UFC 158 Preview
Never has a poster expressed a main event so well than the UFC 158 poster that perfectly captures what this fight is all about. UFC 158 is about Georges St. Pierre finally getting the monkey off of his back known as Nick Diaz. In 2011 St. Pierre would be scheduled to fight Nick Diaz for the Welterweight title at UFC 137. Then in a very strange series of event Diaz would decide not to show up for the press conference. That decision would prompt Dana White to take Diaz out of the main event and replace him with Carlos Condit. Then came the injury as St. Pierre would go down with a knee injury and would sideline the champion. The title fight would be put on the back burner and Diaz would be moved to the main event against BJ Penn. Diaz would beat Penn and after the fight would call out St. Pierre claiming that he was not really injured and that St. Pierre was just scared to fight. After the fight ended St. Pierre would get to Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta and beg for the fight against Diaz calling Diaz the most disrespectful human being ever. The fight would have to wait though as an ACL tear would put St. Pierre on the sidelines for longer forcing an interim fight between Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz. Condit would win the fight and earn a date with St. Pierre to unify the belt while Diaz would claim that he did not want to fight anymore after losing to Condit. St. Pierre would return to the octagon in November 2012 where he would beat Carlos Condit to unify the belt and essentially earn a fight with Diaz for the welterweight belt. St. Pierre has been haunted by questions of whether he is truly scared to fight Diaz and if he can actually beat Diaz. Now he gets the chance to stop the questions and prove he is the undisputed champion although against Diaz that is far from an easy task. St. Pierre is generally a very controlled and level-headed fighter both in and out of the octagon but every press conference and phone call has shown a different side to the champion. St. Pierre is angrier than he has ever been and wants this fight more than any other fight in his career. What remains to be seen though, is if this new attitude will help or hinder the champion. Will the new attitude give him that extra push he needs to finish the fight, with not being able to finish being his biggest criticism or will it make him fight stupid and take unnecessary risks. St. Pierre is one of the best all-around fighters in the world but he has not been a great finisher with KOs and Submissions in short supply. Meanwhile Diaz represents the opposite of the spectrum as a terrible technical fighter but one who puts on very exciting fights. Diaz knows only one way to fight and that is to come forward and swing wildly looking for the KO. It can be a dangerous strategy for a fighter as he leaves himself open for counter strikes but his great chin keeps him standing more often than not. If St. Pierre decides to go all out in this fight and push Diaz rather than let the fight come to him Diaz may be able to land a shot and end the fight quickly. If St. Pierre can stay controlled and fight like he usually does Diaz may get frustrated and make a costly mistake giving St. Pierre an opening to win the fight. This fight will be a close one as a lot is unknown heading into the fight especially concerning the new attitude of the champion. When the horn sounds and the fight is over it will be an early favorite for Fight of the Year and Georges St. Pierre will retain the belt with a Split Decision victory.
As the main even finishes the next welterweight championship fight will be determined as the UFC sets up the #1 contender battle in the main card. The original plan was to begin a welterweight tournament with the top four welterweights set to face off in the main card. It would see Rory MacDonald look for revenge from his only loss taking on Carlos Condit while Johny Hendricks would take on Jake Ellenberger. Then Rory MacDonald would get injured changing the face of the tournament and milling it down to one fight. This fight would be Carlos Condit against Johny Hendricks matching the top two contenders against each other for a chance at the next shot at the title. Johny Hendricks has worked his way through the welterweight division and is widely considered the top contender. With a five fight win streak Hendricks has come through the best of the division and now enters a new level with the elite in the division. Condit is one of these elite fighters in the welterweight division coming off of a loss to Georges St. Pierre where he came very close to ending the fight and winning the belt. With that hope in the back of his mind Condit is looking for a rematch where he can win the belt for good. Both fighters will face off with the winner staying around to watch the main event and see who he will be fighting next.
Fight Card
Main Event:
Georges “Rush” St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz [Welterweight Title] (PPV)
Main Card:
Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit vs. Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks (PPV)
Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger vs. Nate “The Great” Marquardt (PPV)
Nick “The Promise” Ring vs. Chris Camozzi (PPV)
Mike “The Martian” Ricci vs. Colin “The Freakshow” Fletcher (PPV)
Undercard:
Patrick “The Predator” Cote vs. Bobby “Vicious” Voelker (Sportsnet/FX)
Antonio “Pato” Carvalho vs. Darren “The Damage” Elkins (Sportsnet/FX)
Dan Miller vs. Jordan “Young Gun” Mein (Sportsnet/FX)
John “The Bull” Makdessi vs. Daron “Detroit Superstar” Cruickshank (Sportsnet/FX)
Rick “The Horror” Story vs. Quinn Mulhern (Facebook)
TJ Dillashaw vs. Issei Tamura (Facebook)
George Roop vs. Reuben Duran (Facebook)
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