny Hendricks and Josh Koscheck, White said their predicament mirrored Miller vs. Diaz. Should Hendricks win, he’d receive a title shot. Koscheck, on the other hand, would likely be required to fight and win one or two additional times.

Hendricks and Koscheck are ranked 5th and 6th, respectively, in the welterweight division. The only two fighters ahead of both are Jake Ellenberger and Nick Diaz. Ellenberger is scheduled to face Martin Kampmann at the TUF: Live Finale while Diaz is currently unable to fight until his suspension is lifted or expires in Nevada.

Apr 10, 2012 – Braulio Estima, one of the best Jiu-Jitsu players in the world, will welcome Nick Diaz back to the world of BJJ.

The Diaz vs. Estima BJJ superfight, which will be contested at 180 pounds, will take place at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo on May 12 in Long Beach, Calif., according to WJJE officials…..

The 31-year-old Estima has won a plethora of BJJ competitions over the past decade. He most recently defeated Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in a super-fight at the 2011 edition of the prestigious Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling Championship and won gold medals at the 2009 ADCC tournament in the 88kg and Absolute divisions. He is currently training with the Blackzilians in South Florida in preparation for his MMA debut later this year.

Diaz, a black belt under Cesar Gracie, hasn’t competed in a BJJ match in two years. He has never been submitted in BJJ competition.

Diaz hasn’t fought since his loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 143 in February. According to his manager Cesar Gracie, he is still waiting to find out when his Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing will take place after he tested positive for marijuana metabolites following the fight.

The first-ever World Jiu-Jitsu Expo will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center. In addition to the Diaz-Estima super-fight, fans attending the Expo can take part in free seminars with BJJ stars Renzo Gracie, Roger Gracie, Robert Drysdale, Rodrigo Comprido and Andre Galvao.

For more on the Expo, including how to purchase tickets, visit the WJJE official Web site.

UFC 143′s main event – Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit — will get the “Primetime” treatment later this month on FX and FUEL TV.

According to a network official, the UFC Primetime: Diaz vs. Condit series, will premiere Friday, Jan. 20, at 11:00 p.m. ET on FX, following UFC on FX: Miller vs. Guillard. The second episode will premiere the following week on Jan. 27 at the same time, while the third and final episode will air Feb. 3, just 24 hours before the pay-per-view event.

Replays of the show will air Jan. 24, Jan. 31 and Feb. 4 on FUEL TV.

UFC 143 airs Saturday, Feb. 4, from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

This will mark the eighth installment of “UFC Primetime.” The multi-part series, which launched in Jan. 2009 for the Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn rematch at UFC 94, made its debut on FOX in November to promote the Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos heavyweight title fight.

UFC Primetime will follow Condit and Diaz for three straight weeks as they prepare to fight for the UFC interim welterweight title.

Article first posted on MMAfighting.com