LAS VEGAS – This weekend's UFC 137 event features a key clash in the welterweight division, but it will not determine the next challenger for Georges St-Pierre's championship belt.
While some fans and pundits have speculated that impressive Nick Diaz win over B.J. Penn could catapult the controversial former Strikeforce champ back into a matchup with St-Pierre, UFC president Dana White today said that's simply not the case.
"Condit's in," White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Condit is sitting and waiting."
Condit, of course, was originally expected to fight in the co-main event of Saturday night's fight card at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Events Center. However, when Diaz missed a pair of pre-event press conferences, he was pulled from a main-event scrap with St-Pierre in favor of former WEC titleholder Condit.
That matchup fell apart when St-Pierre suffered a a pair of training injuries earlier this month.
The UFC welterweight champ recently said he's targeting a February return. White didn't predict a specific date for the Canadian superstar's return to action but did say the injuries did not appear to warrant a lengthy layoff.
"GSP should be six to eight weeks," White said. "He's just got to have some rehab on his knee. Hopefully it doesn't lead to surgery."
Meanwhile, Diaz has thus far attended all fight-week events and was especially jovial at Thursday's pre-fight press conference. Ironically, White revealed Diaz did initially miss his flight to Las Vegas.
"He's been on his best behavior since he's been here," White said. "He missed his first flight at the beginning of the week, but then we got him on the flight that night, and he's literally been great ever since."
And did White push the panic button when Diaz didn't show for that scheduled departure?
"I literally had no thought," White said. "I know he's going to show up for the fight. It's not like I was thinking anything bad was happening."
Source: UFC boss: Carlos Condit's title shot secure regardless of UFC 137 results