UFC 154: 'St Pierre vs Condit'

[Egg Shen]

Gutted Philipou-Ring is off, that was the sleeper fight on the card for me.

[Tazzmission]

Primetime episode 3

 

The end of that video gave me goosebumps, nothing quite like a big fight buildup

[David]

David Loiseau was apparently willing to step in at the last minute and face Phillipou, but I don't think it's going to happen.

[Snake Plissken]

I'm so far not interested in cross weight fights Anderson/GSP, Anderson/Jones I am praying (Although I think he will anyway) that Condit destroys GSP.

[Supremo]

I thought these two videos were cute. Prime Time Episode 3 was great too. Carlos was a bit of a dull motherfucker, but everything else was great. Georges speaking about his fear of failure was fascinating, Anderson popping up was genuinely exciting and that music video at the end was brilliant.

 

If Condit wins it's going to be almost as deflating as when Chael lost to Silva at UFC 148.

[David]

I'm telling you, GSP does not want this fight with Anderson. He was asked again at the press conference and he seemed really agitated. I get that he has to focus on Condit but every time it's brought up he gets all arsey about it.

 

I bet if GSP wins tomorrow he'll push for a fight with Nick Diaz. He wants none of The Spider. Dana's talking about a May date for the superfight, Anderson's going to challenge him, it's all painting GSP into a corner.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if GSP wins tomorrow, Anderson gets in for a face-off only for GSP to say "I respect you Anderson Silva, you're a great champion, I'm honoured you want to fight me but my weight class is 170 and I would rather fight Nick Diaz".

Think about it this way, he's coming back from a near career-threatening knee injury, He'll be fighting at 170lbs tonight for the first time in a year and a half, in a division that has seen more challengers emerge in his absence.

 

He's always been doubtful of the idea of putting on weight to face Anderson at a catch weight, so he'll be even more cautious now with his surgically repaired wheel. You couldn't blame him if he decides not to throw away his current record and the fact he'd be the undisputed champion again should he win in order to fight a bigger athlete in Silva.

 

He could face Diaz, make some decent money and face a much easier opponent. St-Pierre would have next to no trouble handling Nick, but the fight would be huge because of Diaz personality and the fact he's prone to acting like a tit.

 

I think Condit will win this fight, but I'd love to see St-Pierre win and then turn down the Anderson fight, especially if he dares to utter the words "after talking with my team" before announcing the decision. Dana White would probably try to kill Greg Jackson to death. It would be brilliant.

[Snake Plissken]

If Condit wins it's going to be almost as deflating as when Chael lost to Silva at UFC 148.

 

Deflating? I was elated.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

I think it's my turn to be a jinx, I mentioned in the predictions thread that picking fights after the weigh ins is pretty much the only way to ensure scheduled fights stay together. Whoops.

 

I wonder how GSP has the popularity he has sometimes, he's a bit of a wet blanket. Both the car wash thing and his reluctance to fight Silva don't exactly scream "fearless MMA fighter". He lives with a bit too much fear considering the profession he's in.

[David]

I wonder how GSP has the popularity he has sometimes, he's a bit of a wet blanket. Both the car wash thing and his reluctance to fight Silva don't exactly scream "fearless MMA fighter". He lives with a bit too much fear considering the profession he's in.

Have you ever been to Canada?

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

I wonder how GSP has the popularity he has sometimes, he's a bit of a wet blanket. Both the car wash thing and his reluctance to fight Silva don't exactly scream "fearless MMA fighter". He lives with a bit too much fear considering the profession he's in.

Have you ever been to Canada?

Never traveled overseas, mate. Are the majority of Canadians that cautious?

 

EDIT: Or are you suggesting that GSP's popularity comes from being a Canadian sporting icon? Because he definitely has a worldwide fanbase.

[Snake Plissken]

I wonder how GSP has the popularity he has sometimes, he's a bit of a wet blanket. Both the car wash thing and his reluctance to fight Silva don't exactly scream "fearless MMA fighter". He lives with a bit too much fear considering the profession he's in.

Have you ever been to Canada?

Never traveled overseas, mate. Are the majority of Canadians that cautious?

No just secretly Greg Jackson is the PM and he ensures everyone does the best for team.

[Supremo]

If Condit wins it's going to be almost as deflating as when Chael lost to Silva at UFC 148.

 

Deflating? I was elated.

And I'm sure some people will be elated with a Condit win, too. Not me though.

 

Leading up to Chael vs. Silva the UFC felt really fresh and exciting again. Everything surrounding Chael was a tonne of fun, they had momentum like they hadn't had in years, but then Chael stupidly threw a spinning back fist and everything went back to normal with a thud. If Chael had won it would've been amazing for everyone involved, continuing the fun, excitement and momentum into an immediate rematch, but instead the party ended and we had nothing but Renan Barao main events to look forward to.

 

This feels the same. GSP winning opens up the dream fight and gives them a shit load of momentum heading into what looks to be a fantastic 2013. A Condit win ruins everything, destroys momentum and leaves us looking at main events between him and someone like Johny Hendricks. Urgh.

 

If I was Dana I would've covered all bases and flew Nick Diaz to Montreal too. That way, if GSP loses you can just send Diaz into the cage instead of Silva and announce that fight instead. Plus, Nick Diaz with a live mic is always good for a laugh. Maybe he'd even start another brawl.

 

Fingers crossed Condit has caught the flu.

[David]

Or are you suggesting that GSP's popularity comes from being a Canadian sporting icon? Because he definitely has a worldwide fanbase.

Indeed I am. I'm not doubting that he has a worldwide fanbase, but it's no secret why he's not fought outside Canada in almost three years now. You know how you can go into any sports shop in the UK and see Wayne Rooney on posters wearing the latest Nike gear or whatever? That's what St-Pierre is like in Canada. The guy is fucking everywhere, seriously.

 

That was Toronto as well. I wouldn't even want to think what it would be like in Montreal.

[Hitman 25:17]

"But as much as I'm scared Saturday I'm going to make that walk to the Octagon and I'm going to fight....like my life depends on it".

 

What an unbelievable ending to that episode.

 

 

It was strange to hear GSP saying over and over again that he's better than Condit. Like he's trying to convince himself. I'm sure he has as many questions about himself as everyone else does considering the injury and time away from the cage. The obvious prediction is either GSP by decision or Condit by KO but I don't know which is more likely. I hope St. Pierre does win but I don't want to see the Silva superfight at all. It's a fight that he's being pushed into taking, against a much bigger fighter. While it's true that one loss to a bigger guy won't ruin his legacy, after hearing St. Pierre talk about being scared in that Primetime I'm sure he's wondering what it would be like to be in there with Silva and just not be able to touch him. To have Silva stand in front of him, embarrassing him before he knocks him out in devastating fashion. Can't say I'd be to keen on that myself.

[wandshogun09]

What a fight that was. Best GSP fight in years and Condit deserves major credit for pushing him like that. The scorecards don't tell the whole story of that fight. Condit fought tremendously.

 

GSP defo looked re-energised to me, especially in the first two rounds. He seemed more of a threat everywhere than he has in recent years and it just seemed like there was more urgency in his attacks to me. I almost shit a brick when Condit landed that headkick in round 3. He was so close to pulling it off but GSP recovered well and I don't think Condit realised how wobbly GSP still was when they stood back up.

 

Condit showed how effective he is on the ground as well. Yeah GSP defo won the ground war but Condit was more effective from the bottom against GSP than anyone else has ever been. Managed some nice sweeps, came close on a couple of submission attempts, landed a lot of strikes off his back.

 

Condit fought his balls off. And now I hope all the "Condit ran from Diaz" wankers shut the fuck up.

 

Awesome fight. The post fight stuff went exactly how I expected/predicted. I knew he wouldn't commit to a straight answer right there which is fair enough. But I fully expect that there will be a statement over the next week or so from Team GSP saying he's fully focused on 170 and looking forward to fighting Johny Hendricks.

 

I've just got a bad feeling we'll never see Anderson vs GSP.

 

Few other thoughts...

 

*Rest of the card was a bit flat I thought, up until the co-main event. Fuck me, Hendricks is the legit number one contender now no doubt about it. He's KO'd Fitch and Kampmann in a combined 58 seconds. That's a ridiculous stat. And a win (albeit debatable) over Koscheck sandwiched between the two KOs.

 

*I thought Hominick vs Garza was a really good fight, especially the first round. But it's getting hard to watch Hominick's fights now for me. He's really gone to pot since the death of Shawn Tompkins and I really believe that's a big part of his recent decline. It reminds me of how Denis Kang's career went off a cliff when his girlfriend died.

 

*I thought Lawlor vs Carmont was disappointingly dull. I had Lawlor winning though.

 

*Diabate looked great on the prelims. I know Griggs is no world beater but that performance showed a clear improvement in Diabate's overall MMA game. He's clearly working hard on the grappling side now.

 

*Enjoyed Makdessi vs Stout. Really good technical striking match. Makdessi's been fun to watch on the prelims for a while but his ground game needs a lot of work. This was a good fight for him to show what he can do on the feet though and it's a great win for him.

 

*The Cote/Sakara fight was a wild couple of minutes. Shame how it ended. I always thought if Cote could land something early he'd win because Sakara's got Arlovski chin. But fair play Sakara came back big time and was battering Cote. The DQ was the right call though, I don't think Sakara's dirty but in the heat of the moment shit happens. At least 5 or 6 of the finishing shots were to the back of the head and it's only right to make it a DQ. They'll surely do an immediate rematch.

 

*Didn't see Riddle vs Maguire but with Riddle winning I'm hoping they do Riddle vs Hardy now. Why not? Would be a fun fight and after Riddle's "butter toothed Brit" comment recently I'm sure we'd get some good pre-fight stuff.

 

*Oh and Rafael Dos Anjos Chuffed for him. I've been banging on about his potential since early in his UFC career and it's great to see him finally putting everything together. He's been the 155 dark horse for a while now.

 

A fairly average show before the co-main event. But those last 2 fights made it a memorable night. Hendricks' KO was a huge statement and GSP vs Condit for me was one of the best fights of the year.