GSP trainer Firas Zahabi: Nick Diaz is No. 1 welterweight contender |
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BuffaloDave
Heavyweight Champ
Career record: 379-220
Season: 39-20 (#558)
Location: Buffalo, New York
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Tristar head trainer Firas Zahabi on Tuesday told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Georges St-Pierre dropped by his gym this past week to wish teammates well and get in a quick workout.
A conversation with the UFC welterweight champ about his future has yet to take place.
Zahabi, however, said that if St-Pierre decides for now to stay in his native division, he believes Nick Diaz should be considered the No. 1 contender.
Johny Hendricks is also deserving of a title shot, he said, but lacks the resume to be the next challenger.
"I think Diaz is the guy who deserves it most," Zahabi said. "His fight with Carlos (Condit) was so close. Who knows? People judge it both ways.
"[Diaz is] the guy who is the Strikeforce champion. He climbed up the ladder all the way. Johny deserves it very much, but Diaz has been there longer and done more fights and has bigger wins.
"If you want to be really fair about it, he is the guy who beat the most amount of names in the biggest fights."
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Post #1 11/28/12 2:47:24PM
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sparky
Heavyweight Champ
Career record: 1009-537
Season: 36-23 (#710)
Location: Ontario "905"
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I cant say I disagree. No matter who the UFC picks out of Hendricks and Diaz I think both are deserving of the title shot.
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Post #2 11/28/12 2:58:04PM
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BuffaloDave
Heavyweight Champ
Career record: 379-220
Season: 39-20 (#558)
Location: Buffalo, New York
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I think saying he doesn't have the resume, is a nice way of Zahabi saying, a Hendricks fight won't sell right now, as much as a fight Diaz would. Hendricks does have a pretty good resume,
9-1 in the UFC
Current 5 fight win streak
Has beaten 3 top 10 WW's in a row, 2 in under a min. Plus Fitch was still considered #2 by most when he beat him.
4 out of 5 UFC finishes were in the 1st round.
We seen people actually get title shots on much less. This is a time were someone actually deserves it. Right now Diaz doesn't, fact is he lost the interim title fight with Condit, whether you're on side 1,2.5, or not, he still lost, therefore should still have to at least have a fight and win convincingly before granted a title shot. Some will argue that he was supposed to fight GSP before too, but he himself screwed that up. I love Diaz, as he's one of my favorite fighters, but he shouldn't just be handed a title shot, before Hendricks.
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Post #3 11/28/12 2:59:36PM
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quezocrema0032
In Full Mount
Career record: 992-541
Season: 38-21 (#621)
Location: Yonkers NY
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I lost soooo much respect for Firas after this article. I love Bj Penn more then anybody but how do you argue that Diaz has bigger wins when Penn is his only win over a credible elite opponent (& yes that includes Daley, KJ Noons, & the Whitemare) & deserves a title shot over Johnny  Hendricks wins over Fitch, Kos, & Kampman all rank ahead of Penn in terms of division significance. Johnny is the clear top contender & Firas lost credibility by arguing otherwise. Wouldnt it have been better if he stated GSP would prefer fighting Nick Because he is a much more marketable opponent & gsp doesn't like
Him, instead of claiming Nick is the top contender because now he looks like a liar
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Post #4 11/28/12 3:03:41PM
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FastKnockout
Heavyweight Champ
Career record: 547-328
Season: 38-21 (#697)
Location: Mississippi
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Kampmann, Koscheck, Fitch, Pierce > Penn, Daley, Santos, Noons
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Post #5 11/28/12 3:39:57PM
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blondais
Learning to Sprawl
Career record: 471-293
Season: 45-14 (#371)
Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
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Id like to see this fight more than GSP vs Silva
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Post #6 11/28/12 3:41:07PM
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I-GOT-THIS-PICK
MMA Regular
Career record: 958-540
Season: 39-20 (#270)
Location: Cincinnati,Ohio
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I think Hendricks deserves a shot more then Diaz.Have Hendricks vs Diaz for #1 contender 
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Post #7 11/28/12 4:22:28PM
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The Playground OG
Career record: 672-464
Season: 43-16 (#636)
Location: Lake Jackson, Texas
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Posted by FastKnockout
Kampmann, Koscheck, Fitch, Pierce > Penn, Daley, Santos, Noons
Sums it up nicely
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Post #8 11/28/12 4:52:30PM
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Come at me bro
Career record: 603-359
Season: 46-13 (#52)
Location: Hamilton, Ontario
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Zahabi is channeling his inner Ed Soreass...it's not a good look for him
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Post #9 11/28/12 5:17:02PM
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Gogoplatapus
MMA Sensei
Career record: 576-395
Season: 14-10 (#1994)
Location: Calgary
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The days of "who deserves" the fight are long gone. Most of you should know that.
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Post #10 11/28/12 5:22:39PM
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jay98107
Belt Contender
Career record: 1038-596
Season: 38-20 (#530)
Location: Seattle
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Posted by Gogoplatapus
The days of "who deserves" the fight are long gone. Most of you should know that.
Where's a Chael post when you need one?
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Post #11 11/29/12 12:48:57AM
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DancingDoll
In Full Cowgirl
Career record: 373-196
Season: 44-15 (#106)
Location: Canada
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I would much rather see him fight Diaz first.
A lot of people (myself, included) thought that Diaz got robbed in the Condit fight. And even those that don't believe that will admit, it was an extremely close decision. If Condit was #1, then Diaz was right behind him. It absolutely makes sense for him to get a title shot next.
The Diaz vs Hendricks fight would be fine as well, I guess, but I'd rather see GSP back in the octagon and clearing out the division sooner than later after such a long injury hiatus.
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Post #12 11/29/12 7:48:56AM
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MODesty
Career record: 1011-533
Season: 42-17 (#206)
Location: Oklahoma
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If ask me Diaz is a easier fight than Hendricks. I think that and the fact that Diaz has been talking about GSP is the reason Zahabi wants the Diaz fight.
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Post #13 11/29/12 8:56:39AM
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bjj1605
MMA Sensei
Career record: 910-551
Season: 41-18 (#662)
Location: Chicago
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Diaz needs to win a fight before he can get a title shot. Whether we think he SHOULD have lost to Condit is irrelevant. He lost.
Shouldn't give a guy a title shot coming off a loss, although they've done it before.
I think the real message here is: "Nick Diaz is an easier fight for GSP and it comes with bigger rewards, so we'd rather take that one."
Don't get me wrong, Diaz would give GSP a good fight. But stylistically Hendricks is a nightmare for GSP while Diaz will play into his game. Diaz is a great striker but he doesn't have the kind of one hit KO power that hendricks does. Diaz is a great grappler, but he has no chance of wrestling with GSP.
Hendricks is so dangerous on the feet that GSP can never be comfortable and he's a good enough wrestler that GSP will have to worry that he might miss some takedowns.
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Post #14 11/29/12 9:42:59AM
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KE Released in MAtter
Career record: 629-375
Season: 42-17 (#501)
Location:
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Posted by bjj1605
Diaz needs to win a fight before he can get a title shot. Whether we think he SHOULD have lost to Condit is irrelevant. He lost.
Shouldn't give a guy a title shot coming off a loss, although they've done it before.
This to the max. There is a clear contender and there is a great fighter who just lost, retired, and got suspended for a year. As much as I would like to see Diaz vs GSP, giving him the title shot would be a crime. Dana wouldn't be able to come within a lightyear of justifying this one.
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Post #15 11/29/12 10:53:48AM
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