Thread: UFC 154: GSP looking to make history again

November 14, 2012 8:40 PM

MONTREAL — Georges St-Pierre is recognized universally as one of the best fighters in UFC history.
If he has his way, he’ll make another small bit of history on Saturday night at UFC 154.

Despite holding the welterweight title since 2008 and dominating each opponent he’s faced, St-Pierre has been the object of much criticism during that run. Five of his last six wins have gone to the judges, so even though he at one point won 33 rounds in a row in his title reign, he admits listening to the gripes about him playing it safe.

As he returns from 19 months on the sidelines — much of it a result of two knee injuries — he’s taken those critiques to heart, too. So while he says he’s not going to be foolish when he faces Carlos Condit in Saturday’s main event at the Bell Centre, fans will see a renewed aggression out of St-Pierre.

The challenge is daunting. In 32 professional fights, Condit has never been knocked out.
“It’s a tough task, but I’ll work hard. There’s always a first time for everything,” St-Pierre said with a grin during Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference at New City Gas.
“That’s my job. That’s what I train for.”

Condit, who won the welterweight interim title in St-Pierre’s absence, says there are two major factors in his durability: being blessed with a solid chin and also displaying good technique. Hands up, chin down, he says.

Condit doesn’t take anything for granted, though. He’s well aware that with the small gloves used in MMA, it only takes one good shot for someone to be put to sleep.
“I think that’s the beauty of the sport,” he said. “You’re really walking on the razor’s edge.
“That’s why this is a rush. … You just never know what can happen.”

Fight of his life: Condit knows he’s in for the fight of his life, acknowledging St-Pierre’s place among the all-time greats. So, Carlos, who’s in your top-five of all-time in UFC?
“(Former welterweight champion) Matt Hughes is in there,” he said in an interview. “Very dominant champion. (Current middleweight champ) Anderson Silva, obviously. GSP. I would say (light-heavyweight titleholder) Jon Jones. In a short time, he’s made a huge mark, beat some of the best in the division. And, maybe (ex-lightweight and welterweight champion) BJ Penn.”

Not on Condit’s list: heavyweight legend — and polarizing figure — Fedor Emelianenko, who spent his prime fighting in Japan.
“I like Fedor, but he did good in Pride,” Condit said. “Ultimately, he never ever stepped in the octagon. It’s really hard to gauge somebody if they’ve never competed in the premiere organization.”

The Good Samaritan: Nick Ring is at it again.
Last summer, before UFC 149 in his hometown of Calgary, Ring and another man saved two teenagers who were being beaten by a large group of assailants.
In the two weeks leading up to UFC 154, Ring and fellow Canadian middleweight Patrick Cote have been growing moustaches as part of Mo-vember, the fundraiser in support of prostate cancer and men’s health.

UFC is matching all donations raised, up to $25,000.

Tongue-in-cheek videos: With the United States election taking place recently, UFC produced some tongue-in-cheek videos to build up UFC 154.
The video billing Condit as the people’s choice referred to “thousands of jobs outsourced, homes lost to foreclosure, fights left to the judges, spandex way too tight … All while GSP had the belt.”
Condit’s platform, according to the video, was “knockouts, knockouts and shorts.”

The pro-GSP video, on the other hand, expressed doubt over interim champion Condit’s claim to the welterweight title, saying he has zero title defences, a controversial win over Nick Diaz earlier this year, and a stance on foreign policy that is “hostile, at best,” showing him knock out British fighter Dan Hardy.

Online betting house: Bovada is offering an interesting prop bet: how many pay-per-view buys will UFC 154 have? The over-under is 800,000.
The three most recent events headlined by St-Pierre reportedly drew 800,000 (UFC 129 in April 2011), 800,000 (UFC 124 in December 2010) and 770,000 (UFC 111 in March 2010).
UFC doesn’t publicly release PPV numbers. According to Newsday’s Mark La Monica on Twitter, a Bovada spokesperson said the company has “offered this prop on previous UFC PPV events and we will use a variety of sources with PPV estimates that we feel are solid and grade the prop accordingly. In a case where we feel it is too close to call, we will No Action the prop.”
UFC president Dana White admitted last week that the company missed St-Pierre during his 19-month absence.

“It’s a big deal,” White added, calling St-Pierre “the most dominant champion ever in that weight division and, I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again, the biggest pay-per-view star in the UFC.”
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/sport...#ixzz2CFyaKosx

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