Nick Diaz rebooked to meet B.J. Penn in UFC 137 co-main event
Shortly after he booted Nick Diaz from a title fight with UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, UFC president Dana White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that reporters would "flip out" if they knew whom he was putting opposite B.J. Penn, whose original opponent Carlos Condit was promoted to meet St-Pierre.And considering the past 48 hours, White is not too far off the mark.
The UFC president today tweeted that Diaz (25-7 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has been re-booked to meet Penn (16-7-2 MMA, 12-6-2 UFC) in the co-main event of UFC 137, which takes place on Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Diaz lost the opportunity to fight St-Pierre when he no-showed two press conferences in support of the fall event including one Wednesday in Las Vegas, where White announced his decision to give Condit the fight.
"I'm still blown away by this thing," White told MMAjunkie.com. "I've got to take a couple of days and figure this thing out."
On Wednesday, White said he hadn't decided whether to cut Diaz in light of his misbehavior but said this week's episode had been costly to the UFC.
As the announcement of the replacement main event took place, Diaz's manager Cesar Gracie told MMAjunkie.com that the fighter "got what he deserved" but was unsure on whether the UFC had cut him.
The answer is now clear as day.
Diaz this past June signed a new contract with the UFC that gave him the fight with St-Pierre and relieved him of his duties as Strikeforce welterweight champion. It also put the kibosh on a professional boxing career, which he had been within an inch of pursuing before Zuffa came calling.
In a video released after his ouster, Diaz showed little remorse for missing the Las Vegas press conference other than to say he was sorry for missing the "beauty pageant."
Diaz brings a 10-fight win streak into the fight that included three defenses of his Strikeforce belt. This past April, he dispatched Paul Daley at "Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley" in an action-packed slugfest that piqued White's interest in signing him.
Penn, meanwhile, returns to action for the first time since a disappointing draw with Jon Fitch at UFC 127.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Nick Diaz rebooked to meet B.J. Penn in UFC 137 co-main event
via mmacrypt.com
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