Nick Diaz on Georges St-Pierre: ‘If I Were in His Place, I’d Be Asking for Anderson Silva”

When the UFC matched up welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre with Nick Diaz for the UFC 158 main event, nearly everyone thought the smack talk leading up to the fight would be epic, particularly from Diaz.

Then St-Pierre started saying things like he wanted the fight with Diaz because he really wanted to shut him up, that “Diaz deserves to be beat down.”

The comments are uncharacteristic of St-Pierre, and Diaz’s reserve has left him being the one more-or-less responding to the champion’s trash talk instead of what most thought would be vice-versa.

Diaz isn’t afraid to speak his mind, but thus far he hasn’t been the “unleashed” version of Nick Diaz that many expected, and he’s actually defended all the chatter that he trash talked his way into this fight.

“I’m the real fighter. The guy that trained karate as a kid, went to the boxing gym, and went to the jiu-jitsu academy,” said Diaz in a recent UFC interview. “I started from 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, by 23 I was fighting No. 1 people in the world.

“I will tell you right now, I want to fight the No. 1 fighter in the world. I have always said that. I want to fight the No. 1 fighter. Georges has never said that. That’s the only thing I’ve ever said negative about Georges.”

It’s a strong criticism, but it’s hardly the epic trash talk he’s often accused of.

“If I were in his place, I would do more,” Diaz continued. “I would be asking for the Anderson Silva fight. I wouldn’t let that blow away. That’s crazy!”

There’s still a week and a half to go until St-Pierre and Diaz hit the Octagon at the Bell Centre in Montreal, plenty of time for Diaz to talk the talk, but he seems more intent on walking the walk.

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