"The thing is it’s really not my business how he fights; he’s not on my team, so, I truly don’t care how he fights," said Gracie, while discussing the criticisms St. Pierre has received. "Now if you’re asking me as a fan, yeah, that style is not what I like to watch. I like to watch guys that just go completely for it, take chances, and give crowds what they want, which is ‘Ultimate Fighting,’ not ‘ultimate stalling’ or anything like that."
I know, he took a shot at GSP pretty much right away. But after that, he's pretty respectful. Seriously. When asked if he thought St. Pierre would approach a fight with Diaz the same way that he approached a fight with Shields, Gracie had an interesting take on things:
"I think he’s going to approach this fight somewhat like the BJ Penn fight," said Gracie when asked how he believes St. Pierre might approach Diaz in contrast to Shields. "I think he’ll try to fight Nick the same way where he’ll tie up with him, try to keep him up against the cage, do a little dirty boxing and try to get him arm weary, maybe get some takedowns and see how that goes. He’ll probably be cautious from the top position but try to inflict damage depending on how it’s going."
"Georges is a great athlete and a pretty smart fighter," added Gracie. "His athleticism often lets him dictate where the fights going to go, and if he’s comfortable where he can take the finish, without taking too many risks, he will."
Gracie also talks about how Nick Diaz can "play the game", which is something Dana White mentioned a while ago regarding Diaz being successful in the UFC. In addition, he discusses whether he thinks Strikeforce will live on, and what they should do with another one of his fighters, Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez."Georges is a great athlete and a pretty smart fighter," added Gracie. "His athleticism often lets him dictate where the fights going to go, and if he’s comfortable where he can take the finish, without taking too many risks, he will."
