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GSP: Nick Diaz rematch 'very possible'

Eric Bolte / USA TODAY

Georges St-Pierre made headlines Thursday when, after months of speculation, he said the "stars are aligned" for his long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 206 in Toronto.

The former welterweight champion told MMA Fighting there are plenty of options for his opponent, but a rematch with Nick Diaz appears to be of particular interest to GSP.

"It could be very possible to happen," St-Pierre said.

The possibility of a second matchup has been tossed around often in the three-plus years since St-Pierre emerged with a unanimous decision victory over Diaz at UFC 158 in Montreal.

"I beat him, but there was a lot of animosity," he said. "I didn't feel I fought well that fight. He says I poisoned him and all that kind of stuff. Whatever. He has very good excuses. Even myself, I could make excuses, but I'm not that type of guy. Trust me when I say I didn't fight as well as I wanted to and it would be fun to do it again."

Diaz is set to make a comeback of his own after returning from a marijuana suspension. Given the fanfare surrounding the last bout with St-Pierre, and particularly so heading in, a second run could represent the ideal scenario for both stars.

"I'm not scared of this guy and it would be fun to be welcomed in the cage after a long layoff to fight a guy that has such a stature, that sort of skill set," St-Pierre said. "He's a very dangerous guy, Nick Diaz. It would put me right back in the water where I left it, at the very world-class caliber level. I would welcome the challenge. I'm not a guy who would shy away from a challenge like that."

St-Pierre hasn't fought since voluntarily vacating his belt in December 2013. He'd tallied 12 consecutive victories prior to stepping away, successfully defending his title in the final nine.

Diaz's initial five-year suspension, which followed a no-contest result against Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in January 2015, was reduced to an 18-month ban earlier this year.

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