Diaz camp likely to wait for GSP; Condit camp will fight whoever
That leads to questions about how the division will move forward in his absence. And on Monday’s edition of The…
That leads to questions about how the division will move forward in his absence. And on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Diaz’s manager and trainer Cesar Gracie revealed that if Diaz wins, he’ll urge his charge not to compete until St-Pierre is ready to face him.
“If we’re fortunate and we win this fight, I would advise Nick to not take another fight before the GSP fight unless it was in different weight class,” he said. “We want to wait for that 170-pound thing. The people I speak with, they want to see the GSP fight if Nick is able to defeat Condit. That’s where I’m at with it. I’d advise Nick to not take another fight.”
Depending on St-Pierre’s recovery time, that could lead to a 10-month break between fights, a period that Gracie said could be broken up by a temporary move to middleweight.
Gracie’s comment got under the skin of Condit’s manager Malki Kawa, who wondered if the Diaz camp was looking past UFC 143 and into the future.
“At the end of the day, if people are writing Carlos Condit off, it’s a big mistake,” he said. “Carlos is coming to fight. The guy is in great shape. Remember, he was supposed to fight in October. He hasn’t stopped training. He’s coming to fight and this is going to be a real good fight. And if and when he wins this belt, if [the UFC] wants to put him back out to fight again, Carlos is going to fight again and defend his belt against anyone who challenges him. We’re not going to sit around and wait for anyone, not Georges or anybody. If there’s fights out there, Carlos wants them.”