While Dana White had designs on adding Georges St. Pierre vs. Nate Diaz to his ideal UFC 227 card, it appears that neither fighter is much interested in the booking.
Diaz made his feelings clear recently to MMAjunkie.com, and Georges St. Pierre did the same in an interview with ESPN.com on Wednesday.
“There was a rumor about me fighting Nate Diaz, however it’s not true,” St. Pierre said. “I never agreed to that. Nate is an excellent fighter, but I have nothing to gain by fighting him.
“If I were to dominate him, people will say I’m a bully. If it’s a competitive fight, I will be criticized because they will say I should have destroyed him. There is no way to look good in this fight.”
Diaz has struggled against dominant wrestlers in the past, and St. Pierre, in addition to being that, has competed only at welterweight and once at middleweight in the Octagon. The Tristar Gym standout captured the 185-pound title with a win over Michael Bisping this past November and then vacated the belt due to issues with colitis.
In the meantime, Khabib Nurmagomedov has assumed the lightweight throne in the promotion and called out GSP following his title-clinching victory against Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 in April. If Nurmagomedov eventually squares off with former 155-pound champ Conor McGregor, St. Pierre would be much more interested in facing the winner of that fight.
“For me, that is a much better fight,” St. Pierre said. “It’s a much tougher fight. It’s more of a win-win situation.
“If I was driven by money, I would take the Nate Diaz fight. But I’m not obsessed with money. Of course, that would make money because he is a big name. But even though I believe I am a very bad matchup for him — right now, that’s the easiest fight I can take — I want to fight for legacy.”