While I’m very excited for St. Patty’s day this weekend, I’m equally excited for some top-quality Welterweight fights at UFC 158. The top Welterweights will be in Montreal this Saturday, March 16th — and there’s sure to be some great fights. Among them is the obvious headliner, in which Georges St-Pierre defends his UFC Welterweight Championship against Nick Diaz.
This grudge match goes way back, and GSP has made it no secret that he wants to teach Diaz a lesson. Diaz has already had a chance at the Champ’s belt, but was pulled because he wouldn’t show up for media conferences. Obviously, that was a hard hit for the UFC to pour in the money for promotion, but imagine what it meant for GSP. St-Pierre trained for Diaz. He’s a guy that invests so much in himself on an entirely different level than many other athletes. He trained his body and mind for the Diaz fight, only to watch his competitor skip media conferences- a huge disrespect for all parties that were involved.
Say what you want, but Diaz doesn’t deserve this fight at UFC 158, GSP does. He wants it– and I think in his mind, needs it. More than anything, I think GSP just wants to show Diaz how disrespected he was for getting himself yanked from their previous fight together. That’s just GSP. He’s not taking an easier fight; he’s not doing it all for the money– he’s passing a message along to Diaz and other fighters that if anyone wants to replace him as UFC Welterweight Champion, they’re going to have to perform on the same level as him, mentally and physically.
Does the UFC need and like bad boys? Of course. Diaz brings the attitude and has great talent. The point is, GSP brings classiness to the Welterweight title. Much like NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson, GSP keeps his cool, he is smart, he promotes his sport and he is incredibly loyal to his fans. Every UFC Champ right now obviously possesses the talent to be where they’re at, I’m not denying that. However, GSP just brings that “total package” that is rare among any type of a sport’s champion.
It will be interesting to see how each fighter approaches and conducts this fight. I have no doubt that GSP will control the tempo, as he always does. I also seen a much more aggressive St-Pierre during his fight with Carlos Condit, and it’s not going to surprise me to see him go for the finish on Diaz, especially if Diaz starts doing more mouthing and showboating rather than fighting.
All in all, I see GSP outclassing Diaz in every aspect, similar to the way he did Dan Hardy after Hardy spent so much time mouthing. Do you remember how that fight ended up? It ended with Hardy showing massive amounts of respect to GSP because he witnessed, first hand, how lethal GSP is because of not only his physical abilities, but his mental toughness.
A winner will win, a champion will endure.
GSP is the ultimate depiction of a champion- not only in the UFC, but sports-wide.
