The hurdles have apparently been cleared.
Despite his recent insistence that a bout between current UFC champion Georges St-Pierre (22-2 MMA, 16-2 UFC) and Strikeforce title holder Nick Diaz (25-7 MMA, 6-4 UFC) was anything but a done deal, UFC president Dana White today announced the two welterweights will clash in the main event of the previously unannounced UFC 137 event.
According to White, the UFC welterweight title contest will take place Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Fans began to clamor for the matchup when St-Pierre disposed of Diaz's teammate, Jake Shields, at April's UFC 129 event. With the March acquisition of Strikeforce by the UFC's parent company, fans called for the transition of the Strikeforce champ to the UFC ranks.
While declining to address the barriers specifically, White continuously deflected questions regarding the probability of the matchup.
Until now.
St-Pierre carries an impressive nine-fight win streak into the matchup and has dropped just one fight, an April 2007 upset at the hands of Matt Serra, in his past 16 outings.
Meanwhile, Diaz fights for the first time in the octagon since his 2006 release from the promotion. Diaz has gone 11-1, including a current 10-fight win streak.
White wasn't immediately available for comment, and it's unknown what, if anything, the promotion offered to Strikeforce's broadcast partners at Showtime in order to pull Diaz to the UFC. White also did not detail what lies in store for Strikeforce's welterweight title, which Diaz could potentially vacate before entering the octagon.
Diaz's manager, Cesar Gracie, did today tell
USA Today that the St-Pierre fight is part of a new eight-fight contract for Diaz that allows the current Strikeforce champ to compete in both Strikeforce and the UFC.
