UFC 129 Fight Card: What Georges St-Pierre Must Do To Beat Jake Shields

UFC 129 is almost here.

One of the biggest questions leading up to the event is what strategy Georges St-Pierre will use against Jake Shields.

GSP is one of the best game-planners in MMA today. He has a way of making great fighters look bad by exploiting their weaknesses.

Although he is pound-for-pound one of the best fighters today, St-Pierre will not be taking Shields lightly.

Shields has beat a who’s who of middle and welterweight contenders during his current 15-fight win streak.

While he may look like he’s in trouble in some fights, he finds a way to regain control and get the win.

How do you beat someone like Shields, who despite being an underdog in many fights has not lost since 2005?

The obvious logic to beating Shields would be to keep the fight standing.

While St-Pierre is known for taking guys down, two of Shields' biggest strengths are grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

His one weakness that everyone is pointing out is his striking.

Despite training with the Diaz brothers and Gilbert Melendez, Shields has yet to become a threat in the standup game.

GSP can take full advantage of this.

In his last fight against Josh Koscheck, St-Pierre utilized the jab for the majority of the bout. The end result left Koscheck with a broken orbital bone on the right side of his face.

While neither man has KO power, GSP is more precise and effective with his striking.

If St-Pierre can keep the pressure on Shields and not gas himself out like Dan Henderson did, he can very well retain his belt.

St-Pierre will also have to be able to keep his composure and have excellent defense.

At some point in the fight, Shields will be looking to take it to the ground, especially if his standup is not in top shape.

GSP will have to have great takedown defense if his plan is to keep the fight on the feet.

Although St-Pierre, too, is very good on the ground, Shields' jiu-jitsu is not something you want to play around with.

If St-Pierre does get himself in a bad position, he’ll have to be able to remain calm, defend and escape. Any slip up could result in a submission loss.

Great standup and excellent defense could be the keys of the fight for Georges St-Pierre.

What else should St-Pierre do to win this fight?