Watch: Nick Diaz shakes hands with Georges St-Pierre backstage at UFC 266
Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre shook hands after coming face-to-face backstage during UFC 266 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Between the Chris Daukaus vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov heavyweight clash and the Dan Hooker vs. Nasrat Haqparast lightweight bout during the preliminary card, the cameras shifted focus to the two welterweight legends.
The former rivals shared a heartfelt moment in the locker room, much to the delight of several MMA fans.
Check out Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre's interaction below:
Georges St-Pierre 🤝 Nick Diaz #UFC266
https://t.co/rsm39o59Lr
Diaz is making his return to the octagon after more than six years at UFC 266. He'll compete in a rematch against another former adversary, Robbie Lawler. The duo previously faced off at UFC 47 way back in April 2004. Lawler was knocked out by Diaz when they first met.
Nick Diaz's last UFC fight came against former middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in January 2015. The bout ended as a no contest after both fighters failed drug tests following the encounter.
However, Diaz's last welterweight contest was a title fight with Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 in March 2013. It was also St-Pierre's penultimate title defense in the 170-pound division before claiming the middleweight belt. The Stockton native lost to the Canadian via a unanimous decision.
Georges St-Pierre was in Nasrat Haqparast's corner at UFC 266
Georges St-Pierre was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame's Modern Wing on Thursday. However, he also traveled to Las Vegas to assist his Tristar Gym teammate Nasrat Haqparast in his fight against Dan Hooker.
Coach GSP is on site tonight!
He'll be in @Nasrat_mma's corner at #UFC266 https://t.co/6loXKHjnwu
German mixed martial artist Haqparast trains in Canada under Georges St-Pierre's coach Firas Zahabi. 'Rush' was seen giving Haqparast some advice at times from the sidelines and in between rounds during the fight.
Nasrat @Nasrat_mma making his way in the octagon & UFC HOFer @GeorgesStPierre in his corner #UFC266 https://t.co/RdOHxrNdr0
Unfortunately for Haqparast, No.8-ranked lightweight contender Hooker defeated him via a unanimous decision in dominant fashion. The unranked German fell to a 13-4 win-loss record in his MMA career, while Hooker has improved to 21-10.