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Nick Diaz Challenges Georges St-Pierre at UFC 137 in October

After a month of speculation that started after UFC 129 in Toronto, it’s official: UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will defend his title against Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz.

UFC president Dana White made the news official …

UFC president Dana White made the news official on Wednesday afternoon through his Twitter account, saying, “U wanted it! U GOT IT!!!” White said the fight will take place on Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas for what will be UFC 137.

St-Pierre defended his title with a unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields at UFC 129 in Toronto at the end of April. After the post-fight press conference, White talked about potential interest in a GSP-Diaz bout with a small group of reporters. And fans and analysts have been calling for it ever since.

Through the last month, White has been insistent that there have been obstacles in the way of Diaz simply coming over to the UFC to fight St-Pierre. And one of those obstacles was Diaz saying he was interested in trying his hand at boxing – even hooking up with a promoter before pulling back and deciding to stick with MMA.

White met with the Strikeforce champion, who after a TKO win over Paul Daley in April seemed to have run out of challenges in the promotion, which is now owned by the UFC. White and the UFC needed to clear the hurdle of Diaz’s Strikeforce contract – and there have apparently been enough inroads made for White to make the fight announcement.

The initial announcement leaves several questions lingering, though. White was not immediately available for comment on what Diaz’s return to the UFC means for his Strikeforce welterweight belt and how the promotion will fill it, assuming he vacates the title.

But Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Wednesday that under Diaz’s new multi-year, multi-fight deal, Diaz will also be able to return to fight for Strikeforce – though Gracie said if that were the case, it would likely mean he would have lost to St-Pierre.

One of the initial barriers, White said, in Diaz coming to the UFC was Strikeforce’s deal with the Showtime premium cable channel, which broadcasts the promotion’s events. White said on Saturday after UFC 130 in Las Vegas that Diaz’s Strikeforce deal wasn’t a “Showtime contract,” per se. But he has indicated throughout the last month that the Strikeforce-Showtime deal did present a hurdle the UFC would have to cross to make the superfight with St-Pierre a reality.

St-Pierre (22-2, 16-2 UFC) had his streak of 30 straight winning rounds snapped by two of the judges in his win over Shields in Toronto. But he has remained the most dominant champion in the sport the last three years. Since winning the UFC 170-pound title back from Matt Serra at UFC 83, the Montreal native has defended it six straight times against Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy and Shields. After winning the belt the first time, against Matt Hughes at UFC 65, St-Pierre lost it to Serra in his first defense in what is regarded as arguably the biggest upset in the sport’s history. But since then, GSP has been unstoppable.

Diaz (25-7, 1 NC, 6-4 UFC) returns to the promotion for the first time since UFC 65 in November 2006. Since leaving, he has gone 11-1 with wins in the now-defunct EliteXC, Dream and Strikeforce. He took the promotion’s welterweight title from Marius Zaromskis in January 2010 and has defended it three times with wins over KJ Noons, Evangelista Santos and Daley.

Diaz joins his brother, Nate, in the UFC. Nate Diaz was the Season 5 lightweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Last year, Nate moved from lightweight to welterweight. He has lost two straight unanimous decisions, but prior to that slide he won six UFC post-fight bonus awards in eight fights. When he moved to welterweight, he indicated he would like to fight in both weight classes. His brother’s return to the UFC might force him back to lightweight.

St-Pierre is currently regarded as one of the top two pound-for-pound fighters in MMA, most often flip-flopping the No. 1 or No. 2 spot with UFC middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva. In MMA Fighting’s most recent welterweight rankings, St-Pierre is No. 1 at 170 pounds; Diaz is No. 4 on the list.

Diaz becomes the second high-profile Strikeforce fighter to migrate over to the UFC following Zuffa’s purchase of its rival promotion in March. Jason “Mayhem” Miller signed with the UFC not long after, booking a fight against Aaron Simpson for UFC 132 in July. But White last week announced that Miller will coach against Michael Bisping on Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” then face him on the TUF 14 live finale.

But while Miller’s new deal appears to be UFC exclusive, Diaz’s contract could open the door for other fighters to sign new Zuffa deals that would allow them to fight under both banners.

White’s announcement of the Oct. 29, event, a certain pay-per-view, as UFC 137 sets up a busy stretch for the promotion, which has already announced a UFC Fan Expo and event in Houston on Oct. 8. And in April, MMA Fighting was first to report that the UFC was set to return to England for an Oct. 15 event. There are also plans in place for an event in Denver on Sept. 24, plus a return to New Orleans for a Spike special show on Sept. 17.

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Finally Official, Georges St-Pierre’s Rounds Won Streak Ends at 33

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsAfter UFC 129, we knew Georges St-Pierre’s record streak of winning consecutive rounds was over, but we didn’t know exactly when it was over. That was due to a quirk in Ontario politics, which required permissi…

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, News

After UFC 129, we knew Georges St-Pierre‘s record streak of winning consecutive rounds was over, but we didn’t know exactly when it was over. That was due to a quirk in Ontario politics, which required permission from the government agency that oversees the province’s athletics commission before releasing the official judges’ scorecards.

Nearly four weeks after the fight’s final horn blew, Richard Hustwick, senior advisor, media and stakeholder liasion at the Office of the Athletics Commissioner, finally received that permission and released the detailed scorecard to MMA Fighting, showing that challenger Jake Shields won the fourth and fifth rounds on two judges’ scorecards.

So finally, officially, we can report that St-Pierre’s record streak of consecutive rounds won is over at 33.

St-Pierre’s streak began on August 25, 2007 at UFC 74. In that match, his first since losing the championship to Matt Serra in a historic upset four months prior, St-Pierre lost the first round, according to two of the three cageside judges. But he won the second and third rounds to capture the fight by decision, and never looked back.

The streak took him through nine fights, only one of which did not have a title or interim title at stake. During that time, three of his opponents — Serra, BJ Penn and Matt Hughes — were former UFC champions, while Shields was the only former Strikeforce champ in the field.

St-Pierre finished three opponents and went to a decision six times, improving to 22-2 in the process.

At UFC 129, St-Pierre seemingly cruised through the first three rounds, taking all of them on all three judges’ scorecards before a hyphema in his left eye compromised his vision, leaving him open to Shields’ right hand.

Judges Nelson Hamilton and Richard Bertrand scored the final two rounds for Shields, snapping his streak, while Douglas Crosby marked both of them for St-Pierre.

Though one run ended, St-Pierre now has the second-longest streak of title defenses after dispatching his sixth straight No. 1 contender. The only UFC champ to have a longer run is middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva, who has an active stretch of eight straight, which he’ll hope to add to when he faces Yushin Okami at UFC 134 in August.

Over time, it will be interesting to see if St-Pierre’s number gets surpassed or even threatened, or if perhaps it becomes a number of lore in MMA, much the same way Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hit streak in baseball is revered now, 70 years after it happened.

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UFC News: Jose Aldo Out of Title Bout with Chad Mendes; Eyes September Return

According to Jose Aldo’s manager, Ed Soares, the UFC featherweight champion is not injured but it isn’t likely he’ll be prepared in time to fight Chad Mendes at UFC 133.The news became apparent after Soares revealed to MMAJunkie.com about Aldo’s absenc…

According to Jose Aldo‘s manager, Ed Soares, the UFC featherweight champion is not injured but it isn’t likely he’ll be prepared in time to fight Chad Mendes at UFC 133.

The news became apparent after Soares revealed to MMAJunkie.com about Aldo’s absence.

“Jose is just resting right now and rehabbing a few small lingering injuries,” Soares told MMAJunkie.com

Soares said Aldo is still under medical suspension until next week and cannot resume training until then. for now, Aldo is focusing on his health and intends to be 100 percent healthy once his suspension is lifted.

Following his title bout against Mark Hominick at UFC 129, rumours were swirling as to who Aldo’s next challenger would be, and all signs pointed to a bout with Chad Mendes at UFC 133 in August. However, Soares said that the featherweight champion would hope for some additional time off to rest and recuperate, citing the date as too soon, which would only allow Aldo to train 10 weeks instead of 12.

“Whether it’s Chad Mendes or any other top contender, Jose is competing against the very best opponents in the world, and he wants ample time to prepare,” Soares said.

“When you’re the champion, everyone is gunning for you, and it’s important to be 100 percent.”

Soares said he clarified that Aldo did not turn down the bout, but he rather prefer to fight Mendes later this year. He expects to return in September to defend his featherweight crown.

As for his opponent, Mendes, he does not intend to wait for Aldo to heal.

Mendes’ manger, Mike Roberts, said he expects Mendes to still compete on the main card at UFC 133, whether it is against Aldo or not.

“We’re not going to wait for Jose Aldo. Chad wants to fight. If Aldo can’t fight, Chad will move on and fight somebody else,” Roberts said to MMAJunkie.com.

And if isn’t against Aldo, Roberts said he hopes it is still a competitive opponent for his client and a tough competitor in the UFC featherweight division.

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UFC News: UFC 129 Fails to Reach 1 Million Pay Per View Buys

UFC 129 was the biggest UFC event in history in terms of attendance, live gate ticket sales and marketing. The fight card featured welterweight champion and MMA superstar Georges St-Pierre, Jake Shields, Randy Couture, Lyoto Machida and Jose Aldo. It w…

It was a truly epic event that should have done huge numbers in the pay per view ratings as well. The strange thing is that it did not meet the expectations that were placed on it by the projections.

Dave Meltzer reported that the event was estimated to have done around 800-900,000 buys, which is short of the one million buy goal.

The numbers will likely have been skewed due to the fact the UFC now starts its pay per views at 9pm Eastern time as opposed to 10pm in the past.

The time change certainly had an effect on the number of people who bought the event. After a few months, the numbers will be more clearly defined, but until casual fans get used to the time change, the numbers will most likely stay a bit lower.

Even with the numbers being below expectations, UFC 129 did a great job of bringing the sport of MMA into the mainstream. The event used so many different media outlets that had not been previously utilized and it helped the sport crawl forward to dominance.

The link to the source article is below.

http://mmapayout.com/2011/05/ufc-129-payout-perspective-part-2/

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UFC 130: Is Not Making Use of UFC 129’s Momentum Actually a Good Thing?

It was only nearly one month ago that the UFC held the largest event in the company’s history: UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre in Canada where over 55,000 fans were in attendance.Off of the back of such a stellar performance, one would suspect that the UF…

It was only nearly one month ago that the UFC held the largest event in the company’s history: UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre in Canada where over 55,000 fans were in attendance.

Off of the back of such a stellar performance, one would suspect that the UFC would be attempting to strike while the iron is hot and somehow make use the brand’s ever-growing popularity.

However, when one browses over the UFC 130 fight card—and specifically the main event—it can be seen that this is not the case. But, to be fair to the UFC, they did have a lightweight title fight between champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard booked for the event, but it was canceled due to injuries on both sides.

Instead of seeking a better main event, the co-main event of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt “The Hammer” Hamill was simply bumped up the card and everything else was left as is, making the event lackluster overall.

What else could the UFC have done? In truth, with the way events are planned, it can be very difficult to replace a main event of that caliber on such short notice. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that UFC 130 is a step down from UFC 129.

But is this a bad thing?

The answer may well be a surprising “No.”

First, to the casual fan, Rampage Jackson is still a large draw due to his legendary highlight reels on YouTube. The 130 fight card is thus worth it to them because it is a name that they recognize.

Second, following UFC 129 with a sub-par event gives Zuffa—the company that owns the UFC—a chance to gauge the strength of the brand. The 130 card is indisputably average; thus if it achieves an above-average buy rate the brand is stronger than any of the fights on the card.

It is for these reasons—the support of the casual fan, as well as the litmus test of the brand’s strength—that UFC 130 will be marked a success in history books, the canceled main event notwithstanding.

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Retired but Busier Than Ever, Randy Couture at Peace with New Chapter of Life

Filed under: UFC, NewsIt had only been a few days since Randy Couture retired from mixed martial arts competition after his UFC 129 fight with Lyoto Machida when he returned home to Las Vegas, and one of his first stops was one of his most familiar o…

Filed under: UFC, News

It had only been a few days since Randy Couture retired from mixed martial arts competition after his UFC 129 fight with Lyoto Machida when he returned home to Las Vegas, and one of his first stops was one of his most familiar ones: the cage. Couture walked into his Xtreme Couture gym, changed into his workout clothes and commenced training with a group of pro fighters.

Comeback, anyone?

“Everyone was scratching their heads looking at me going, ‘You know, this is how rumors get started,'” Couture says with a laugh.

Just three weeks into his post-fight life, things don’t feel much different for the five-time, two-division UFC champion. He still works out, he still takes an active role in working with the fighters in his gym, and he remains a student of mixed martial arts. But, he insists, he is in fact retired for good. Professionally, he’s already deep into other pursuits. He’s getting ready to film a movie role, and reading scripts for other potential projects. He has a minority stake in a combat sports channel, Fight Now TV, that is preparing to launch later this month. He’s got his gyms, clothing line and supplement line. Yes, in retirement, Couture is busier than most people are during their careers.

“I don’t know what a ‘retired fighter’ feels like,” he said. “I feel great. I’m happy where I’m at in life. I think it was the right time to stop competing. I think I’ll always train and I’ll always be working with the guys and working in the sport in some capacity, but it was the right time for me to bow out of the octagon. I know there will be some bridges to cross. I think they will try to tempt me to come back in, but I’m comfortable with my decision. It’s the right time for me.”

If Couture’s final fight didn’t end the way he and the majority of fans wanted — he was knocked out in the second round by Machida — at least the setting and reception were grand. Nearly 56,000 people crammed into Toronto’s Rogers Centre, welcoming him for the last time with a roar, and sending him out with a standing ovation. It was the biggest Bon Voyage party MMA had ever thrown, and the mood was only barely dampened by the ending.

Couture, considered a master strategist, tipped his cap to Machida, who used a rarely seen crane kick to end things 1:05 into the second.

“I’m pretty rational, and it’s not like I’ve never lost before,” Couture said. “That’s the fight game. I got caught with a good one. He set it up nice. It’s not one we had seen him do in any of his other fights. He caught me by surprise. He’s a great athlete and a great fighter.”

While his match was not the main event of the show, the legend’s final fight will probably be the takeaway memory for most who were there live or watching on TV. Even as it occurred, there was a tangible appreciation of the moment and its historical implications past the sheer size and scope of what was happening. Before his match, Couture himself snuck out and walked halfway to the cage, just wanting to take in the crowd.

But when it came to the fight, walking down the aisle for the last time was no different than the 29 times that came before it.

“It was different because it was a huge venue and crowd, but it didn’t feel any different,” he said. “It felt like another fight. I was excited to be there and be part of it for all the right reasons, for the history of it. But the rest of it, it didn’t feel different. There was no nostalgia or any of that going on for me. I’m sure that will come at some point down the road.”

Perhaps partly because of his unyielding schedule and partly because of the freshness of the situation, that wistfulness has yet to kick in. But Couture, who briefly retired in 2006 before coming back the next year, knows that will come. He’s experienced the conflicting emotions that boil within and expects the first hurdle will come when he attends his next event. That will probably come later this month, as he expects to be at UFC 130 on May 28.

“It’s always hard when you go to shows and you’re around fights and fighters to not get antsy, to not feel like you want to train,” he said. “Those are the real tests and challenges.”

He’s got enough now that he doesn’t think there is any chance he’ll be drawn back in. He’s got plenty of business activities that keep him busy, and he and the UFC are still figuring out his future role in the organization. In his down time, whenever that is, he’s looking forward to the opportunity to hunt and fish, two things he’s done since he was a kid but has had little time for lately. But when it comes to athletics, there is, he says, “nothing I feel I need to chase.” He accomplished nearly everything he ever set out to do. He helped build a sport. It’s why looking back, Couture says he’s not especially proud of any one moment or achievement. There were plenty of highlights along the way, but it was simply a career well conducted. There were other fighters, but he was in some ways MMA’s first true professional.

“I’ve just had an amazing run for 14 years,” he said. “It’s been a blast. I’m excited to have been part of all of it. I fought a bunch of tough guys. In some ways I’m excited and relieved that chapter’s closed, and this new one is opening.”

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