Former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz will return to the octagon on Saturday night when he challenges Georges St-Pierre for the UFC welterweight title in the main event of UFC 158. 
Diaz (26-8, 1NC) has not been seen in action since he was defeated by Carlos Condit in the main event of UFC 143 last year.
Following UFC 143, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced that Diaz had test positive for marijuana metabolites and was later suspended for one year.
It’s not very often that a fighter coming off a lost and suspension gets to step into a title shot. However, St-Pierre told UFC President Dana White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta after his win at UFC 154 over Condit that he wanted to face Diaz next instead of number one contender Johny Hendricks.
St-Pierre’s decision was a controversial one with mixed martial arts fans, but it made sense for St-Pierre and the business side of the UFC.
St-Pierre is arguable the biggest pay-per-view star in the UFC and a fight with Diaz is a fight that fans will pay to see. There will likely be “casual” MMA fans that will order this PPV and would not have ordered the fight if it was St-Pierre against Hendricks.
Main event fighters like St-Pierre want to face opponents that people will pay to watch. Hendricks is not one of those fighters currently and Diaz is. Hendricks could end up being a major pay-per-view star for the UFC, but he is not currently there.
Saturday night’s pay-per-view should be a big success for the UFC and if Diaz is able to defeat St-Pierre, that would be good for the business side of the UFC. It could potentially setup a rematch between the two welterweights and would be a bigger pay-per-view for the premier mixed martial arts organization.
St-Pierre is a five to one favorite currently and he has not lost since 2007. This is not the first time that St-Pierre has been this big of a favorite as he was at least a five to one favorite against Jake Shields and Dan Hardy. A Diaz win would be considered an upset, but would not be a shocking upset. Diaz does have thirteen career wins by knockout, which includes him handing Robbie Lawler his only career lost by knockout.
A Diaz victory would be bad news for Hendricks, who faces Condit in the co-main event on Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The UFC has already stated that Hendricks would be the next title contender with a victory, but everyone knows that certain fights in the UFC have been made because they are bigger money fights.
A rematch between St-Pierre and Diaz would be a much bigger fight than Hendricks facing the winner. The UFC could likely only sell a rematch between the bitter rivals if Diaz wins or the fight goes the distance and its a close and controversial decision. Diaz versus St-Pierre with Diaz as the welterweight champion would likely be the biggest pay-per-view in 2013 and would be a big money maker for the Las Vegas based mixed martial arts promotion.