After confusion in the main fight, Nick Diaz and BJ Penn duel at UFC 137

After a lot of confusion and changes in the main fight, the UFC arrives in Las Vegas, this Saturday, for the 137th edition of the show. The highlight of the fight program will be the fight between the former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion, the Hawaiian B.J. Penn, and former Strikeforce welterweight champion, Nick Diaz.

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Understand the confusion
Initially, the main fight of UFC 137 would be Georges St Pierre, who would defend the welterweight belt against Nick Diaz. But after Nick missed a press conference, he was cut from the fight and Carlos Condit called up to compete for the title. However, St. Pierre was injured during preparation and the title fight was removed from the fight program. Nick Diaz then the main attraction returned and will face B.J. Penn.

“My goal is just to go in and fight to the best of my ability and try to take the other guy out of the game. I truly feel that Nick is the best MMA fighter today. And that is clear. He has the strongest punch. And he can face anyone standing up. I think Nick has proven that he is a great boxer,” said Penn.

In its turn, Nick Diaz, who is trained by Brazilian Cesar Gracie, is full of praise for his opponent and sees similarities in the fighting style between him and Penn.

“BJ is my favorite fighter. I know where he came from, we have the same school. So I think it's just going to be a fun fight and it's going to be a great moment for the fans. And I think we have similar details in our fighting styles, our strengths are mine, jiu-jitsu and attacking, so we have some fans in common”, analyzes Nick.

Cro Cop returns to UFC and fights retirement
After two consecutive defeats, 37-year-old heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop remains one of the greatest fighters in history, but he has to contend with retirement and the risk of being fired. The former Pride champion faces the “chubby” Roy Nelson, which also comes from a sequence of two defeats: to Junior Gypsy at UFC 117 and Frank mir at UFC 130.

Check out the complete UFC 137 card below, which despite not having Brazilians in the fight program, will be shown in full on the Combate channel from 20:30 p.m.

Main Card
Nick Diaz vs. B.J. Penn

Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione

Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson

Hatsu Hioki vs. George Roop

Jeff Curran vs. Scott Jorgensen

Preliminary Card
Donald Cerrone vs. Dennis Siver

Tyson Griffin vs. Bart palaszewski

Eliot Marshall vs. Brandon vera

Danny Downes vs. Ramsey Nijem

Chris Camozzi vs. Francis Carmont

dustin jacoby vs. Clifford Starks