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Hendricks on Ellenberger Fight: ‘I Just Have to Win and GSP Has Nowhere to Hide’

UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks isn’t happy that Nick Diaz will be fighting divisional champion Georges St-Pierre for the belt at UFC 158, but that didn’t stop him from taking a high-profile bout on the same card. Although he could’ve s…

Although he could’ve sat on the sidelines until the middle of next year and waited for a title, “Big Rigg” told MMA Fighting why he decided to stay active and fight Jake Ellenberger instead:

“(I) just have to win and GSP has nowhere to hide from me,” he said via text message. “Man, he’s scared. That’s why he wants me to keep fighting because maybe I’ll lose and then he won’t have to retire (before fighting me).”

Hendricks indicated that he can force GSP into an early retirement after their fight or perhaps that “Rush” may even retire before having to fight him.

The heavy handed wrestler enters the critical March contest on a five fight win streak, including knockout victories over perennial contenders Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann.

St-Pierre explained his stance on the matter in an interview with MMA Junkie, arguing that Diaz is the opponent fans want to see him fight and even stating that the Stockton, California native is the true number one contender:

“This fight has been waiting to happen for a long time,” St-Pierre said. “It’s the big fight. That’s what people want to see…”I believe Diaz is No. 1 ranked. The guy has been there for a long time. He took out a great name (in B.J. Penn). His fight with Condit is very controversial. For some people, he won the fight. For some people, he lost. Hendricks, when he fought Koscheck, personally I would have given the fight to Koscheck…I speak with my heart, and that’s what I believe. I would have given Koscheck that fight, even though I don’t like Koscheck.”

Diaz is serving a Nevada State Athletic Commission issued suspension for testing positive for marijuana metabolites after UFC 143, where he lost a controversial decision to Carlos Condit.

Meanwhile, Hendricks defeated Josh Koscheck at UFC on FOX 3 in May in another hotly contested decision.

St-Pierre head coached opposite Koscheck on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter and has defeated him twice by decision in his career.

Both GSP vs. Diaz and Hendricks vs. Ellenberger were announced for UFC 158 at The Ultimate Fighter Season 16 Finale Saturday night, which features a third pivotal match up at 170-pounds in Rory MacDonald vs. Carlos Condit.

Did Hendricks make the right call in accepting a difficult fight to prepare himself for showdown for St-Pierre or was he better off waiting on the sidelines until the UFC called his number?

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UFC 158: Rory MacDonald vs. Carlos Condit, Hendricks vs. Ellenburger Announced

We’ve got a welterweight triple-header for the UFC’s return to Canada’s Bell Centre.Along with the main event of Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz for the 170-pound title, UFC 158 will also feature two more main card fights with four top contenders in th…

We’ve got a welterweight triple-header for the UFC’s return to Canada’s Bell Centre.

Along with the main event of Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz for the 170-pound title, UFC 158 will also feature two more main card fights with four top contenders in the division.

As announced by the promotion on Saturday, Rory MacDonald will challenge former interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit in a rematch of their UFC 115 bout.

When the two previously met, Condit got the best of MacDonald with a TKO finish, making a comeback after nearly losing the fight with three seconds left on the clock.

Further filling out the main card, Johny Hendricks will put his No. 1 contender’s spot at risk in a matchup against Jake Ellenberger.

Hendricks comes into the fight fresh off a KO victory over Martin Kampmann in a bout that was said to determine the next challenger for St-Pierre’s title.

Unfortunately for Hendricks, GSP specifically requested a grudge match with Diaz, forcing Hendricks to take another fight in-waiting.

Ellenberger is in the middle of rebuilding his own title run, with losses to Kampmann and Condit as the only blemishes on his 7-2 UFC career.

Additionally, Alessio Sakara will rematch Canadian favorite Patrick Cote in order to make up for an odd situation that ended their last fight at UFC 154. Sakara earned himself a disqualification loss after landing several hammerfists to the back of Cote’s head, prematurely ending the bout on illegal shots.

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UFC 158: GSP vs. Nick Diaz Officially Confirmed for March 16 in Montreal

Georges St-Pierre asked for the fight, and Nick Diaz agreed to the match. Now, it’s finally happening.On the heels of Saturday’s The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale, the UFC has officially announced, via its website, that the main event for UFC 158 is …

Georges St-Pierre asked for the fight, and Nick Diaz agreed to the match. Now, it’s finally happening.

On the heels of Saturday’s The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale, the UFC has officially announced, via its website, that the main event for UFC 158 is now set in stone.

GSP will headline the card with his 10th consecutive welterweight title match, this time against against top contender Diaz at UFC 158 in Montreal, giving the champion the home-country advantage.

“Georges St-Pierre asked to fight Nick Diaz because he knows they have unfinished business, and Nick Diaz agrees,” UFC president Dana White said, according to the UFC’s news release.

Diaz’s title shot comes with no small amount of controversy, as the former Strikeforce welterweight champion is coming off his first loss after an 11-fight, three-year winning streak. Former interim UFC champion Carlos Condit handed Diaz the loss via decision but was later defeated by St-Pierre after a bloody five-round brawl at UFC 154 last November.

Diaz is also expected to obtain his fighter’s license before competing in Canada, as he’s currently serving a suspension on a positive drug test for marijuana metabolites following his UFC 143 fight with Condit.

Tickets for the event, held at Montreal’s Bell Centre, will be for sale online starting on Jan. 19.

UFC 158 is expected to be the promotion’s first event in Canada and fourth international card for 2013, while also being its third pay-per-view event of the year behind UFC 156 (Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar) and UFC 157 (Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche).

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Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz Agreed Upon for UFC 158 in Montreal

Well, that didn’t take very long.Just a matter of weeks after UFC president Dana White claimed that welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre requested a fight with Nick Diaz, it appears that the match has been made.Diaz’s head trainer, Cesar Gracie, bro…

Well, that didn’t take very long.

Just a matter of weeks after UFC president Dana White claimed that welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre requested a fight with Nick Diaz, it appears that the match has been made.

Diaz’s head trainer, Cesar Gracie, broke the news to French-Canadian publication La Presse earlier today, announcing that Diaz had just signed the contact (via MMA Weekly).

According to the report, GSP vs. Nick Diaz are expected to be the main event for UFC 158 on March 16th in Montreal, Canada.

GSP and Diaz were originally slated for a “champion vs. champion” superfight at UFC 137 in Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Event Center over a year ago. However, Diaz was pulled from the fight after failing to arrive for press appearances.

After St-Pierre eventually dropped from the main event due to knee injury (followed by a severe ACL tear), Diaz defeated BJ Penn at UFC 137 as the replacement headliner.

Diaz went on to lose a controversial decision to Carlos Condit for the UFC interim welterweight title at UFC 143, snapping his 11-fight, three-year winning streak. Diaz was later handed a one-year suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for marijuana metabolites.

Meanwhile, St-Pierre successfully returned from a lengthy rehab period, defeating Condit in a title unification match at UFC 154, which also took place in Montreal.

Although it was assumed that No.1 contender Johny Hendricks would get the next title shot after his first-round knockout of Martin Kampmann, it’s apparent that the grudge match between GSP and Diaz will put Hendricks on hold for a while.

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Ask and Ye Shall Receive: MacDonald vs. Condit II Set for UFC 158, GSP vs. Diaz on the Horizon

(“Perfect, Rory, now we can finally finish our conversation about Huey Lewis and the News that you are always going on about.”)

Rory MacDonald has the kind of lifeless, black eyes that would make Dr. Sam Loomis shiver at night. For an example of this, see his post-fight call-out of Carlos Condit at UFC on FOX 5, in which he delivered a speech so precise and monotone that it begged audiences to ask whether or not he had practiced it over and over and over again on the collection of flesh-covered marionettes he keeps locked in that one room in his house with a deadbolt on the door.

Obviously shaken up by MacDonald’s speech was that of Dana White, who, fearing he would end up as a bald cap on one of those marionettes, caved into Rory’s demands faster than the French in insert war of your choice here. So just five days out from his dominant win over B.J. Penn, MacDonald has already been booked to rematch the ironically-nicknamed “Natural Born Killer” in Condit at UFC 158 in Montreal. The man responsible for both MacDonald’s only professional loss and the shrine of hair and blood samples that looms over the Canadian’s fireplace, Condit is fresh off a title-losing bid to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 154. Condit and MacDonald first met at UFC 115, where despite stealing the first two rounds, “Ares” found himself eating elbow sammiches for the majority of the third until referee Kevin Dornan called a stop to the bout with just seven seconds remaining. It is no coincidence that Kevin Dornan has been missing ever since.

And speaking of people getting exactly what they wanted, it looks like GSP will likely be defending his title against rival Nick Diaz at the same event, although according to Dana White, the “deal isn’t done yet.” Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, confirmed that the former Strikeforce welterweight champion has been offered the bout, but if you ask us, we’d recommend that you save your excitement for the moment these two are actually staring at each other from across the cage. Celebrating before that is simply setting yourself up for disappointment.

In other fight booking news…

(“Perfect, Rory, now we can finally finish our conversation about Huey Lewis and the News that you are always going on about.”)

In other fight booking news…

Also fresh off a dominant victory at UFC on FOX 5, it appears that Russian-German kickboxing badass Dennis Siver has been booked in the co-main event of UFC on FUEL 7 against fellow surging featherweight Cub Swanson. Since making the drop from lightweight, Siver has put on a pair of brilliant performances against Diego Nunes and Nam Phan, whereas Swanson has scored three straight (T)KO victories in his past three contests. A credit is due to the UFC’s matchmaking department for this one; Siver and Swanson are two of the division’s more consistently entertaining fighters and a win for either man would launch them into the upper-echelon of the division. Expect at least one end of the night bonus to go to either one of these gentlemen, if not both.

And because I’m a huge Siver fan, I’ve added a video of one of my favorite Siver performances that didn’t end with a spinning back kick to the liver below. The fight took place at UFC 122 and saw Siver take on TUF 9′s Andre Winner in a lightweight fight that was moved to co-main event status on short notice. An indication of what we’re in store for at UFC on FUEL 7? Let’s hope so.

UFC on FUEL 7 goes down from the Wembley Arena in London, England on February 17th.

–J. Jones

Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz: UFC Offers March Date in Montreal

If it’s not a done deal yet, it’s pretty darn close.The UFC has approached welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and rival Nick Diaz about a fight date in March, when the UFC will return to Montreal. According to a report from MMAFighting’s Arie…

If it’s not a done deal yet, it’s pretty darn close.

The UFC has approached welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and rival Nick Diaz about a fight date in March, when the UFC will return to Montreal.

According to a report from MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani, UFC President Dana White said he proposed the date to both camps, adding that Diaz has yet to sign the contract, though he is expecting that will happen soon.

Following his win over Carlos Condit at UFC 154, St-Pierre asked to fight Diaz. The news came as a surprise to many fans and pundits, who expected Johny Hendricks to receive the next title shot.

White previously told Helwani:

Georges St-Pierre has been a phenomenal champion, just a great guy to deal with for us,” White said previously. He doesn’t ask for things. So if he wants to fight Nick Diaz, and Nick Diaz wants to fight him, then that’s probably the fight we’ll make. Georges has been off for a year. [Silva is] a tough fight for him to come back to. He asked personally for the [Diaz] fight.

There has been bad blood between St-Pierre (23-2) and Diaz (26-8-1) for some time. After defeating B.J. Penn at UFC 137, in his post-fight interview, Diaz challenged St-Pierre, who was sitting in the stands.

However, shortly thereafter, St-Pierre would miss extended time after tearing his ACL. Meanwhile, Diaz tested positive for marijuana metabolites following his loss to Condit at UFC 143. He is serving a one-year suspension and is set to become eligible to fight again in Febuary.

In short, though the rivalry was and is real, no one was able to do much about it until now.

On paper, St-Pierre will have a strength and wrestling advantage in the matchup. Diaz, however, is a consummate scrapper with an intimidating, stalk-you-down boxing style backed by excellent jiu-jitsu. His trash talk before and during fights often rattles opponents.

The March event in Montreal is expected to be UFC 158.

Earlier today, the UFC also announced a rematch between Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit for the same card.

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