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Wednesday, Jan 23, 2013

UFC 158 Presser: Despite Upcoming Title Shot, Returning Nick Diaz “Just Taking it One Fight at a Time”

Diaz

By FCF Staff

When Nick Diaz announced he was leaving the sport last February, following his tightly contested, unanimous decision loss to Carlos Condit, few would have predicted then that the fighter would return one year later to fight UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre. In fact, while appearing at a press conference today in Montreal to promote his upcoming March 16th bout with GSP, Diaz confessed that he didn’t see this opportunity coming either.

“I didn’t think that I’d be getting this fight,” said Diaz, who after deciding to return to fighting, had to finish out a one year suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, due to a positive test for marijuana metabolites. “I figured, you know, they’d probably stick me with some hard fights for a while and I’d have to work my way back to the fights I want and the things that I want in life.”

Of course, the main reason Diaz is getting a title shot is due to St. Pierre, who after scoring a decision win over Condit in November, relayed to the UFC that he wanted to fight Diaz next. Prior to his request, the promotion had been busy promoting the possibility of a GSP-Anderson Silva superfight.

“They way I looked at it, I needed some time to see things out. … I don’t know,” added Diaz. “I can’t say much about that, but I’m a fighter, and you if you give me the right fight, I’m going to be fighting.”

Despite the fact that Diaz has gotten the fight he has been calling for since his days as Strikeforce champion, however, the 29 year-old vet remained non-committal about his future in the sport.

“I’m just taking it one fight at a time.”

That said, Diaz also relayed that his time away from fighting was a blessing, and that he’s not concerned about ring rust when it comes time to square off with St. Pierre.

“I don’t feel I’ve ever been able to make it to 100 percent leading up to a fight,” Diaz said. “All of these fights I’ve had in the last couple years have all been pretty back to back. I don’t feel like I’ve ever been 100 percent and healed up before I started my next training camp.”

“It’s nice to kind of heal up for a while and take a step back and see what’s what. That’s pretty much what it’s been for me.”

UFC 158 will be hosted by Montreal’s Bell Centre and will also feature a welterweight bout between top contenders Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger.

 

 

posted by FCF Staff @ 1:12 pm
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