UFC 124 Fight Card: What Georges St. Pierre Must Do To Beat Josh Koscheck

UFC is ending 2010 with one of the most anticipated fights of the year at UFC 124: Georges St. Pierre vs Josh Koscheck for the welterweight championship.

These two fought once before at UFC 74 in 2007, with GSP getting a unanimous decision victory en route to winning back the welterweight title.

That was three years ago and a lot has changed for both these fighters in that time: The victory over Koscheck was the first in GSP's current seven fight win streak; Georges St. Pierre has become one of the most dominant fighters in any weight class.

As his career has gone on, he has gotten so much better in every facet of fighting. His technique is great, he is so fast, has a lot of power and a great ground game.

There are few men that have really given him a challenge throughout his career and no one has come close since his last defeat against Matt Serra, that was back in 2007.

Enter: Josh Koscheck.

The No. 1 contender for the UFC welterweight title will most certainly not be intimidated or awestruck by GSP. In a way, this fight will be completely different from their first fight because Koscheck has evolved so much as a fighter in the three years that have passed.

Before, Koscheck was a wrestler through-and-through. He didn't have a strong standup game and his submission game was decent but uninspiring.

Now, he is a much better fighter. He has evolved and taken his game to new levels. He is a much better striker than before. He has developed a good ground game with some work needed on his submissions but it is better.

So, what does GSP have to do in order to win?

He needs to use his explosive technique to take the fight to Koscheck. If he waits on Koscheck to make a move, it will hurt him in the fight. He needs to come out from the opening bell and get in the challenger's face.

Use takedowns and that great ground-and-pound to work over Koscheck. If he can do that, it will open up everything else for him in the fight. He needs to put Koscheck into defense mode early.

By doing that, he will own the fight and retain the UFC welterweight title.