Diaz vs. GSP Building Steam As Both Camps Talk About Potential Matchup

Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz watched his teammate Jake Shields come up short on Saturday night against UFC champ Georges St-Pierre. After the fight there was talk of him possibly facing GSP next in a “Superfight” between the two promotions champions.
“Let me get in there with that guy. They had him in there […]

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Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz watched his teammate Jake Shields come up short on Saturday night against UFC champ Georges St-Pierre. After the fight there was talk of him possibly facing GSP next in a “Superfight” between the two promotions champions.

“Let me get in there with that guy. They had him in there with my partner (Shields) and look what happened to him (GSP). Think whats going to happen if they put him in their with me. I don’t know, I’d like to start getting paid up here, to get that fight or make something happen here, something different, something big. I’m tired of the same thing over and over again…”

“I think I’ll put my punches in, I think he’ll try to force the takedowns. I saw him out there and he doesn’t look, he’s not much for size and I don’t think that will be the smartest plan for him either (to try takedowns). I feel it would be real hard for him, and I’m ready for that fight. I’ve been ready for that fight, I feel more ready for it now.”

George St-Pierre’s head coach, Firas Zahabi, spoke to MMAFighting.com on Monday during an episode of “The MMA Hour”, and spoke about the possibility of GSP meeting Diaz next.

“We haven’t sat down to talk about (what’s next). I’m sure the UFC is going to want Nick Diaz. He deserves a shot. He’s put on great performances and his last fight was extremely exciting.”

“If Georges went up (to 185) right now, he wouldn’t have cleaned out the division because there’s still Nick Diaz there. He’s champion, so you can’t say he doesn’t deserve a shot. I can’t confirm anything, but I see it as a possibility. They have two champions. It’s always exciting to see two champions go at it. He has a great style. He has beautiful boxing, great jiu-jitsu, and it’s very similar to his brother. It’s not easy to fight a tall, lanky guy like that. And he’s always very busy. It’s a whole different style than Jake.”

Despite Diaz still under contract with Strikeforce, UFC President Dana White did note during the post-fight press conference for UFC 129, that he could make the fight happen if he wanted it to. So it will be interesting if White keeps his promise to keep things “business as usual” in Strikeforce, or if he’ll have to force his hand by booking “Superfights” between the two promotions to create exciting fights.