UFC 137 Results: 3 Reasons Nick Diaz Is the No. 1 Contender

Like it or not, Nick Diaz is the number one contender in the UFC welterweight division. He will have the next shot at champion Georges St-Pierre.

Some might say that Carlos Condit is the true number one contender, but the reality of the situation would disagree.

What makes Diaz the man who deserves to fight St-Pierre above all others? Read and find out.

He Beat B.J. Penn

The stipulation heading into the fight with B.J. Penn was that if Diaz could beat him, he would re-earn his right to challenge for the welterweight championship.

Diaz beat Penn convincingly, thus there is no reason to take the title shot from him a second time.

He Was Already the Number One Contender

Even before beating B.J. Penn, the fight many wanted to see was Nick Diaz vs. Georges St-Pierre.

The UFC plucked Diaz from Strikeforce (the first of many such Strikeforce-killing deals) and made the fight happen. Through trash talk and beating up mediocre fighters, Diaz became the number one contender.

Money Talks

Nick Diaz's eccentric personality and trash talk are great for creating buzz; buzz is great for creating money.

This is the most important reason Diaz was given the title shot over Condit. Condit is a respectful guy and as such won't generate a lot of pay-per-view buys through trash talk and rash behavior.

On the other hand, Diaz knows only trash talk and rash behavior, which guarantees an incredible amount of hype before the fight and the UFC swimming in money afterward.

Being the number one contender is as much about promotion as it is skill (or else Jon Fitch would've been number one contender for years now).