St-Pierre: Diaz Made Mistake Taking Silva Fight
Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz has fans clamouring, but is the Stockton bad boy in trouble?
Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre knows what it’s like to fight Nick Diaz, having gone five hard rounds with him back at UFC 158. That was the last time the Stockton native fought and, similar to his opponent at UFC 183, Diaz is coming off two straight losses. What does make the fight all the more intriguing, is that it will be fought at Anderson Silva’s natural class of 185 pounds.
Many, including GSP, feel that the advantage is on Silva’s side for their 2015 bout, due to the knockout power, size and arguable strength difference between the two veterans. Speaking to notorious title fight failure and drug bum Chael Sonnen recently, “Rush” gave his opinion on the Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz pairing:
“To tell you the truth, I would maybe favor Diaz if the fight had been at a catchweight, because if it is a five-round, Diaz is a very durable fighter. I have seen him in a lot of trouble and he is very, very hard to finish. Now it is different because it is in Anderson Silva’s weight class,” St-Pierre said. “Which I believe Diaz made a mistake at accepting that fight at 185 instead of, I think he should have made a catchweight would have been more fair.”
The fact that Diaz has only been stopped twice (and once was due to cuts) is a testament to his MMA beard. The guy can take some serious shots and keep going, but the same was said about younger brother Nate in the lead up to his knockout loss against Josh Thomson in 2013. Technique can overcome a good chin for sure, as Chris Weidman also proved against Anderson Silva himself. GSP continues:
“I believe that in the early part of the fight that Silva will have an advantage. But if Diaz can survive will weather the storm, I believe he can come back strong at the end, the last part of the fight, maybe the fourth and fifth round. He’s a very durable fighter and he brings to the fight, when you fight, he’s talking to you, and he brings a different intensity that I’ve never seen seen before. And I felt like a little bit, you feel claustrophobic a little bit because he’s constantly pushing you forward and it’s very hard to fight a guy like him. Especially in the later rounds.”Â
Quotes obtained by MMAFighting.com
I’d have to agree with St-Pierre’s assessment of the Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz fight, especially considering the style of both men. Diaz likes to come forward, Silva likes fighters that come forward, and will be looking to utilize his weight and height/reach advantage. I don’t think that this is a total no-brainer, as we know the unpredictability in MMA is unlike most other sports.
So who will emerge victorious from the octagon come UFC 183, Anderson “The Spider” Silva or Nick “Where you at GSP” Diaz?
