UFC welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St-Pierre will put his title on the line tonight when he squares off against former Strikeforce, WEC, and IFC welterweight champion Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in Montréal, Québec (Bell Centre). Start time in this evening’s event is set for 10:00pm ET; the main card can be seen live on Pay-Per-View while seven undercard match-ups will be televised live on Facebook and the FX channel. UFC 158 Fight Predictions and Odds have St-Pierre listed as a -425 favorite ($425 wins $100) to retain his title. Also on tonight’s main card are tremendous welterweight clashes between Johny Hendricks and Carlos Condit as well as Jake Ellenberger and Nate Marquardt. Hendricks and Ellenberger are listed as -135 and -170 favorites respectively.
Nick Diaz has long craved a shot at Georges St-Pierre and he will finally get it this evening. Diaz’ clamoring crusade against the champion has resulted in some bad blood here and is, in fact, the reason the fight is taking place.
Johny Hendricks, the UFC’s No. 1 welterweight contender, was slated for a shot at the belt, but St.-Pierre requested his next opponent be Diaz.
Diaz, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black Belt under Cesar Gracie, comes into this scrap off a unanimous decision loss to former WEC champion Carlos Condit. Prior to the Condit fight, the California native had reeled off 11 straight wins, taking out a number of decorated fighters, including BJ Penn, Frank Shamrock, and KJ Noons.
Despite having faced a number of exceptional foes in his career, Diaz is going up a rung on the ladder this evening. St-Pierre, who is 23-2 as a professional mixed martial artist, is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
St-Pierre also notched his 10th straight win and eighth consecutive title defense last November with a unanimous decision victory against the aforementioned Condit.
Analysis: Diaz is an outstanding boxer and his ground skills are top-notch as well (eight career submission victories); however, St-Pierre is on another level as an overall fighter. “Rush” is probably the strongest fighter in the welterweight division and his incredibly diverse skill set allows him to dictate the pace of fights and where fights take place. In other words, if St-Pierre wants a striking match, it will be a striking match, if he wants the fight on the ground, it will be on the ground. Diaz could catch St-Pierre, but that is his only shot here and it is a slim one at best.
Free Picks: Parlay suggestions – St-Pierre (-425), Ellenberger (-170), Story (-400). Live dogs: Carlos Condit (+105), Dan Miller (+220).
UFC Odds:
Georges St-Pierre -425 vs Nick Diaz +325
Johny Hendricks -135 vs Carlos Condit +105
Jake Ellenberger -170 vs Nate Marquardt +140
Nick Ring -130 vs Chris Camozzi +100
Mike Ricci -340 vs Colin Fletcher +260
Patrick Cote -175 vs Bobby Voelker +145
Darren Elkins -200 vs Antonio Carvalho +160
Daron Cruickshank -130 vs John Makdessi +100
Jordan Mein -300 vs Dan Miller +220
Reuben Duran -120 vs George Roop -110
TJ Dillashaw -625 vs Issei Tamura +425
Rick Story -400 vs Quinn Mulhern +300
UFC Free Picks: UFC 158 (Best Bet)
What UFC bettors need to know about UFC 158 on Saturday (3/16/13) - a best bet parlay from Pregame.com's Vegas Runner, with host Steve Fezzik.