UFC 124: Why Georges St. Pierre Needs To Stop Josh Koscheck Tonight

Georges St. Pierre is perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.  His sensational wrestling will again be on display in just a few hours.  Josh Koscheck claims to have improved and become more well-rounded since his loss to St. Pierre at UFC 74: Respect.

This time around, with the title on the line, Koscheck will need to execute a perfect game plan to defeat GSP.  Because quite frankly, St. Pierre has also improved since then and transformed into the very best in the sport.  Koscheck, albeit a great wrestler himself, will look to keep the fight standing and make GSP work.

If GSP opts to be more assertive and "lay and pray," it will not fair well for him, at least not in my mind.  It would be another GSP "snoozefest" so I ought to bring my pillow, but it will again retain a title.  Rather, GSP needs to look to stop Koscheck.  Let's face it, he hasn't stopped anyone since B.J. Penn nearly two years ago.

To gain more P4P respect and for his own good in general, he will need to stop Koscheck.  Their heated rivalry was kindled on the TUF 12 show, which saw team GSP (red) utterly dominate Team Koscheck.  This will be a main story going into tonight's fight as these two do not like each other one bit.

St. Pierre must stop Koscheck tonight to shut him up and show the world why he's the best.  Having Montreal in his corner will also work to his advantage, but Koscheck is cagey himself and will look to take the crowd out of it early.  Never has a fighter had a more distinct crowd advantage.  Not only do most MMA fans dislike Kos, Canadians absolutely despise him.  He's a perfect villain and plays as GSP's antithesis.  That makes this an even better PPV buy for many.  

Though I believe that GSP needs to stop Koscheck, I honestly don't think that he will.  He will play it passively and do enough to earn the win again.  Though with the recent UFC judging, it's never a good idea to leave it in the hands of the judges.

We shall see tonight as the world will be waiting and watching.