UFC 158: GSP vs. Nick Diaz Press Conference Set for January 23

Last September, newly re-signed UFC welterweight Nick Diaz skipped a press conference in Toronto for an upcoming superfight with Georges St-Pierre.

Nearly one year and four months later, we're trying this whole thing again.

As announced on Thursday by the UFC, both GSP and Diaz will be due to appear at the first of several UFC 158 press conferences, with the first one scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 23 at Montreal's Bell Centre.

Naturally, the immediate question is whether or not Diaz will show up.

If he doesn't, the floor will be left to the welterweight champion and Tom Wright, the director of UFC operations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

However, it may be in Diaz's best interests to attend.

Although he's slated to meet St-Pierre in the Octagon on March 16, Diaz actually had two separate chances to face the welterweight champion before now.

(And under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be fighting GSP at all.)

After Diaz failed to appear for a second-straight press conference at the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Event Center on Sept. 7, 2011, UFC president Dana White immediately cut him from the UFC 137 card altogether.

Carlos Condit would wind up taking Diaz's place, but after GSP dropped from the event due to a knee injury, Diaz went back into the main event against B.J. Penn. After winning the match and being reinserted into a title shot against St-Pierre at UFC 143, another injury to the champion forced an interim title bout between Diaz and Condit.

Although the road to his title shot has ended in a loss, Diaz will nonetheless face off against St-Pierre despite not technically being the No. 1 contender for the belt. That distinction actually belongs to Johny Hendricks, who will be risking his status and five-fight winning streak against Jake Ellenberger.