(Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The last time Georges St. Pierre stepped into the Octagon in January 2009, he stepped out 20 minutes later barely feeling like he’d finished a sparring session.
His opponent, BJ Penn, on the other hand, looked like he had fought off a grizzly bear.
Having been battered, bullied, and generally beaten for the majority of the night, it was painfully obvious by the time the fight was stopped that BJ Penn was no longer the same class of fighter as St. Pierre.
Conventional wisdom would have told you that BJ Penn should have given GSP a few things to worry about. First of all, for Penn, not having to make the 155-pound weight cut should have been a blessing.
For a man who has fought at a much heavier weight class in the past, Penn would have had the luxury to train and increase his weight and strength, without worrying about the physical demands of cutting too much weight during the final week before the fight.
In theory, it would have been nice to show up on fight night strong and fresh. We know now that it was GSP instead who looked fresh and ready, as he physically demonstrated greater speed, strength, stamina, and overall physical dominance over Penn.
Probably the only area that was more surprising than the physical inequity of the St. Pierre-Penn fight was that GSP was able to elevate his standup game to the level of Penn’s, whose prodigious abilities have been well-documented.
Furthermore, when the fight went to the ground, Penn was unable to hold dominant positions, and was absolutely smothered and controlled by a more physical opponent.
When St. Pierre steps into the Octagon on July 11, his opponent, Thiago Alves, could hardly be very different from Penn.
First of all, at welterweight, St. Pierre was essentially fighting an opponent who showed up looking virtually no different than he typically looks in his lightweight bouts.
To be honest, I’m not sure what Penn weighed in at officially, but whatever weight he gained during his move up to 170 pounds didn’t reveal itself as muscle.
It was beyond obvious that he didn't take the opportunity to physically develop his body to fully compete from a cardiovascular perspective, either, as he was exhausted by the end of the fight.
Thiago Alves, like St. Pierre, is a physical specimen—a true welterweight fighter. Alves is as powerful as they come, built like the Pitbull his nickname implies.
He fights much like one, also; he's rock solid with an aggressive standup game. Also, at 25 years of age, Alves might still be rough around the edges, but what he lacks in polish, he’ll make up for in raw athletic ability and drive.
This is a sharp contrast to Penn, who looked every bit his 30 years of age as he dragged himself through the bout.
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