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Diaz vacates title to re-join UFC and fight St-Pierre

NIck Diaz's defeat of Paul Daley could prove his last Strikeforce appearance © Getty Images

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Nick Diaz has vacated his Strikeforce welterweight title in order to secure his shot at the equivalent UFC belt against Georges St-Pierre.

A match-up between the two champions has long been in the pipeline, although specific details have been harder to come by. A date at UFC 137 on October 29 was confirmed at the beginning of the month, however, and now UFC president Dana White has revealed that Diaz has given up his Strikeforce belt in order to become a UFC fighter and challenge St-Pierre for his strap.

A separate bout will subsequently be held for the vacant Strikeforce crown.

"He [Diaz] will give up the title, he will give up his Strikeforce title," White confirmed. "He will come in and fight Georges St-Pierre, two guys will fight for the vacant belt in Strikeforce and we'll go from there."

Diaz previously fought in the UFC between 2003 and 2006, but hastened his exit from the organisation after a number of controversies outside the Octagon - most notably a post-fight brawl in hospital with one of his opponents.

White does not foresee any problems in the fighter's return, however.

"I think he has a completely different attitude than he used to have in the UFC," said White, who also revealed that Diaz will have the chance to return to Strikeforce in the future - or if he is beaten by St-Pierre - if he wishes.

Negotiations with television channel Showtime - who have a contract with Strikeforce, which was recently bought by the same company that owns the UFC - had complicated arrangements for a fight everyone wanted to see.

White paid tribute to the channel for accommodating the fight - but warned Diaz's transfer will not lead to a stream of fighters heading across to UFC.

"People were screaming for it and clamouring for it," White said of the welterweight blockbuster. "We went and talked to Showtime and Showtime was cool with it.

"We're trying to figure this thing out. We have a deal with Showtime and we're going to honour that deal with Showtime. And Showtime has worked with us really good. We'll see what happens. Hopefully we can make this thing work."

St-Pierre has made six defences of the title he won in 2008, after coming through a bloody war against Jake Shields at UFC 129. Diaz, meanwhile, has not lost since 2007 and recently defeated England's Paul 'Semtex' Daley in the first round of his last appearance.

Nevertheless, Daley is expected to be at the top of the list to fight for Diaz's vacated Strikeforce belt, along with Tyron Woodley and the winner of an upcoming contest between Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos and Tarec Saffiedine.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.