• UFC 158

Diaz: GSP can take me down, I don't give a f***

ESPN staff
March 13, 2013
Nick Diaz wants GSP then Anderson Silva

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Nick Diaz has welcomed Georges St-Pierre to try and out-wrestle him in this weekend's UFC welterweight title showdown, insisting there is a reason why past rivals have been scared to do so.

Diaz challenges for St-Pierre's belt hoping to succeed where the champion's most recent ten rivals have all failed. St-Pierre is a master tactician, capable of pin-pointing an opponent's weakness and targeting it relentlessly.

Diaz is known for his fast, suffocating boxing style, but he also has a slick ground game. However, what the challenger does not excel in is takedown defence.

It appears the option is there for St-Pierre to use his exceptional wrestling to nullify Diaz, but the challenger does not care. In his eyes, St-Pierre will be leaping into the danger zone if he goes horizontal.

"You're gonna take me down? OK, now you'll have to deal with problems," Diaz said. "You might not want to do that. Carlos Condit didn't want to do that, he wanted to run away from me.

"I'll say right now I don't give a f***. Take me down and I'll stand up. It's going to be a fight for five rounds."

Diaz questions the heart of St-Pierre, who has consistently proved hesitant to a mega-money super-fight with middleweight champion Anderson Silva, whom the Canadian points out is much bigger. For Diaz, the fight is a no-brainer.

"I'm the real fighter, I'm the kid who went to do karate, went to the boxing gym, went to the jiu-jitsu academy and took fights. I started from 16, 17, 18… by 23 I'm fighting No. 1 people in the world.

"I will tell you right now I want to fight the No. 1 in the world, I've always said that. Georges has never said that. If I was in his place, I'd be asking for the Anderson Silva fight. I wouldn't let that blow away - that's crazy."

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