With all of the strange goings on over the past month, with former Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz being pulled from his title fight with UFC title holder Georges St-Pierre, then the promotion of Diaz versus BJ Penn to the main event of UFC 137, it’s been an emotional roller coaster ride for everyone involved.
Once St-Pierre has recovered from injury, he’ll meet Carlos Condit, Penn’s original opponent, sometime next year.
Not if coach and trainer Cesar Gracie has his way.
On Monday, as a guest on The MMA Hour (@MMAFighting.com) Gracie told host Ariel Helwani that if Diaz earns a decisive victory over Penn he’ll petition UFC President Dana White for the next title shot over Condit.
“This is the UFC so there’s always that chance. There’s no question about it that I will ask for that if Nick has a tremendous performance and he can finish BJ, I would ask for that. But the biggest thing is if the fans want it. If the fans all ask for that, Dana [White] is a smart guy. He knows the sport is about the fans. So who knows?”
It is certainly an intriguing idea and one that fans could get behind should Diaz earn a solid win over Penn this coming Saturday night.
The big issues being one, not only does Diaz have to beat Penn but he’s got to do it in a big way, and two, Condit is sure to raise a sh**storm should he have his title shot taken away.
UFC 137 is scheduled to take place on Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada with the Diaz vs. Penn bout taking place on the live pay-per-view card this Saturday night.