Georges St-Pierre Not Distracted by Smack Talk From Nick Diaz

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is used to having opponents try to get under his skin leading up to fights.

His rivalry with B.J. Penn comes to mind, as well as the two fights with Matt Serra, and who can forget the smack talk by Josh Koscheck leading up to their UFC 124 showdown?

St-Pierre takes on Nick Diaz in the UFC 158: St-Pierre vs. Diaz main event, and the war of words got heated on a recent media conference call between the two.

Diaz referred to St-Pierre as “pampered.” He has accused the champion of point fighting.  Following his UFC 137 win over B.J. Penn, Diaz called St-Pierre’s knee injury into question and accused the titleholder of being “scared.”

Diaz stated, “I don’t think Georges is hurt.  I think he’s scared.  Where you at Georges?”  But it all just rolls off St-Pierre’s back.

“Well it’s not the first time that the opponent, the guy that I’m fighting, tried to get in my head. I’ve fought many people before that, that disrespect me and for me it’s another fight and I’m trying very hard to be ready for the fight and I don’t focus on that,” he said.

St-Pierre requested the fight with Diaz, who is coming off a suspension and a loss to Carlos Condit in his last outing.  Diaz has been calling for a fight with St-Pierre for quite some time.  The rivalry will be settled at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Words will not be a factor when the Octagon door closes behind them on March 16. While the media and fans may be focused on the pre-fight banter, St-Pierre is only concerned with what variables he can control.

“I focus on things that I do control,” said St-Pierre. “I don’t focus on things that people are saying about me. I focus only on myself and what I’m going to do.”

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