Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to pay per view this weekend with a grudge match over a year in the making. UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will put his title on he line against #1 challenger, Nick Diaz. This match is not about the title for St. Pierre, it is about facing a man who has called him out and trash talked him for more than a year.
UFC 158 takes place this Saturday from the Bell Centre in St. Pierre’s hometown of Montreal, Canada. Diaz called out St. Pierre in 2011 after he defeated BJ Penn at UFC 137. UFC President, Dana White was on the Jim Rome show this week and told the story of how Diaz stalked St. Pierre around the hotel during that event. “At one of the fights, the one where (Diaz) really starts calling Georges out, he was chasing Georges around the hotel and like yelling at him and stuff” said White. “Georges has said publicly many times when he was younger he used to get bullied. That’s what got him into martial arts. He just has this crazy thing about bullies and he thinks Nick Diaz is a bully.”
The fighters held the final press conference today before Saturday’s fight. The challenger continued his brash talk, even accusing GSP of steroid use. “I believe that he’s on plenty of steroids and I don’t think they test around here. I doubt I’ll be tested as well” said Diaz. “I don’t think either of us are going to be tested. And if so, he’s probably got a bottle of piss in his pocket. I doubt they’re standing over him making sure he’s not on steroids.”
St. Pierre has kept his cool in public, but the UFC president paints a different picture of how upset the champion is. “He told me a few days ago, ‘I want to make sure that when this is over that he retires.’ So, just to give you an idea of where he is” said White. Both fighters will get to back up their talk this Saturday. UFC 158 takes place live on pay per view.
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