Tag: Georges St. Pierre (Page 5 of 11)

Diaz opting out of boxing match, is match with GSP set to happen?

May 23, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Nick Diaz made it pretty clear that he wants to get paid.

To get paid, the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion was set to enter the boxing ring or accept a champion vs. champion match against UFC welterweight kingpin, Georges St. Pierre.

On Monday, Diaz’ boxing manager, Don Chargin, said in a press release that Diaz will stick with MMA and not enter the boxing ring.

Diaz’ manager, Cesar Gracie, told MMAFighting.com’s Ray Hui that an opportunity has come along that Diaz couldn’t pass up.

“[Boxing] wasn’t just out of nowhere but at this point in time, there’s a certain chance that comes along once in a very long while and it only makes sense to stick to MMA as of right now,” Gracie said. “Nick’s been working really hard to get to this point in his MMA career and it wouldn’t make sense for us to make that transition into boxing right now. If this were a couple months ago or if certain fights had played out differently, we’d definitely be ready to go into boxing, but that’s not how it played out. Don Chargin is a great boxing promoter and he understood our dilemma completely and I thank him for that.”

After meeting with Dana White recently, it seems pretty obvious that Diaz may be getting a bout with St. Pierre in the future. That, or White offered Diaz a big pay increase. My guess is a little bit of both.

Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

Cesar Gracie Georges St. Pierre Nick Diaz Strikeforce UFC

UFC eying returns to Montreal, Abu Dhabi in 2011

May 20, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The UFC is quickly filling out its dance card for the rest of 2011 and it appears that there will be two stops coming outside the U.S. to end the year.

Mike Chiappetta of MMAFighting.com is reporting that the UFC is looking into possible events in Montreal and Abu Dhabi for December of this year.

Sources with knowledge of the situation said there is “a good chance” the company returns to the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, likely in December, but that nothing is confirmed.
The promotion had been expected to host a show there in March before venue issues nixed the idea. Because there are no indoor arenas and the region has a hot climate, the timing of athletic events requires extra consideration. December through February is historically the coolest month in Abu Dhabi, with daytime high temperatures averaging around 80 degrees.
A December return engagement would bookend a rapidly filling 2011 calendar, as events have already been scheduled late into the year. On Thursday, UFC director of Canadian operations Tom Wright told Montreal radio station The Team 990 that the company could return to the city’s Bell Centre in December.

Rumors are swirling that Georges St. Pierre could face Nick Diaz at the event in Montreal, which would make three-straight events that the welterweight champion would be fighting in Canada.

As far as Abu Dhabi goes, the last time the UFC appeared there was UFC 112 where Anderson Silva had his embarrassing showing against Demian Maia and Frankie Edgar upset B.J. Penn for the first time to win the lightweight championship.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Anderson Silva B.J. Penn Demian Maia Frankie Edgar Georges St. Pierre Nick Diaz UFC

Leave it to Sonnen: Chael doesn’t like GSP’s fighting

May 10, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Chael Sonnen is not known for biting his tongue.

I don’t know if he was provoked or not (probably not) but Sonnen decided to throw out his opinion of Georges St. Pierre on his twitter account recently

I watch hockey and rugby. Anything that has a remote chance of breaking out into a fight. Which is exactly why I stopped watching George.

I get it. It is kind of humorous, but Sonnen is quickly becoming more known for his one-liners than his fighting.

A couple of things stand out to me about this.

1. Sonnen criticizing anyone’s inability to finish fights is laughable given the fact that 15 of his 25 wins have gone to a decision. In fact every win he has in the UFC or WEC came by decision.

2. St. Pierre is a champion that actually won the title when he got the opportunity, something Sonnen managed to let slip away.

3. Maybe if Sonnen worried more about his legal issues and steroid usage, he wouldn’t have to throw out punch lines to stay relevant in the eyes of MMA fans.

I respect what Sonnen can do in the octagon, but he is far from the most exciting fighter in MMA and he has yet to hold a championship. His act is starting to grow tiresome and is starting to cause me to laugh at him rather than with him.

Fighters, News, UFC

Chael Sonnen Georges St. Pierre UFC

Diaz lined up for boxing match unless offered GSP

May 7, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Nick Diaz seems adamant about one thing. He wants to get paid.

The Strikeforce Welterweight Champion is seeking either a high-paying super fight with UFC champion, Georges St. Pierre, or he is going to enter the boxing ring in hopes of earning a big payday.

The good folks at MMAJunkie.com put together a story featuring boxing promoter, Don Chagrin, who has a deal in place to have Diaz face IBF super-middleweight champion, Jeff Lacy in the boxing ring.

Today’s announcement that Diaz and Lacy will box this fall was met by a caveat from Diaz manager Cesar Gracie, who said the fight could be shelved if the UFC offered the Strikeforce welterweight champ a fight with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
“I don’t want to get into a thing,” Chagrin today told MMAjunkie.com “I’ve got a contract. If the UFC fight comes up, then we can talk.
“But they were the ones that wanted me to go ahead, and I’ve gone and acted in good faith. I’m thinking that they will.”
Gracie said today that he’s waiting to hear from the UFC on the potential Diaz vs. St-Pierre superfight. UFC president Dana White said this past week that he would meet with the Strikeforce champion in his hometown of Stockton, Calif., to discuss the fighter’s future.
“Barring something like (UFC president) Dana White telling us, ‘Hey, we really need you to fight GSP at such-and-such a date and it conflicts with [boxing] – barring that, we’re going to fight Lacy,” said Gracie.

This boxing match would be very risky for Diaz as a loss could not only hurt his future there, but it would certainly hurt his chances to fight St. Pierre.

The choice isn’t to the same extreme as James Toney stepping into the octagon, but Diaz is entering another world. His ability to strike with MMA opponents won’t be the same as fighting a man with the boxing skills that Lacy has.

Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

boxing Dana White Georges St. Pierre Jeff Lacy Nick Diaz Strikeforce UFC

St. Pierre’s camp likes GSP at the size he is

May 5, 2011 / Drew Ellis

It looks as if Georges St. Pierre may not be moving up to middleweight after all.

In an interview with ESPN.com, GSP’s trainer, Firas Zahabi, had this to say about St. Pierre putting on more weight for a move to 185 pounds.

“He’ll be very small for a middleweight,” Zahabi told ESPN. “If I balloon him up to over 200lbs, it won’t do any good. There’s a point where you can have too much muscle, and it’s not a good thing.
“I think he’s got the maximum amount you can put on his body without it starting to be detrimental.
“I’d probably push him up to 200lbs for that fight [with Silva],” said Zahabi, who saw GSP enter the Shields fight at around 193lbs. “He still wouldn’t be as big as Anderson and it wouldn’t be natural, but it would be better. If you do get on Anderson Silva, having any extra pounds on you is good.”
“If he goes up, I would recommend he stay the same size. You don’t want Georges to go in there bulked up and unable to perform in the mechanical way that he does.”

What Zahabi says makes sense. But if St. Pierre wants to be remembered as the best ever in MMA, he is going to have to take some chances in terms of fighting in other weight classes.

The only reasonable fight left for GSP in the welterweight division is Nick Diaz. But, after that, it wouldn’t help his legacy to fight the same guys over and over again.

Hopefully St. Pierre is not shying away from a super fight with Silva, as it could be the biggest fight in UFC history.