UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz will try to settle “unfinished business” in part of a high-powered welterweight triple-header at UFC 158 in Montreal.
The meeting, announced by the UFC on Saturday, will take place at the Bell Centre on March 16 and also will feature four more top welterweights — Carlos Condit against Rory MacDonald, as well as Johny Hendricks against Jake Ellenberger.
“Georges St-Pierre asked to fight Nick Diaz because he knows they have unfinished business, and Nick Diaz agrees,” UFC president Dana White said in a news release.
The pair were scheduled to meet at UFC 137, but a series of events, including an injury to St-Pierre and White yanking Diaz from the main event, prevented that matchup.
St-Pierre (23-2) returned in November from an 18-month absence because of injury to unify the 170-pound division by defeating Condit at UFC 154.
“There’s been a lot of talk about who I should fight next, but this was really the only choice for me,” St-Pierre said in the release. “He’s made it personal, and I personally can’t wait.”
For Diaz (27-8-1), whose yearlong suspension for marijuana use is scheduled to finish in February, UFC 158 is what he’s been waiting for.
“This is the fight I want,” Diaz said in the release. “I want to go out there and beat Georges St-Pierre in Montreal and show that I’m the best welterweight in the world.”
In the other announced UFC 158 bouts, MacDonald (14-1) will to avenge his only career loss against Condit (28-6), who beat MacDonald with a TKO late in the third round at UFC 115. And top contender Hendricks (14-1), coming off a knockout win over Martin Kampmann, will face Ellenberger (28-6).
Finally, middleweight Alessio Sakara (19-10, 1 NC) gets a shot at revenge against hometown favorite Patrick Côté (19-8). The pair met at UFC 154 in Montreal in a bout that saw Sakara suffer a disqualification loss for landing multiple strikes to the back of Côté’s head.
