Greg Jackson’s thoughts on UFC 158’s headliner, GSP vs Diaz

Sherdog caught up with trainer Greg Jackson this week to discuss the highly anticipated welterweight match of champion Georges St. Pierre vs challenger Nick Diaz at UFC 156 this Saturday March 16,2013.  The trainer had high praise for both fighters but feels that it is unlikely that the champion will play into Nick Diaz’s game.  According to a recent Sherdog article the legendary trainer, Greg Jackson, had this to say:

I don’t think so just because Georges is so smart,” Jackson told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “I always say that, but I don’t know if people realize just how smart he really is. He understands the game extremely well. Even if he gets mad, he’ll be able to control it and keep his business his business. He’s incredibly smart, like off-the-charts smart. I think he’s going to be much too smart to fall for that.

Greg Jackson was also quick to note that Nick Diaz is also a very clever fighter that excels at imposing his will on opponents.  Sherdog goes on to quote Jackson saying,

Nick Diaz as a fighter, I really like him because he’s one of those few fighters that can almost always make somebody play his game,” Jackson said. “He does it in really smart ways. He’ll back you up against the fence and basically have a shootout that he’s probably going to win. If you take him down, you’ve got to deal with some really good ground skills. If you don’t engage that, he throws his arms up. He starts trying to punk you. He tries to attack your manhood so that you get mad at him, so that you do start playing that game. He’s really smart at what he does. He’s very, very clever, but as long as you stay away from those things, as long as you control those elements, you have a good chance of winning. It’s just dealing with that really, really smart pressure that he has that makes this fight interesting.

Up to the fight, I’m sure [St. Pierre] will be emotionally invested in it,” Jackson said. “I wouldn’t want to see Georges upset. I’ll put it that way. He’s a son of a gun even when he’s calm and rational. … I’ve worked with that guy for years, and if you got him really upset and he stays focused, that would be a very dangerous individual.

Check out the interview in its entirety on Sherdog, at this link, and don’t miss out on all the action this Saturday Mar. 12, 2013 live from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at 7pm/10pm PT/ET.  FX prelims air at 5pm/8pm PT/ET and Facebook prelims air at 3:35/6:35pm PT/ET.