The weigh in for the UFC 158 main event featuring Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz didn’t escalate into a brawl, but you didn’t need to be in the room to feel the tension.
The combination of competitiveness between top-level fighters, Diaz‘s insults and accusations (ESPN) and a raucous crowd is creating an explosive fight atmosphere.
Though many of Diaz‘s comments and claims seem juvenile and inappropriate, they have ignited the hype for the fight.
The weigh-in on Friday only stoked the flames.
UFC President Dana White was firmly between the two welterweights as they posed for the customary fight picture, and he probably needed to be. Check out the video below:
Both men are in tremendous shape physically, and that only adds to the intrigue for the fight.
As the champion, GSP got on the scale last, but you can see after he put on his pants and shoes, he aggressively walked towards Diaz, and White was there to prevent any premature fisticuffs.
The bad blood is real between these two men, and even though they’re professionals (well at least one of them is) when emotions are running this high, it is hard to say what can and can’t happen.
Though GSP is destined to be the crowd favorite at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Saturday night, you could certainly hear some cheers mixed in with the boos for Diaz.
The overall response was so loud that you couldn’t hear much of what he was saying during his interview with Joe Rogan. Perhaps that could be a good thing, as he has already said enough to draw the ire of the champion.
GSP never genuinely seems to lack motivation, but he figures to be riding higher than ever for this one. Diaz has taken shots at him from almost every angle, and it appears he doesn’t just want to defeat Diaz, he wants to beat him up.
Any one that has followed Diaz‘s career knows, he is truly one of the 10 best fighters in the world, so beating him up is no easy task. GSP will need to be at his best to punish Diaz, and from the looks of him at the weigh in, the physical aspect is in order.
It’s almost time to put the talk and personas to rest and let Octagon skills dictate the result.
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