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GSP pulling for Nick Diaz to beat Carlos Condit, Targets November 2012 Return

3K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  Hexabob69 
#1 ·

On Sat., Feb. 4, 2012, Stockton slugger Nick Diaz will take on Carlos Condit at UFC 143 in Las Vegas, Nevada, to determine who will hold the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim welterweight title belt. Whoever emerges victorious will not only own a new shiny accessory for their waist, but will also have a ticket to be the first to fight Georges St. Pierre when he returns from his ACL injury.

"GSP" is currently on the shelf for an indefinite amount of time because of surgery on his right knee, which will take significant time and grueling rehabilitation to fully recover.

Regardless of who wins the interim title bout at UFC 143, it makes for an interesting match up. St. Pierre was supposed to fight both men on separate occasions, all within the span of a few days. However, because of some missed press conferences by Diaz, and then an injury suffered by St. Pierre, neither fight ended up going down.

Tonight (Jan. 16, 2012), St. Pierre appeared on HDNet's "Inside MMA" to discuss his injury, as well as his feelings about "Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit." According to "Rush," he'd like to see Diaz come out on top:



"I do actually care. There are two guys that are fighting, Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit -- Carlos Condit is a very nice guy. I never trained with him but I have trained in Albuquerque along with some of his teammates, and he's a very nice guy. I like him a lot. But, the reason why I wish Nick Diaz to win this fight is that I want to fight Nick Diaz. I don't wanna fight Carlos Condit. I wanna fight Nick Diaz. But, in another way, I just hope the best man will win. But if the best man is Nick Diaz, I will appreciate it more, because it will be a better build up for a fight."
Regarding his injury, St. Pierre said that he feels like it was his own fault for possibly not listening to his body when he suffered a less painful injury to his left knee, sometime last year:

"One of the reasons why I got that injury is that I didn't do that (take enough time rehabbing). I didn't listen to myself. I had a first injury to my left knee. I tried to come back too fast and I was compensating with my other leg. That's how I hurt myself."
No champion wants to have his belt tossed around or his legacy tarnished by someone else walking around with the "interim" tag. For "GSP," the belt is irrelevant. It's just about winning the next fight:

"For me, I try to not think about the belt. When I'm going into a fight, when I fight the winner of that fight, I'm not thinking 'I'm the champion.' I'm thinking I'm gonna fight for the title. Because, if you lose, you're gonna lose the title, even if you had it before or not. That won't matter."
St. Pierre also spent a few minutes discussing some of the criticism he's taken during his career. Criticism that has gone so far as to label him as a "boring" or "safe" fighter. He acknowledges the naysayers and had a bit to say about what it's been like to be a champion under the magnifying glass:

"The thing is, when you defend the title and do it a few times, there is a routine that comes with it and people expect you to win. And they not only expect you to win, they expect you to do great. Sometimes, it can play on your mind. That's a little bit of what happened to me. I felt like I lost a little bit of motivation. That's the danger that can happen with champions sometimes."
At the end of the segment, St. Pierre reiterated just how much he is hoping for a Nick Diaz win at UFC 143. He likes Carlos Condit. He thinks he's a nice guy. But Diaz is, by far, the fight he desires:

"That's really the fight that I wanted to have and the fight was going to happen in the beginning. And it didn't happen, because he (Diaz) didn't show up for the promotion. Then after I got hurt and this whole thing happened and -- that's really the fight that I wanted to have happen. Even though I like Carlos Condit better as a person, I would rather fight Nick Diaz."
What do you think, Maniacs? Will "GSP" get his wish? Or will he find himself face-to-face with "The Natural Born Killer" next time he enters the Octagon?
Source

Really cool article with lots of good insights from GSP.
Also, in before someone says GSP is ducking Condit! :thumb02:
 
#2 ·
Georges St-Pierre Targets November 2012 Return


November seems so far away right now, but that’s when UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is targeting his return to action.

St-Pierre is currently sidelined after tearing his ACL in training and having surgery to repair the damage. The champion appeared on HDNet’s Inside MMA on Monday where he gave an update on his recovery and estimated time for a return to the Octagon.

“Hard training will be in July, and fighting again for the timing to get back I would say in November, I can come back in November,” St-Pierre stated.

St-Pierre is currently undergoing rehabilitation in Los Angeles, where he also had the surgery to repair the knee.

If November is the time for St-Pierre to return, it will have been approximately 18 months from the last time he stepped foot in the Octagon at UFC 129 where he defeated Jake Shields.

In the mean time, the UFC will crown an interim welterweight champion on Feb. 4 when former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz meets current top UFC contender Carlos Condit.

UFC president Dana White has already stated that it’s likely that the winner of that fight will defend the title at least once before St-Pierre is back healthy to unify the belts.

While it may be late into 2012 before the Canadian returns, GSP is more than hopeful to get at least one fight in this year.

“Oh yeah, of course, I hope so,” said St-Pierre. “Please give it to me.”

Check out the full video of Georges St-Pierre on Inside MMA:

Source

So, will the interim champ wait 9 months for GSP's return or will he take a fight between?

p.s. Put the two articles in the same thread since they are kind of related...
 
#4 ·
Flame Shield (on)

I think he did duck his next fight as he would have had to fight both Conduit than Diaz back to back. I think his management was smart and they were hoping Penn would knock Diaz down the pecking order and buy GSP more time. Bad luck for him that Diaz beat Penn so was back in the pecking order in regards to title contention.

Also don't let the whole interim title fool you as I believe they don't exist your either a champ or a challenger and the Diaz vs Conduit fight is just basically a match to find the number 1 contender. They say styles make fights in mms and I think its a clever move to avoid at least one of the stylistic problems of both Diaz and Conduit

Also another thing I think is a farce is the whole its your turn Diaz, oh wait I will fight Conduit now then oh wait I'll fight diaz again no one should have a title shot taken away from then especially when they have earned it. If conduit is booked in to fight then Diaz wins his fight conduit should not be stripped of his chance.
 
#5 ·
Yeah... the all situation was just a big mess, Condit was being thrown around like some kind of puppet. He almost got himself a TS tough...

But, i do credit interim titles.
They add "that special something" at the division, besides they credit whichever contender gets it, it's not fair that people can't fight for the title merely because of bad luck/injuries on someone else's part, so in a way, interim titles put a justice mark on that.
Besides, it's pretty cool to have champ vs champ battle once the real champ gets back in shape.
 
#9 ·
I'm really hoping Carlos is the champ at the end of this year. Not only is he a great fighter and a great guy, but to me he is the only one who has done %100 of what he was suppose to do.

Don't misunderstand me, I know getting injured isn't something GSP did on purpose, obviously! None the less, Condit deserves it in my opinion... Here's hoping he earns it!
 
#14 ·
I think GSP is a complete ***** and wants the easier fight by calling out Nick Diaz .. who has little no KO POWER .. and stylistically he is a very good match up for GSP .. Condit on the other hand most def has KO power and is very savy from his back and can get back up quickly or submit u and he has more arsenal in his striking .. using kicks , boxing very effectively .

this is why GSP wants Nick Diaz to win .. his afraid he`ll get KO`D by a guy with REAL KO power just like he got KO`D by a BJJ midget Matt serra who is not even known to have KO power lol
 
#15 ·
Is that the same Matt Serra that pissed blood after GSP beat the living shit out of him. I am so tired of people playing the "He's ducking" card every time a fighter gets injured. Especially when its a fighter they hate (GSP and Anderson Silva). GSP ducks no man.

As far a Nick Diaz being an easier fight...What the hell are you smoking? Nick Diaz is one of those fighters that is both dangerous on the feet as well as the ground and can take a load of punishment to boot. GSP is not getting an easy ride no matter which of the two he fights.
 
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