http://www.ufc.com/news/ufc-143-gsp-quotes
Expected to return to the Octagon™ perhaps as early as the summer, St-Pierre had this to say:
CHEERING FOR THE ENEMY
“I respect Carlos Condit, but I want Diaz to win. It will be a weird feeling, sitting at the Mandalay Bay wanting Nick Diaz to win. I want this fight with Diaz so badly, as badly as I wanted the title shot when I got down on my knees. I have never asked (UFC President) Dana White for anything, but I did ask to fight Nick Diaz. I was (crushed) when I had to pull out of this weekend’s fight hurt, but I am determined to get back to the Octagon as soon as possible to fight this guy. He needs to hold up his part and beat Carlos Condit on Saturday to make this fight happen.
ON HIS FEARS CONDIT WILL WIN
“I am very nervous that Carlos Condit will win on Saturday night, and that I won’t be able to fight Nick Diaz this summer. Carlos Condit is a very good fighter, he can strike, he is aggressive and he has submissions. He has been very impressive and is the type of fighter who gets better and better the more confident he gets.
I am not personal friends with him but I know him a little and he’s a great person. I know a lot of people who know him well because we train with the same people, but I have only spoken with him a few times. He is a true mixed martial artist. I feel bad, it is weird that I want him to lose, but I have never wanted to fight anyone as much as I want to fight Diaz.”
ON DANA WHITE’S COMMENT THAT GSP ‘HATES’ DIAZ
“I don’t truly hate him as a person. I don’t know that he is a bad guy, but I hate what he brings to the sport with the disrespect and the unprofessional things he says and does. It is sort of a professional hatred. He has been nothing but disrespectful and arrogant towards me. During UFC 137 (week) I felt like I had to walk around Las Vegas with my fists ready (to punch Diaz) because every time I came across him he wanted to fight there and then. Every time the elevator opened (in the hotel) I needed to be ready to fight in case he stepped in. I was on edge all week. This guy is crazy.
I am used to hearing (smack) talk from opponents, Matt Serra did it, Dan Hardy did it, and Josh Koscheck did it, but with Diaz he has taken it to another level. He and his coach (Cesar Gracie) have called me a coward and tried to disrespect my accomplishments.
All that has done though is make me determined to beat him up. He will bring out the best in me, I will be 100% focused, like a bomb-expert defusing a time bomb. When my back is against the wall and I have no choice but to win, when I cannot lose to this person under any cost, that is when I am most dangerous.
Also, as champion, I believe Diaz deserves the fight for the title. Style-wise, he is a very tough match for me and the fans deserve to see the fight they really want to see.”
ON WHETHER THE ‘INTERIM’ CHAMP WILL BE THE REAL CHAMP
“The way I see it, I am not the champion anymore on Saturday night. I have not fought since April, against my will, but I understand the champion must fight. You have to put the belt on the line in order to call yourself champion, the best in the world. Right now I am not the best in the world, I am injured. The winner of this fight on Saturday will be more than just the new No.1 contender, but he won’t be the new champion either. The winner of this fight will have to beat me to become the true world champion and I will have to beat the winner of this fight in order to call myself the best in the world again.
I like the format where the winner of this fight will have to fight me and I have to fight the winner to truly become the UFC champion. That is what the UFC is about, that is competition. This is fair to all of us, we have to beat each other to be the undisputed champion.”
ON DIAZ’S DOMINATING WIN OVER BJ PENN
“He was very impressive. Nick Diaz’s boxing is very strong; he could be the best boxer in the UFC. I don’t want to be seen to be advising any other fighter how to win a fight, but if Diaz does what he does best then he should win this fight on Saturday. It is a very close fight though.”
ON HIS RIGHT KNEE INJURY AND REHAB
“I am ahead of schedule. I can already train and even kick but I am remaining calm and not rushing. I won’t train properly until July, it is a matter of discipline not to force my knee to go harder than it can heal. No athlete wants to sit on the sidelines, especially when you are the champion and you must watch two others fight for the interim championship belt. I will watch on Saturday and go home very motivated to rehab on Monday morning but I must be disciplined and I must continue to rehab at the pace I am doing.”
I honestly don't see how someone with bad take down defense can be a bad style match up for GSP.
ChrisBJJ - I honestly don't see how someone with bad take down defense can be a bad style match up for GSP.
that's because unlike GSP, you do not have a nuanced understanding of Diaz's advanced ground game
Edit... I messed up.
I hope and pray that Diaz taps him out, I really do not see it happening though. But I guess that is why they fight lol.
ChrisBJJ - I honestly don't see how someone with bad take down defense can be a bad style match up for GSP.
Ask Gomi what it's like to get stuck in Nick Diaz's guard.
I keep saying this time and again, but it isn't submission-or-bust for Nick Diaz off of his back.
His submissions game from his back is very good, but the real strength of his BJJ is his ability to escape and reverse bad situations. He is adept at generating scrambles off of sub/sweep attempts. He chains together leglocks, kimuras, omaplatas for transitional purposes.
Nick can work to sweep or throw up submissions. He probably won't get them, but that can force a scramble allowing him to get up, or to snag a submission in the scramble. Scrambles are when good grapplers submit good grapplers.
GSP being the cerebral fighter that he is, understands this as well as anyone.
GSP was just on UFC Primetime and he said he thinks he will be back in the octagon Novemberish.
UGCTT_molsonmuscle360 -ChrisBJJ - I honestly don't see how someone with bad take down defense can be a bad style match up for GSP.
Ask Gomi what it's like to get stuck in Nick Diaz's guard.
Last time I checked Gomi isn't GSP.
You can pose the same question for GSP: when has GSP gone against a guard of Nick Diaz's calibre?
BJ Penn? Matt Serra? Jon Fitch?
Their guards are more defensive and geared towards preventing guard passes. People frequently bring up BJ Penn, but he excels with his top game; his guard while very good has been shown to be infinitely vulnerable to GnP in MMA.
This is why GSP/Diaz is such a fascinating matchup
Jamiee - You can pose the same question for GSP: when has GSP gone against a guard of Nick Diaz's calibre?
BJ Penn? Matt Serra? Jon Fitch?
Their guards are more defensive and geared towards preventing guard passes. People frequently bring up BJ Penn, but he excels with his top game; his guard while very good has been shown to be infinitely vulnerable to GnP in MMA.
This is why GSP/Diaz is such a fascinating matchup
This is what I think to, and I'm a GSP fan. I just think Diaz poses a big problem for him on the ground with both submissions and sweeps. GSP is going to need to try to land in Diaz's half guard or in side control on his takedowns or he could end up in trouble. Not to mention he needs to set up his takedowns really well or else he's going to have Diaz slapping punches into his face.
Jamiee - You can pose the same question for GSP: when has GSP gone against a guard of Nick Diaz's calibre?
BJ Penn? Matt Serra? Jon Fitch?
Their guards are more defensive and geared towards preventing guard passes. People frequently bring up BJ Penn, but he excels with his top game; his guard while very good has been shown to be infinitely vulnerable to GnP in MMA.
This is why GSP/Diaz is such a fascinating matchup
I completely agree that its fascinating. I think the most exciting thing that could happen in the Carlos vs Nick fight is if Nick wins by submission from bottom.
UGCTT_molsonmuscle360 -Jamiee - You can pose the same question for GSP: when has GSP gone against a guard of Nick Diaz's calibre?
BJ Penn? Matt Serra? Jon Fitch?
Their guards are more defensive and geared towards preventing guard passes. People frequently bring up BJ Penn, but he excels with his top game; his guard while very good has been shown to be infinitely vulnerable to GnP in MMA.
This is why GSP/Diaz is such a fascinating matchup
Not to mention he needs to set up his takedowns really well or else he's going to have Diaz slapping punches into his face.
That is something I disagree with, I feel that assuming GSP's knee is fine, he will be able to shoot doubles and get the take down with simple ease.
GSP - During UFC 137 (week) I felt like I had to walk around Las Vegas with my fists ready (to punch Diaz) because every time I came across him he wanted to fight there and then. Every time the elevator opened (in the hotel) I needed to be ready to fight in case he stepped in. I was on edge all week. This guy is crazy.
LMAO
Diaz is already getting in GSPs head.
26 wins.
80% were submission/TKO.
Penn would have been finished in 5, so you might as well count that too :)
that is a beast right there.