According to Chael Sonnen, there are some “pretty meaningful people” suggesting that a long-awaited rematch could go down at UFC 300.
Dana White and Co. are expected to pull out all the stops to make the promotion’s next milestone event a memorable one. Rumors have been circulating that Conor McGregor’s long-awaited return will go down at UFC 300. Lightweight fan favorite Dustin Poirier also expressed his interest in taking part in the festivities.
Now we have a new rumor courtesy of Sonnen who claims that a rematch between former two-division world champion Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz.
“You got to 300 a certain way,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “Did you do that by bringing guys in on a one-off? I mean the St-Pierre versus Diaz, does that draw? sure. Why didn’t it happen at 199 or 201? or 299 or 301? Why wouldn’t it happen there, if that is what got us to 300, why would we not continue to follow the principles and policies that got us here? I mean, I’m just asking because I’m hearing from some pretty good people, from some pretty meaningful people.”
A one-off matchup reuniting Nick Diaz and ‘GSP’ would undoubtedly boost the UFC 300 buyrate, but Sonnen is adamant that the promotion should stick to the same approach it used at UFC 100 and UFC 200, booking meaningful matchups rather than one-off sideshow attractions.
Chael Sonnen must have completely forgotten about Brock Lesnar’s return at UFC 200.
Nick Diaz and GSP Buried the Hatchet a Decade Later
Diaz and St-Pierre first met at UFC 158 in 2013 in a welterweight title clash. ‘Rush’ walked away with the victory, earning a unanimous decision over the Stockton native. St-Pierre would only compete two more times before hanging up his gloves for good.
Like his opponent, Nick Diaz has only fought twice since their memorable matchup, including a no-contest against Anderson Silva and a lopsided loss to UFC Hall of Famer Robbie Lawler at UFC 266.
Georges St-Pierre was in attendance that night and didn’t know what to expect when he saw Diaz approaching him backstage given their history of bad blood.
“When it happened, he was walking towards me — and with Nick Diaz, you never know,” St-Pierre said on an episode of The MMA Hour. “So I was like, I took a stance in a way, like I didn’t know if he wanted to come to fight me or he wanted to talk to me. [Laughs].
“But when I saw him physically reach out to me with his hand I went, ‘Oh, OK,’ and I reached out and I shook his hand [and thought], ‘So it’s peace, I guess.’”
With St-Pierre and Diaz recently rumored to compete against one another at a UFC Fight Pass Invitational event, it’s not a far stretch to think the UFC could work some magic and book a sequel between the two fan favorites inside the Octagon.
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