Georges St-Pierre: 6 Reasons He Needs to Finish Nick Diaz

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will be defending his belt for the seventh time in a row against Nick Diaz at UFC 137.

This is a very high pressure fight for Georges because he is coming off a couple lackluster performances.

In particular, GSP received a lot of criticism after his bout with Jake Shields. St-Pierre lost rounds on the judges scorecards for the first time since facing Josh Koscheck in 2007.

Indeed, it's been some time since the fans have been totally satisfied with Georges' efforts inside the Octagon, and the champ needs to bounce back or risk losing fans.

GSP needs to not only dominate Nick Diaz at UFC 137, but he needs a finish.

Here's why...

Increase Future PPV Buys

For a long time now, St-Pierre has been one of the UFC's biggest pay-per-view draws.

However, fans have recently been groaning over the prospect of paying their hard earned money to watch a card headlined by Georges.

The champ's low risk style of fighting doesn't appeal to most of the sport's casual fans, and it's starting to cost the UFC some serious cash.

A knockout or submission victory over Diaz would revitalize people's interest in watching GSP fight.

Prove That UFC Is the Dominant Brand

The UFC has a reputation for having very nearly all of the top talent in mixed martial arts in their organization, and that's a reputation they'd like to maintain.

It's in the UFC's best interest to have fans believe that other organization's best fighters cannot compete with the UFC's best fighters.

Very few people are questioning this fact already, but if Diaz walks in and beats St-Pierre (or even puts up a better fight than the UFC's elite welterweights have), people may start to question the UFC's dominance.

If Georges managed to finish Nick, it will solidify the fact the UFC is hands down the most dominant MMA organization in the world.

Regain His Superman Status

Before the Jake Shields fight, St-Pierre seemed completely unstoppable, almost untouchable.

He had not lost a round in four years and had dominated every opponent over that period of time.

Then, in his fight with Shields, GSP got caught with an eye poke that left him unable to see out of one eye.

After that, Jake was able to land punches on a much more consistent basis and had the champion pretty badly bloodied up by the end of the fight.

While Georges ultimately won the decision, he lost a lot of his aura, and now other welterweights might be seeing blood in the water.

Finishing Diaz would show the rest of the welterweight division that GSP his performance against Shields was a fluke and that he is still by far the most dominant welterweight in the world.

Prove to Himself He Can Still Finish a Fight

GSP has been to four decisions in a row, and he may be starting to doubt his own ability to finish.

Granted, he has been facing very stiff competition, but the Dan Hardy fight he definitely should have been able to finish.

If his own inability to finish is affecting his confidence, then it could also be affecting his ability to finish future fights.

If St-Pierre finishes Nick, it could spark his confidence, and we might start to see him fight more like he did before his loss to Matt Serra.

Silence the Critics

St-Pierre has been widely criticized by many MMA fans and almost always it's for the same reason: his inability to takes risks and finish fights.

You can tell the criticisms are starting to get to GSP because he has been apologizing every time he fails to finish an opponent.

With a finish, Georges will get the critics off of his back and will have less pressure on himself going into future fights.

Build His Legacy

St-Pierre has said before that he wants to be known as the greatest mixed martial artist to ever live.

This is an attainable goal, but right now there is one man in his way: Anderson Silva.

Anderson is undefeated in the UFC, with 13 victories inside the Octagon. He is also the middleweight champion and holds the record for title defenses with eight.

The biggest factor that puts Silva ahead of GSP in many people's minds is Silva regularly finishes fights.

The only significant argument that can be made for putting Georges ahead of Anderson is that GSP has been facing tougher competition than the middleweight champ, which is true, but it's not enough in many people's minds.

If St-Pierre wants to be considered the best ever, without refute, he is going to need to start finishing fights. UFC 137 against Nick Diaz would be a good time for him to start.