One of the bigger rivalries that the Strikeforce promotion is hoping to cash in on is the bad blood that still remains between former EliteXC Lightweight Champion KJ Noons and the man he beat to earn that title, current Strikeforce superstar Nick Diaz. Noons and Diaz have both expressed a desire to put together a rematch of their November 2007 bout, but those plans may be on hold due to Diaz's recent suspension by the Tennessee Athletic Commission for his actions in the in-cage brawl at Strikeforce's April 17th event.

Noons spoke to Sherdog.com about Diaz as a person, the possibility of a rematch and how the current Strikeforce Welterweight Champion could make himself an even bigger star;

"[A Nick Diaz rematch is] definitely in the mix. That's something I want to do, he wants to do it and Strikeforce wants to do it. It's just a matter of making it happen. The whole Nick Diaz thing, he's a great fighter. You look at everything since he first fought (and) I never took away that he's a good fighter. I just said he's an idiot. I don't like his personality. He's a good fighter. As a person, he's a dumb mother[expletive]. I'm taking nothing away from him. As a person I just don't like him. Actually I feel sorry for the guy. Too bad he's not better on the outside. He'd actually be a better star and people would like him better. I'm not talking [expletive]; that's just the plain truth."

The loss to Noons was the last that Diaz has suffered as following a surgery to remove scar tissue from around his eyebrows he's gone on a seven-fight winning streak with seven stoppages including victories over the likes of Frank Shamrock, Marius Zaromskis and Hayato "Mach" Sakurai. Noons recently returned to MMA after an attempt to further his boxing career and defeated Conor Heun by split decision at Strikeforce's recent show in Los Angeles on June 16th.