Embrace the hate, y'all.
Apparently that's what UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre has done while he's been on the sidelines rehabbing his torn up knee. And it's helping the process along nicely, according to UFC President Dana White.
If he keeps going like he's going, White believes it's entirely possible the 170-pound king can "Rush" back into action this summer, far sooner than the target return date of November St. Pierre pegged recently on an episode of Inside MMA.
As White explains to Ariel Helwani, the French-Canadian is motivated by the extreme hate he feels for Nick Diaz. And he's praying every night that he beats Carlos Condit at UFC 143 on Feb. 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"GSP's rehab could not be going better. I kid you not, he texts me every day. Tonight during the fight, he was texting me pictures of him kicking, of him doing things. He says, 'I am praying every night when I go to bed that Nick Diaz wins this fight.' I have never seen Georges St. Pierre hate somebody. He hates Nick Diaz. I've never seen him hate somebody. I've never seen him so motivated to fight somebody and to beat somebody as he is Nick Diaz. He's ahead of schedule now, being the freak of nature that he is and the hard worker and dedicated athlete that he is, I think he's going to be back sooner than doctors anticipated. (Perhaps the summer time), yes."
So if everything works out over the winter, we could be looking at Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem for the heavyweight championship, Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva for the middleweight crown and Nick Diaz vs. Georges St. Pierre to unify the welterweight titles.
Let's not be hasty, though.
St. Pierre's knee injury was such that if he returns sooner than he should and something goes wrong, the results could be disastrous. Career-ending, even. Is that really worth the risk?
Then again, he really is a freak of nature and maybe it will all work out in the end. Or maybe Carlos Condit will defeat Diaz and none of this will matter come Feb. 5.
Stay tuned, Maniacs.
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