Champ Georges St. Pierre meets Nick Diaz in UFC Welterweight Championship Match

A long and heated rivalry between Middleweight Champ Georges St-Pierre (23-2 MMA, 17-2 UFC) and former Strikeforce, WEC, and IFC Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz (26-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) will finally see an end this Saturday, March 16, 2013, when they meet inside the octagon for the 170lb. championship title.

After almost two years expressing his desire to challenge St. Pierre, Diaz will finally get his shot to contend for the Middleweight title. The two fighters were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 137, however, due his constant absence from press events and his reluctance to take part in media appearances, UFC president Dana White made the decision to remove Diaz and replace him with Carlos Condit.  But only weeks after the announcement, St. Pierre was sidelined due a knee injury that forced him to take a 19-month hiatus.

The card was reprogrammed and Diaz met UFC hall of famer B.J. Penn at UFC 137, winning the fight via unanimous decision. Diaz challenged St. Pierre in the post-fight interview, and was granted a chance to contend for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 143. But once again, St. Pierre was forced to call out due to an injury and Diaz was booked to face Carlos Condit for the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship.

 Condit won the fight via unanimous decision, but due the unexpected result, Diaz announced his retirement from the UFC.  Diaz got a rematch with Condit, but was quickly refuted after testing positive for controlled substances. The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Diaz for one year, retroactive to February 4, 2012. Diaz was eligible to return to UFC competition in February 2013.

Despite Diaz’ trash talking and the animosity surrounding the fight, St. Pierre says he’s never been more motivated to return to the octagon and defend his title.   St. Pierre, who owns a perfect record of 10 wins and no defeat in his native Canada, has the chance to tie MMA legend Matt Hughes for the most wins in UFC history at 18. He could also pass Hughes' record for most total title defenses in UFC welterweight history with eight.

In his last fight, St. Pierre successfully retained his title against Condit at UFC 154, winning via unanimous decision. Despite being hurt in the third round due a headkick, St-Pierre held down Condit and defended multiple submission attempts, earning the Fight of the Night honors for his performance.

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UFC 158 Odds:

Welterweight Bout: Georges St-Pierre (-465) vs. Nick Diaz (+365)