It appears that UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre dominated his challenger Nick Diaz in their bout on Saturday while not at 100 percent.
In a story via James Brydon of Sportsnet, St. Pierre’s trainer told a French news outlet that the fighter was suffering from severe pain in the Achilles tendon area but it wasn’t enough to stop him from fighting.
“Thankfully, there was no tear,” St-Pierre’s trainer Firas Zahabi told TVA Sports. “Having said that, it was very strained and very painful, but not enough to cancel the bout. We wanted to keep it secret because Diaz is a specialist in ankle submissions.”
“Our concern was that the tendon would tear during the fight. Right now, we don’t know if he aggravated the injury, but to be certain, he will have to follow his treatments over the coming weeks in order for his tendon to heal adequately.”
The Achilles injury wasn’t the only thing troubling the fighter, as he was also feeling a bit under the weather.
“It’s certain that these two elements had an effect on his performance,” Zahabi added. “He found it extremely difficult.”
“He is physically and mentally exhausted,” added Zahabi, who believes his fighter will need at least six months’ rest before returning to the Octagon.
If there’s legitimacy to what St. Pierre’s trainer is saying and he did indeed dominate Diaz while nursing this injury, then he deserves a lot of credit for it. I don’t think he had much of a choice because of all of the hype that had been generated leading up to the fight, but the fact that he embarrassed a very formidable fighter under such mental and physical strain, just shows how much heart GSP has.