Nick Diaz Officially Vacates His Strikeforce Title To Fight For UFC Title Against GSP

Cesar Graice Jiu-Jitsu product Nick Diaz has officially vacated his Strikeforce Welterweight title leading up to his scheduled bout to fight longtime reigning UFC champion Georges St. Pierre for his title. This makes it official that this bout will not be a title unification between the two Zuffa owned promotions and will be contested for the UFC Welterweight title alone. Diaz had solidified his position in Strikeforce history as the promotion's longest reigning champion having successfully defended his title three times and being involved in some of the most entertaining bouts they ever showcased. UFC 137: St. Pierre vs Diaz is scheduled for October 29 where the first ever UFC vs Strikeforce super-fight will take place in the history of MMA. Coming into this bout Diaz will be recognized as the former Strikeforce Welterweight champion and the #1 contender to the UFC title.

With the title vacated, Strikeforce will set up a bout later this year where two fighters will compete for the vacant Welterweight title. Two contenders for this bout are scheduled to fight in a non-title bout with heavy hitting striker Paul "Semtex" Daley taking on fellow striker and BJJ black belt Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Henderson. Both fought for the title and were defeated by now former champion Diaz and are still in contention just coming off failing to capture the title. One of the expected contenders in this bout is undefeated wrestler Tyron "T-Wood" Woodley who many were expecting to fight Diaz next. Though no facts on who will fight for the vacant title have been released, many expect the winner of Daley vs Santos to fight Woodley for the vacant title. This is all suggestive though as Diaz's new contract with Zuffa allows him to fight both in the UFC and Strikeforce. Should Diaz lose in trying to capture the UFC Welterweight title, many expect that he would return to fight in Strikeforce or choose to keep fighting in the UFC. Should he win the UFC title, Diaz would be considered to full UFC fighter and therefore would not return to Strikeforce. Facts on what will happen exactly in the Strikeforce Welterweight division will most likely come out leading up to or after Daley vs Santos.