A few months after Jake Shields suffered his first loss in six years, the Cesar Gracie camp is preparing for a second crack at UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
Former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz will be standing opposite the French-Canadian phenom this time around, and Gracie is every bit of as confident in the controversial Stockton native as he was in Shields.
“It should be a really good fight,” Gracie said in an interview with Full Contact Fighter. “Nick is really going to press the action. He’s going to force GSP to fight. I was just really happy that Nick is going to get the opportunity to show just how good he is now.”
Diaz has seen significant strides in his overall game since his last UFC appearance in November 2006. While his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has always been considered the most dangerous aspect of his game, Diaz’s improved boxing could rival his grappling base.
Training with WBA and WBC World Boxing Champion Luisito Espinosa and Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist Andre Ward, Diaz has quickly become one of the best boxers in the entire 170-pound division.
Will it all make any difference against St-Pierre, arguably the best wrestler in MMA?
“Georges is a great athlete and pretty smart fighter,” said Gracie. “His athleticism often lets him dictate where the fight is going to go, and if he’s comfortable where he can take the finish, without taking too many risks, he will.”
St-Pierre, who hasn’t finished a fight in over two years, has often been criticized for utilizing “safe” tactics to coast to decisions.
From a purely coaching perspective, St-Pierre’s way of fighting doesn’t faze Gracie. He is only worried about guys on his own team.
When he looks at things from a fan’s perspective, Gracie has a much different opinion of the champ.
“The thing is, it’s really not my business how he fights. He’s not on my team, so, I truly don’t care how he fights,” Gracie said. “Now if you’re asking me as a fan, yeah, that style is not what I like to watch. I like to watch guys that just completely go for it, take chances, and give crowds what they want, which is ‘Ultimate Fighting,’ not ‘ultimate stalling’ or anything like that.”
It may not be Gracie’s business how St-Pierre fights, but it is his business in making sure Diaz is fully prepared come fight night. Perhaps the most well-rounded fighter in the world, St-Pierre is a tough guy to plan for.
When looking at past bouts, Gracie sees similarities between Diaz and former two-division champion B.J. Penn. Like “The Prodigy,” Diaz is a world class boxer with a flexible guard, which allows him to seamlessly flow through sweeps and submission attempts.
“I think [GSP] is going to approach this fight somewhat like the B.J. Penn fight,” Gracie stated. “I think he’ll try to fight Nick the same way, where he’ll tie up with him, try to keep him up against the cage, do a little dirty boxing and try to get him arm weary, maybe get some takedowns and see how that goes. He’ll probably be cautious from the top position but try to inflict damage depending on how it’s going.”
St-Pierre and Diaz are expected to headline a stacked UFC 137 card on October 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
While Diaz looks to win his first ever UFC title, St-Pierre seeks his seventh successful welterweight title defense, which would tie the record of MMA legend and UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes.
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