...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Georges St-Pierre was out of action for 19 months between his win over Jake Shields and his successful return against Carlos Condit last month at UFC 154, but he's looking to make a quick turnaround for his next bout.
According to UFC President Dana White, via MMAFighting.com, the UFC has offered GSP and Nick Diaz a bout against one another at UFC 158 in Montreal this March, though the fight has not been signed as of yet.
St-Pierre requested the Diaz fight after defeating Condit, as it was the fight he was initially supposed to have last October. Diaz had gotten under St-Pierre's skin with his trash talking, and the Welterweight Champ hasn't quite let it go. Diaz lost a decision to Condit in February for the Interim Welterweight Championship, and has been serving a suspension out of that bout due to a positive test for marijuana metabolites.
Johny Hendricks had hoped to get the next shot at St-Pierre, believing his knockout over Martin Kampmann moved him in line. However, given the close nature of the Diaz-Condit bout, St-Pierre's camp still wants to face off against him, leaving Hendricks on the outside looking in.
Penick's Analysis: This is going to give Montreal two more major welterweight fights, just like they got last month at UFC 154. St-Pierre-Diaz, regardless of whether you agree with its booking over St-Pierre-Hendricks, is still a great welterweight fight, and is going to be a big seller in Montreal. Add in a rematch between Carlos Condit and Rory MacDonald, and the UFC already has a fantastic pay-per-view event just off those two fights.
[GSP art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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