As we head towards UFC 158, the hype machine has began for the card’s main event which will pit dominating welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre against the miserable, and he wants us to know it, Nick Diaz.
In a strange and comical twist, for this fight, they are actually trying to get us to believe that GSP has a dark side, and we better watch out for it! Of course, few of us are buying it, least of all his opponent Nick Diaz. In a conference call for the event, Diaz commented on the new Georges St. Pierre.
I don’t know why he’s acting up. I don’t know, I think he should just be himself and do his thing, you know? He wants to come all from the dark side on this one. I don’t understand it, I really don’t. I don’t care. I’m not told about how they are going to portray me or him. They don’t give me any like ideas or plans of how they are going to do some sort of a build up or a ‘Primetime’ or if they’re going to do it or not. I’m not sitting around planning how I am going to act or come off like, ‘oh, I better say something intimidating,‘ or, ‘I better talk this shit or that shit.’ I just gotta do what I gotta do. So, I don’t know what he’s going through with the whole dark side or where he comes from or whatever.
I know where the fuck I come from. I don’t have to dredge up some bullshit to get everybody excited, but whatever; you gotta do what you gotta do. I mean, they want to tell you you’re exciting or you’re not exciting. You’re important or not important. You wonder too, if you’re not in the media circle, you wonder what the fuck is going on. I’m sure you worry about it. I mean you have to wonder how you are coming off if you’re not paying what the fuck is on the Internet. Now your over here doing a ‘I’m from the dark side mode?’ I don’t know, I’m ready to do my job. I got a fight. I’ll keep it real.
Georges St. Pierre is one of the most talented, dominating champions in the history of the UFC. Few people would deny that. But even less people would say that he has a “dark side.” Especially since he was knocked out by Matt Serra almost six years ago. Since then, GSP shows almost nothing. No emotion. His last five fights have all been claimed by decision in what most would consider less than thrilling fashion.
Instead, he finds an opponents weakness and exploits it. Rarely, if ever does he break from his game plan. The result has been clear cut, decisive victories that are often less than aesthetically pleasing. No such traces of a supposed dark side can be seen. Instead of going in for the kill, he sticks to the plan, no matter how damaged an opponent may be, allowing him to go for the finish.
Of course there is always the chance that Georges St. Pierre’s grasp of the language failed him here, making him unaware of his words’ true meaning. As one of the more clean cut, polished guys you will see fighting, or anywhere for that matter, maybe to him that means in preparation for this fight he will not sit down when he pees. Perhaps he doesn’t intend to wash his hands on the way out of the restroom, and then shaking a friend’s hand afterwards. There is a possibility that he may have even stopped saying excuse me after he burps as part of his training.
Whatever it may be, this has to go down as one of the most humorous build ups to a fight in recent memory. Nick Diaz doesn’t even seem mad about discovering Georges St. Pierre has a dark side. Instead, he just prefers he quits acting and be himself. For once, it’s hard to disagree with him.
Ultimately, no matter which GSP shows up in the Octagon, the result will likely be the same. He will put on a textbook performance that exploits weaknesses in the game of Nick Diaz that he didn’t even know he had. He will focus on that and win a five round decision that once again illustrates what a great, less than charismatic champion he has become.
Afterwards, when it is all over, Nick Diaz will still be angry, nobody will have seen GSP’s dark side, and the fans will flock to message boards. Some will talk about how great he is at never taking risks, and others will fault him for it. Either way, despite his claims that Nick Diaz has no idea just how dark he can truly get in his head at times, Nick still will not know, and neither will anyone else.
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