White Defends St-Pierre vs. Diaz, Says Hendricks Next If He Beats Ellenberger
WHITE DEFENDS ST-PIERRE VS. DIAZ, SAYS HENDRICKS NEXT IF HE BEATS ELLENBERGER
BY JOHN MORGAN ON DEC 16, 2012 AT 1:10 AM ET
LAS VEGAS – According to Dana White, Georges St-Pierre is fighting Nick Diaz at UC 158 for one simple reason: The champion asked for it.
White understands that means the man many consider the division's true No. 1 contender, Johny Hendricks, will now have to fight Jake Ellenberger rather than get a shot at the belt, but the UFC boss believes St-Pierre has earned the right to pick a fight every now and then.
On the bright side for Hendricks? If he wins, White believes he is deserving of No. 1 contender status.
"Georges St-Pierre said, 'I really feel like I have unfinished business with Diaz, and I'd like to fight him,'" White told MMAjunkie.com following Saturday's The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale event. "The guy's never asked us for anything. He's an awesome champion. He does anything we ask of him. He asked us for a favor. So, he wants to fight Diaz? It's not like people don't want to see it."
UFC officials on Saturday announced that a long-awaited bout between St-Pierre and Diaz will headline March's UFC 158 event in Montreal. The two were originally expected to meet at UFC 137 in October 2011, but Diaz was pulled from the event after no-showing a pair of pre-event promotional press conferences.
Diaz would later be re-booked on the card and earn a victory over B.J. Penn before losing at UFC 143 to Carlos Condit. Following that result, Diaz was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Comission after he tested positive for marijuana metabolites. That suspension runs through February.
So with Diaz previously bailing on a proposed St-Pierre fight and not currently in possession of a license to fight, is there any concern that something unexpected could nix the fight? With top welterweights Condit, Ellenberger, Hendricks and Rory MacDonald also on the UFC 158 lineup, White said he feels confident St-Pierre will at least fight someone on the card.
"There's no guarantees with Nick Diaz," White said. "But I've got nine welterweights in the top-five. If he falls out, we'll still have a GSP fight."
Hendricks had suggested following his November win over Martin Kampmann that he would be happy to wait around as long as needed to earn his title shot. Instead, he now draws Ellenberger at UFC 158. White said he didn't want to allow Hendricks to wait around for one simple reason: the UFC's dreaded injury bug.
"You wait, you do the Rashad Evans thing," White said. "You don't know what the hell is going to happen, especially these days. If I'd have told you f---ing three years ago that guys are going to keep getting injured and then you could get injured and be out almost two years, you'd think I was crazy. It's a reality. It happens all the time."
White also said he understands why Hendricks might be disappointed in the revelation, especially with his current five-fight win streak, as well as the position of recent critics of the promotion who point out it seems that fan sentiment is more responsible for earning fighters title shots than actual division rankings.
The UFC boss was quick to point out this wasn't all his doing.
"The UFC didn't do that; the champ did," White said. "The champ called him out and wanted to fight him. So the UFC didn't do it. The guy who holds the belt did. That's who he asked us to fight.
"When somebody goes on a run as long as Georges St-Pierre has and does what he's done for the sport for that division and everything else, if they ask for a fight they want, then they'll get it to."
White did confirm if Hendricks gets past Ellenberger, he will be next in line for a title shot. Of course, St-Pierre could then consider a potential superfight with Anderson Silva, so nothing is certain.
The UFC's decision is sure to infuriate at least some fans, especially those vocal Hendricks supporters who were begging for their fighter to get what they consider his just due.
White implores them to be patient and again points to one simple reason for their decision. St-Pierre deserves the opportunity to take the fight he wanted.
"I think the Hendricks fight is a popular fight, too," White said. "This guy's been skidding people across the octagon when he hits them. It's a very interesting fight. It's not a bad thing.
"But Georges St-Pierre is a champion, and the champ wants to fight Diaz."
