It all came down to Georges St-Pierre’s wrestling at UFC 154.

After months of speculation, wondering what sort of shape the long-time welterweight champion will be in on his return from injury, GSP showed that his grappling—as good as anyone’s in the whole of MMA—will always see him through the toughest fights.

The French Canadian has often talked of taking his opponents out of their element—wrestling against strikers, striking against wrestlers—and that’s exactly what he did against Carlos Condit in winning by unanimous decision, 49-46, 50-45, 50-45.

GSP had no intention of standing against the assured Muay Thai fighter, like Nick Diaz did in his fight against Condit. From the first bell the champion pressed the action against his opponent, working hard for the takedown and getting it almost every time. And boy did Condit make him work hard.

The interim champion must have known he’d be spending some of the fight on his back, where, save for the first two rounds, he delivered GSP the most damage he’s experienced in years.

But GSP has lost none of the athleticism and guts that’s seen him become the most dominant welterweight in UFC history. He needed those qualities throughout the match because things didn’t always go his way.

The head kick he took in the third round could have finished him, as Condit swarmed on top looking for victory. However, GSP fought like he was drowning to get back to his feet, and whenever he looked in trouble in the match, he dug deep and showed that he had that fraction more inside him than his opponent.

That’s what made the difference in this match; that fraction which he could sustain for five rounds which Condit couldn’t quite match.