St-Pierre 'praying' for Diaz to win at UFC 143

Volatile brawler Nick Diaz meets the heavy-handed Carlos Condit for the UFC’s interim welterweight title Saturday in a match that many mixed-martial arts fans expect to be one of the year’s finest.

But while the two fighters in this highly anticipated main event certainly deserve the attention, a shadow hovers over their shared spotlight — that of sidelined Canadian welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

The winner of the UFC 143 bout will face St-Pierre in his return match following reconstructive knee surgery late last year. And there’s no mistaking which fighter the longtime welterweight champion is hoping to meet.

"Every night I pray that Nick Diaz wins because that’s the fight I want," St-Pierre told CBC during a recent phone interview from Los Angeles. "I’m going to fight the best man [either way], but I want it to be Nick Diaz."

Diaz, the talented but mercurial former Strikeforce welterweight champ, was in line for a shot at St-Pierre’s title last October until he was a no-show at multiple press conferences, causing an irate UFC president Dana White to drop him as the No. 1 contender.  White then promoted  Condit, who is riding a solid four-fight winning streak, having knocked out opponents like Dan Hardy (who St-Pierre won a decision over but failed to finish) and Dong Hyun Kim.

St-Pierre, who last fought and defeated Jake Shields at last April’s inaugural event in Toronto, was set to fight Condit before spraining a knee in practice.

Then Diaz, one of MMA’s most vicious boxers, emphatically dismantled B.J. Penn at UFC 137, and used his victory speech in the octagon to call out St-Pierre in front of the crowd and pay-per-view watchers.

"Where you at, Georges? Where you at, [expletive]?" Diaz shouted.

With fan and media interest in a St-Pierre-Diaz collision at fever pitch, the company set the fight for UFC 143, only to see the champ tear the ACL in his right knee during training. When Diaz and Condit throw down for the interim title, nobody will be analyzing the five-round battle closer than St-Pierre.

"As a fan I think it’s going to be an awesome match," he said. "I think Diaz has better hands. Condit is more well-rounded in the striking department with his kicks and his knees, but Diaz has better boxing skills. On the ground, I believe Diaz [who is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Cesar Gracie] has an advantage. Overall, the power is on Condit’s side, but the stamina and the aggression is on Diaz’s state, so we’ll see what goes on."

In recovery

In the meantime, the Montreal-based St-Pierre has been rehabbing his damaged knee at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, which has treated numerous high-profile athletes including NBA forward Blake Griffin and NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

"I’m doing very well," St-Pierre said of his recovery. "I came here because it’s a very common injury in American football, so I came here for their expertise. It’s a good atmosphere and there are lots of NFL guys around."

"Plus, the weather is great and I don’t risk slipping on the ice," he added, laughing.

It was initially expected that St-Pierre would be out of action for at least 10 months, but the athletic fighter says he is healing rapidly and is ahead of schedule. He plans to resume boxing training in March with the legendary Freddie Roach, who coaches Manny Pacquiao.

"For wrestling, it will take longer. To be back 100 per cent, it’s going to take me six months, by the middle of June, I think." Dana White recently told MMA reporter Ariel Helwani that St-Pierre has been testing his repaired knee, and if his rehab continues to progress, the champ’s return match could happen as early as "the summertime."

"GSP's rehab could not be going better," White said. "I kid you not, he texts me every day … he was texting me pictures of him kicking, of him doing things."

"I’ve never seen him so motivated to fight somebody and to beat somebody as he is [with] Nick Diaz."

There’s no doubt White would be grateful to have St-Pierre back in the fold. The president has said before that GSP is the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view draw. With love him or hate him heavyweight Brock Lesnar calling it quits following his loss to Alistair Overeem in December, and other high-profile fighters like Tito Ortiz and B.J. Penn hinting at retirement, the 30-year-old St-Pierre will be looked upon even more as the most marketable face of the UFC.

Yet it remains to be seen whether St-Pierre can return from his surgery as the explosive, ultra-skilled juggernaut he’s been for the past few years. Many MMA fans and analysts are wondering if GSP can come back and regain his dominant form. Does he feel the extra weight on his shoulders? The ever stoic St-Pierre says "no."

"Not at all," he said. "I don’t care about what the other people do or say. The only pressure is what I put on myself. I am very confident I will be 100 per cent."