Photo: Josh Hedges
Georges Saint-Pierre is a role model to MMA fans. Mild-mannered, cordial, impeccable posture, good marketing – and, of course, he’s one of the best fighters on the planet. Nick Diaz, the current Strikeforce welterweight champion, isn’t the least bit concerned about all that stuff. Even so he’s a huge draw, commanding legions of fans. Nick is also one of the best fighters in activity these days.
Diaz asked for GSP well before the UFC bought up Strikeforce. Now, all signs point to the matchup actually happening. According to a statement issued by UFC president Dana White this Wednesday, the bout is being penciled in for the 137th installment of the event, on October 29 at Las Vegas’s Mandalay Bay casino and hotel.
Nick Diaz / Photo: Esther Lin
The matchup is causing huge fanfare and expectations on the part of the public. Having gone nine fights without a loss, Saint-Pierre reins supreme in the UFC and is coming off a win over a teammate of the very Diaz, Jake Shields.
Diaz hasn’t lost in ten fights, and when compared to Shields, who is also a gentle art black belt, he is the better of the two in the striking department, even having been linked to a move to pro boxing.
Could this be a non-Brazilian version of Anderson Silva versus Vitor Belfort? Well, regardless, it’s a fight that’s bound to shake up the MMA world – and very well could break some records.