Georges St-Pierre
Blown ACL sidelines champ
For the second fight in a row, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has gotten bad news.
St-Pierre blew out his anterior cruciate ligament and will be out for 10 months, according to UFC president Dana White, who sent out the news on his Twitter feed.
St-Pierre was scheduled to meet Nick Diaz at UFC 143 on Feb. 4 in Las Vegas. But instead, Carlos Condit will now face Diaz for the interim welterweight title, White said. Condit was scheduled to face Josh Koscheck on the same card. It is not known if Koscheck will receive a new opponent and stay on the show.
St-Pierre was supposed to fight Diaz at UFC 137 in October, but Diaz was bumped from the title shot to a co-main event fight with BJ Penn. Condit was promoted to the title fight. But St-Pierre hurt his knee and pulled out, and Penn fought Diaz in the main event while Condit waited for the champ.
But after Diaz dominated Penn, White asked Condit to step aside for GSP-Diaz to take place. Condit was promised the winner for, finally, his title shot. Now Condit and Diaz both get a shot – just for an interim strap.
Heavy.com will have more details on this story as it develops today.