After weeks of hoping and pleading, fans will finally get their wish on October 29 when UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre takes on Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz.
The idea of champion versus champion is a rare and interesting occurrence in combat sports.
The lines are no longer blurred by contracts and organizations, and fans are given the opportunity to watch two champions duke it out for undisputed supremacy.
Since leaving the UFC, Diaz has amassed an extensive résumé over notable opposition. His recent success has skyrocketed him to superstardom.
Despite major names like Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, and Dan Henderson, it was Diaz that became the face of the Strikeforce promotion. Some have even threw out Tito Ortiz comparisons. Like Ortiz in his prime, fans care about watching Diaz fight, whether they love him or hate him.
The outspoken Stockton native has never been shy about expressing his feelings, and he has quickly become one of the most controversial figures in the sport. Still, fans always tune in to watch him fight.
Some watch in hopes that Diaz will finally get his mouth shut, and others love Diaz’s personality and hope for his continued climb up the MMA hierarchy.
At UFC 137, Diaz will get an opportunity to ascend all the way to the top of the welterweight division. St-Pierre has defended his UFC title six consecutive times, and he is widely considered as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
While he’s definitely a top-10 welterweight, Diaz hasn’t necessarily faced upper-echelon opposition. The only ranked welterweight he’s defeated in his run is Paul Daley, but history is far harsher on Diaz’s leap into UFC title contention.
During his earlier UFC run, Diaz struggled against strong grapplers with good submission defense. This led to a 2-4 stint, where Diaz incurred losses to Diego Sanchez, Sean Sherk, Karo Pariyan, and Joe Riggs.
Despite his world class Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and improved striking, Diaz has never been known for his wrestling.
St-Pierre is arguably the best wrestler in the entire sport, and he possesses the BJJ chops to stay out of danger and muster up offense of his own.
It’s dangerous in this sport to purely look at things from a black and white perspective, but on paper, this is as bad as it gets for Diaz. Still, people are overly excited to see the guy that will finally “take the fight to St-Pierre.”
What is it about Diaz that makes him more worthy of a title shot than Jon Fitch, Carlos Condit, Diego Sanchez, or even Rick Story?
Some may laugh at the addition of Story, but he recently routed Thiago Alves, who was widely considered the number three welterweight in the world. Sanchez is coming off back to back wins over ranked opposition in Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago.
After losing a controversial decision to Kampmann, Condit rebounded with wins over Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald, and Dan Hardy.
Fitch has defeated a plethora of upper-echelon talent, and outside of his loss to St-Pierre, he hasn’t been defeated since December 2002.
The champion versus champion bout is more aesthetically pleasing to fans. Like any other sport, the title serves as recognition for being the best in the world, but in MMA, all of the best fighters don’t compete under one umbrella. They are scattered throughout the world in various organizations.
The majority of the top fighters compete in the UFC, and Diaz hasn’t faced the best in the 170-pound division.
Does any of this even matter?
The UFC has prided itself on delivering the fights fans want to see, and UFC President Dana White has done a tremendous job in putting this fight together.
The majority don’t care about Diaz’s past UFC tenure or his struggles with world class wrestlers.
They see a superstar brandishing a golden strap and 10 straight victories. People also see a fresh opponent for the French-Canadian.
Diaz has been seeking a superfight with St-Pierre for over a year now. This is the chance he’s been waiting for to finally prove that he is the best fighter in the world, but as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for.
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