Nick Diaz: GSP Was Scared to Fight Anderson Silva at Middleweight

According to Nick Diaz, the reason why the oft-talked-about superfight between Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva never took place was simply because St-Pierre was afraid.

The former Strikeforce welterweight champ wasn’t too happy about St-Pierre’s recent comments regarding his upcoming middleweight bout with Silva on January 31.

During an appearance on Chael Sonnen’s You’re Welcome podcast, St-Pierre claimed that Diaz “made a mistake” by accepting a fight with Silva at 185 pounds instead of asking for a catchweight bout.

But St-Pierre is the last person Diaz wants to hear advice from, especially after all the times the former UFC welterweight champ passed on opportunities to move up and take the fight himself.

When speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour (h/t MMA Fighting), Diaz claimed St-Pierre was “scared” to move up and fight Silva.

"[GSP’s] scared to do the fight, and he’s scared to do the fight at 185 pounds, and he thinks that we have so much in common that maybe I don't want to do the fight at 185," Diaz said. "How the f--k does he know?"

Diaz retired back in March 2013 after losing a lopsided decision to St-Pierre.

He opted to return once the UFC offered him the fight against Silva, who has been sidelined for the past year rehabbing a serious leg injury. There is certainly no love lost between St-Pierre and Diaz.

It’s hard to forget the explosive media conference call that took place over a year ago before the two squared off in the main event of UFC 158.

St-Pierre has since gone on an extended hiatus from competing, following a split-decision win over Johny Hendricks. Injuries, personal problems and issues with the UFC’s drug testing policies all contributed to St-Pierre stepping down and relinquishing the welterweight title.

With St-Pierre no longer competing, Diaz is confused as to why the French Canadian star suddenly felt the urge to comment on his personal decisions as a fighter.

“You don't know what the f--k you're talking about until you’re actually the guy in the driver’s seat,” Diaz said. “...But I don’t know, I don’t go ahead and give my opinion on what I think fighters should’ve done or would’ve done, because I’m not them.”

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.