UFC 129 Fight Card: Power Ranking Georges St-Pierre's Title Defenses
UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has held the title for just over three years now, after he thoroughly dominated Matt Serra in April of 2008 for the championship gold.
Serra shockingly put an end to GSP’s first title reign, one year prior, but the well-rounded Canadian fighter made sure there was no question of who the better man was in the rematch.
Since winning the championship gold for the second time, GSP has had five successful title defenses, soundly trouncing each opponent that has stood in his way.
Power ranking these five title defenses will allow us to highlight the versatile skill set that makes a fighter like GSP so difficult to prepare for.
5. Dan Hardy – UFC 111
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“The Outlaw” started off his UFC career on a four fight win streak. His fourth victory was over “The Ultimate Fighter” alumnus Mike Swick, good enough to earn him a shot at the title.
Leading to the bout, Hardy did not tone down his brash and arrogant personality one bit, even releasing a Youtube video mocking the sport of wrestling (see below).
Hardy likely did this since GSP is widely recognized as one of the best wrestlers in MMA, and the challenger hoped to get under the champion’s skin.
Funny pre-fight video or not, this did not change the fact that, like most British fighters, Hardy’s wrestling was abysmal.
Not surprisingly, St-Pierre took Hardy down at will, refusing to play into Hardy’s game of brawling on their feet.
This title defense also marked the last time fans truly saw St-Pierre’s submission skills on display.
GSP easily could have broken Hardy’s arm if he choose to torque a kimura as hard as he could have, but choose to show sympathy. He also threatened with an armbar later in the fight, but Hardy managed to squirm has way out of it as the end looked near.
After the fight, GSP praised Hardy for his toughness, and even apologized to the fans for not being able to finish the fight.
The bottom line is that GSP was in control the entire time, and exposed Hardy as a one dimensional, and probably overrated fighter.
Hardy has lost to Carlos Condit and Anthony Johnson since then, and is in desperate need of a win to remain with the UFC for the long term.
Video of Dan Hardy mocking wrestling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NovuH44MsRA
4. Josh Koscheck – UFC 124
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This was the second meeting in the UFC between Koscheck and GSP. Their first battle was a one sided fight where St-Pierre controlled the pace for three rounds, notching a comfortable unanimous decision victory.
This was a fight to climb the ranks in the welterweight division, as opposed to a title fight, since this was GSP’s first fight after dropping the belt to Matt Serra.
Prior to their encounter at UFC 124, GSP and Koscheck coached opposite one another on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter.
While GSP’s team proved to be more dominant in the end, Koscheck was more concerned with playing mind games with the welterweight title holder and he built up anticipation for their rematch, this time with the title at stake.
The animosity between the two had obviously boiled over by their December showdown in 2010, noted by the fact that the two fighters refused to touch gloves before the first round began.
In typical fashion, GSP easily exploited his opponents weakness, choosing to stand and strike with the with the four-time All-American wrestler.
St-Pierre completely obliterated Koscheck with his boxing, landing an incredible 55 jabs to the face of the challenger.
Koscheck’s right eye began to swell in the first round, and progressively got worse as the fight moved on.
In a tremendous show of will power, Koscheck managed to go the distance with GSP, again losing via unanimous decision.
Koscheck suffered a broken orbital bone from all the jabs he absorbed, which earned him a rarely seen six month medical suspension
3. Thiago Alves – UFC 100
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The wrestling clinic St-Pierre put on against Dan Hardy should have been expected after witnessing the takedowns he was able to execute against the much more well rounded Thiago Alves, who he took on in his previous fight.
To the credit of the muscle-bound Brazilian, he was actually able to stuff several of GSP’s takedowns in the fight, a true rarity in the welterweight division.
However, St-Pierre was simply unrelenting in bringing the fight to the ground, scoring an unheard of 10 takedowns throughout five rounds.
St-Pierre’s technique was more than enough to overwhelm Alves’ power, successfully executing several different variations of the double leg takedown, and even threw in a rarely seen knee tap.
Alves was more than deserving of a title shot at this point in his career, previously winning seven in a row and being dominant over the likes of Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes, and Josh Koscheck.
“The Pitbull” is one of a select few UFC welterweights that has a shot to have a title reign should GSP ever decide to move up to middleweight full time.
2. Jon Fitch – UFC 87
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Fitch is generally still considered the number two welterweight in the world, and still even cracks some pound-for-pound lists on occasion.
This just goes to show how talented the former Purdue wrestling captain is, even if his wrestling heavy style is not always the most entertaining thing to watch.
Prior to getting his one and only shot at UFC gold, Fitch was on a spectacular 16-fight win streak, defeating UFC notables Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez along the way.
The fight played out quite a bit like when Koscheck versed St-Pierre for the second time, as Fitch’s wrestling was useless against GSP’s superior striking game.
Fitch simply looked like a guy who never had a chance in this one, seriously getting bruised and battered along the way, and never looking like a true threat to the champion.
A rematch between the two looked like a real possibility as Fitch took on BJ Penn at UFC 127 in a number one contender fight, but the final result was a draw.
Penn vs. Fitch II was scheduled for UFC 132, but both fighters ended up withdrawing from the card due to shoulder injuries.
Fitch will need surgery to repair the damage, and is expected to be on the shelf for 4-6 months.
1. BJ Penn – UFC 94
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This was a long awaited rematch between the two fighters, as GSP won a tightly contested split decision in their first fight at UFC 58.
Penn was actually the lightweight champion at the time, so his previous three victories were against 155 pound notables Jens Pulver (at the time), Joe Stevenson, and Sean Sherk.
The first round of GSP-Penn II was just as evenly matched and exciting as their first bout, causing the fans to expect another five round classic out of these two talented fighters.
However, Penn began to fade from the second round on. Fatigue noticeably began to set in for the challenger when St-Pierre scored his first takedown in round two, and it was all downhill from there for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist.
A superman punch busted open Penn’s nose in the third round, and from there simply looked like he had nothing left.
GSP took down Penn with ease from there on out, also passing the Hawaiian’s guard with minimal effort; very impressive considering how well documented Penn’s takedown defense and guard are.
Vicious ground and pound from the champion also ensued from this point forward, eventually forcing Penn’s brother to throw in the towel in between the fourth and fifth rounds.
This was another example of GSP simply outclassing a fighter that will likely be a part of the UFC Hall of Fame once his illustrious career comes to a close (Matt Hughes being another prime example).
The fight was not without controversy though, as allegations that GSP greased during the fight were brought forth by Penn’s camp.
The claims essentially ended up being ignored by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (the bout took place in Las Vegas), and Penn even admitted that "[I] definitely got my butt kicked."
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