GSP: The Prototype For The Future

With MMA being so popular now, a lot of people are beginning to start talking about the long-term future of the sport.  It has been concluded by many, that Georges St. Pierre (GSP), is the prototype for the future of mma.

Now, there are many people out there who will say, "Wait a minute here.  BJ Penn is better at brazillian jiu jitsu, and Anderson Silva is a better striker, and is also great on the ground.  So why aren't they the prototypes?"

Well, by analysing Georges St Pierre's skills, I hope to shed some light on why we'll see a lot more GSP-like competitors in the future.

GSP has a blackbelt in Karate, but now trains primarily in boxing, and muay thai.  This striking background provides enough diversity to be able to throw a variety of strikes, while knowing how to defend a variety as well.  Just think: how many other UFC fighters pull off the spinning-back-kick.

His wrestling is amazing, but what makes it even better is how he sets up his takedowns with strikes.

Furthermore, his wrestling allows him to strike and stuff takedowns nearly simultaneously.

GSP is not one of the top BJJ practitioners in the UFC.  He is good at BJJ, however, what makes him so good, is that he excells at BJJ for MMA.  He incorporates strikes into his bjj game seamlessly, whereas other better bjj players, like Jake Shields, are good at BJJ, but can't work the ground and pound to set up submissions, or use bjj techniques to advance for better ground and pound.

Add on top of that, his supreme physical fitness, and you can see why he is the prototype for the future of mixed martial arts.  Anderson Silva is better at Muay Thai, and has great BJJ, but his wrestling is not great, so 185 lb version of GSP would have a good chance of bringing the fight down, and winning the fight from top position.

What makes Georges St Pierre better than many others as well, is that he always trains with the best people in their respective disciplines.  He wrestles with the Canadian National team.  He boxes with the best boxers in Canada.  And when he wants to improve his Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, he makes trips down to Brazil, to learn from the masters.

While we can't all be lucky enough to be able to have such great resources, GSP has made the future seem much clearer.  Here are some of the conclusions:

1. The old and established MMA fight clubs, like Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den, Liddell's "The Pit", and Miletich Fighting Systems are quickly becoming dinosaurs of the past.

2. In the future, expect to see the standard of athleticism and fitness in the UFC rise exponentially.  People like Karo Parisyan, who do not take conditioning seriously, will become a thing of the past.

3. Expect to see the extinction of one-dimensional fighters.  Matt Hughes was once able to dominate the UFC based upon his grappling and ground-fighting skills.  Other fighters like Travis Lutter have relied on jiu jitsu, while others like Liddell have relied on their standup skills, and reverse-wrestling to win the day.

In Liddell's last fight, Rashad Evan's coach Greg Jackson knew exactly what strategy and skills Liddell would be employing.  With that knowledge, they were able to tailor a gameplan to defeat Liddell.  Greg Jackson, by the way, makes GSP's strategies.

When fighting against GSP, who is great on his feet, but can also take the fight to the ground at will, strategy becomes much tougher.  A fighter can't throw his punches and kicks with reckless abandon if they might leave him open for a takedown.  And it is hard to defend takedowns, when the other fighter can feign a takedown, and punch you in the face.

So, although Anderson Silva may still be considered the best fighter, Georges St Pierre is the prototype for the future.  Don't get me wrong though, I think GSP will get to fight Anderson Silva in 2009 for P4P supremacy.

I've got GSP in that fight.