Well the verdict is pretty much in and it looks like the much anticipated rematch between KJ Noons and Nick Diaz for the EliteXC lightweight belt on Oct. 4 is not going to happen.

It appears that we will not get to see "The Artist" paint his second proverbial masterpiece after all. On Inside MMA, Noons made it clear that he had no qualms with cutting up Nick’s face again in a rematch. It appears now that Noons was only making an attempt at "trash talking" and in fact had no desire to risk losing his belt to the former UFC vet from the beginning.

As we reported yesterday, Noons was given a 24-hour deadline to sign the bout agreement required to fight Diaz at EliteXC’s third "Primetime" event.

According to MMAJunkie.com, KJ’s manager Mark Dion scoffed at the deadline, claiming that Nick Diaz is not the number one contender in the lightweight division.

The deadline extended to Noons’ camp will end at 8pm ET tonight but apparently it won’t matter. Dion addressed the deadline with MMA Junkie.

"The update on [the deadline] is nothing is going to happen with it," Dion said. "That’s what’s going to happen with that. I don’t care about how many threats [Shaw] wants to pull. We’ll be doing a press conference if EliteXC doesn’t see the light here pretty soon and if Shaw doesn’t stop talking [expletive]."

Dion went on to say that Noons only wants to fight the best EliteXC can offer. So who is qualified to fight the "mighty" KJ Noons? Apparently Eddie Alvarez is worthy of entering the cage with the "master". Alvarez ironically is not available at this time because he is taking personal time off.

While most fighters wouldn’t be satisfied with winning a title due to a cut, Noons is apparently at peace with the victory. In a way you can’t blame him. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to step into the ring with an even more motivated and angrier Nick Diaz. You can be sure that things wouldn’t go as smoothly the second time around.

To sum things up, Dion had a message for anyone anticipating the 5pm PT deadline:

"Forget 5 o’clock," Dion said. "I ain’t waiting until 5 o’clock. If [EliteXC officials] are holding their breath, then someone’s going to pass out."

The bottom line is this: A true champion will fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. It appears that KJ Noons is not the true champion we thought he was.