Dana White confirms Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz for UFC 137 on October 29th (Update)
March 12th 2011 will be a day remembered by Mixed Martial Arts fans as the day ZUFFA purchased Strikeforce. From that day forward many of us salivated at the thought of all the dream match ups that could be possble because of the recent purchase. The fantasy of seeing one of Strikeforce’s elite champions taking on one of the UFC’s champions is now over. UFC President Dana White announced on his Twitter that the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz will be taking on the UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 137 on October 29th!
Will we see more Strikeforce vs. UFC fights in the near future? Will this fight be a welterweight title unifier? Keep it locked here on Lowkick.com for all the breaking news!
UFC President Dana White at a post-fight press conference at UFC 100 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on July 11, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Francis Specker
Update:
Earlier today UFC President Dana White announced via Twitter that Strikeforce Welterweight champ Nick Diaz would, in fact, be next in line to challenge Georges St. Pierre for the UFC 170-pound strap. In the time since, new details have emerged regarding what this will mean for the future of the Stockton Bad Boy, as his manager Cesar Gracie spoke with both MMAFighting and USA Today about the new contract and the upcoming bout.
Here is what we’ve learned:
• The contract was signed by Diaz yesterday and was delivered to ZUFFA today.
• The match-up with St. Pierre will be the first of an eight fight contract with ZUFFA, which will allow him to compete under both the UFC and Strikeforce banners.
• Diaz will not be permitted to compete in professional boxing under the new contract, but has been compensated for agreeing not to box under the terms of his previous contract.
• The UFC had previously considered scheduling St. Pierre vs Diaz for a Canada card, but ultimately decided on Las Vegas, which was the preferred location for Gracie.
• Though the new contract allows Diaz to fight for Strikeforce, Gracie believes this will only occur if he loses to St. Pierre.
• Gracie is confident that Diaz will counter St. Pierre’s high level wrestling by utilizing Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
