GSP vs. Nick Diaz: 4 Reasons Why It Won't Live Up to the Hype

To MMA fans, it must seem as though Hell as frozen over.

Not only has Zuffa—the company that owns the UFC—purchased the UFC's longtime competitor Strikeforce, but Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz is being brought to very top of the mountain; he is set to face reigning UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 137.

This fight has already sparked a vast amount of interest and will likely be one of the most anticipated matches of the entire year. People are tired of seeing St-Pierre play it safe en route to decisions and they feel that Diaz is the man to finally make the Canadian truly fight.

But will this fight really live up to the no-doubt epic level of hype it will receive? Read on and find out!

It Won't Be as Successful as It Could Have Been in Terms of UFC Expansion

When St-Pierre was in the main event of the Rogers Centre at UFC 129, over 55,000 fans were in attendance for it. How many fans will there be at UFC 137?

Approximately 12,000, the capacity for the Mandalay Bay Events Center where the fight is being held.

But, to be fair to the UFC, venues need to be booked long in advance and the UFC very likely didn't know they'd be able to set this fight up for 137 when they were planning their year.

Still, having a match that could sell so many tickets in a place that is relatively small when compared with the Rogers Centre and other larger venues that could be used seems like a waste.

Nick Diaz Won't Provide as Many Sound Bites as People Think

Nick Diaz is no Chael Sonnen in terms of clever or over-the-top sound bites. In fact, Nick Diaz has a tendency to do awkward interviews.

MMA fans know Diaz has a scrappy, tough personality, but that doesn't necessarily mean he has the charisma—or the desire—to produce the majority of the pre-fight hype and to sell the fight.

Because of this, many fans will be disappointed.

Georges St-Pierre Is a Terrible Matchup for Nick Diaz

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STUDIO CITY, CA - MAY 19: MMA fighters Jake Shields (L) and Nick Diaz demonstrate MMA fighting techniques at CBS's 'Elite XC Saturday Night Fights' Press Conference at CBS Radford Studios on May 19, 2008 in Studio City, California. (Photo by Stephen Shu

Georges St-Pierre is a big, strong fighter with great wrestling and top control. Nick Diaz has always struggled with big, strong fighters with great wrestling and top control.

Even if you give Diaz the advantage in striking and jiu-jitsu, St-Pierre's advantage in wrestling is so great that it will very likely negate Diaz's advantages in these areas. St-Pierre will take him down to avoid the striking and land light ground-and-pound while smothering Diaz to keep the fight from being stood up.

This will leave a bad taste in the mouths of MMA fans, even more so than St-Pierre's performance against Diaz's teammate Jake Shields.

Ultimately, GSP-Diaz Will Not Be Silva-Sonnen

Georges St-Pierre finds himself in a situation that UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was once in. He has come off of yet another lackluster title defense and his popularity is suffering because of it.

Anderson Silva's popularity (and perhaps his legacy, too) was saved by a rambunctious upstart named Chael Sonnen who trash talked to such a degree that almost everyone was rooting for Silva by fight time.

Silva vs. Sonnen ended up being one of the most dramatic fights in the recent history of the UFC, with Sonnen dominating the majority of the contest but with Silva ultimately submitting him late in the fifth round.

Such a story will not happen for St-Pierre and UFC 137.

As stated, Diaz is not as charismatic as Sonnen, and odds are that St-Pierre wins yet another safe decision.

Thus, people may actually hate St-Pierre more than they did before the fight and his legacy may be permanently damaged.