A highly anticipated welterweight collision pitting Nick Diaz against Georges St-Pierre has now become official.
The two were originally set for an October tussle, however after the Stockton native no-showed several pre-fight press junkets, St-Pierre was then slated to face Carlos Condit. However, after a subsequent shuffle which saw the Canadian left sidelined due to injury,
Diaz was then pitted against former two-time world champion BJ Penn in the main event of UFC 137. There, Diaz dominated the Hawaiian in a “Fight of the Night” performance which re-established himself as the No. 1 contender to the 170-pound title, leap frogging Condit in the process.
Now, according to MMAJunkie.com, both Diaz and St-Pierre will finally meet come this February for UFC 143, which takes place Super Bowl weekend at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
The Cesar Gracie product has become one of the most polarizing figures in the sport as of late, courtesy of his brash attitude and penchant for exciting fights.
Previously presiding in the Strikeforce promotion, Diaz earned the welterweight title with a stunning first round knockout over Dream champion Marius Zaromskis in January of last year.
Afterwards, Diaz would go on to defend his title on three occasions in impressive victories over rival KJ Noons, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos and Paul Daley—finishing the knockout artist on strikes in the first stanza.
Riding on an incredible 11 fight win streak, Diaz is now the rightful man to challenge “Rush”, whom has laid waste to nearly all notable opposition in his path. The pound-for-pound great is riding a nine fight win streak inside the Octagon—the second best run in the organization’s history, behind middleweight great Anderson Silva.
In his last six title defenses, St-Pierre has dominated the likes of Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck and Jake Shields, respectively.
Both Diaz and St-Pierre have traded barbs back and forth in the media, which will result in a blockbuster battle which is just a few months away.
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