UFC 137 Live: 5 Predictions for Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit

Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit are slated to throw down at UFC 137. This will be St. Pierre’s toughest test to date. The question on everyone’s lips will be, can St-Pierre, after winning his last four fights by unanimous decision, finally finish a fight?

Those questions, and a lot more, will be answered come fight night.

“Rush” (22-2 MMA, 16-2 UFC) will be doing his damnedest to silence his critics once and for all, and prove that he’s actually capable of ending a fight—and he’ll want to do that in spectacular fashion.

On the other hand, “The Natural Born Killer” (27-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC) will be attempting to do what only Matt Hughes and Matt Serra have been able to achieve—defeat the No. 2 pound-for-pound legend.

UFC 137: Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit—who walks away with the belt?

5. Cat and Mouse Game

Both St-Pierre and Condit will be aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses (although, St-Pierre doesn’t seem to have any imperfections at present).

I see both combatants feeling each other out at first, in order to test the waters.

If that transpires throughout the bout and both fighters refuse to fully engage, I reckon this will be a long snore fest, with St-Pierre retaining his title via unanimous decision.

That’s the worst case scenario, however, and I doubt that in a championship fight either fighter would be that lackluster.

4. Wrestling Game

I expect St-Pierre to go in for numerous take downs throughout the fight and, if that's the case, I imagine he'll be successful on most occasions. Condit isn’t necessarily noted for his take down defense.

The main factor here will be St-Pierre’s supreme core strength—his ability to outmuscle and outwrestle Condit.

And once St-Pierre has hit the ground, the next thing would be to secure a dominant position, to try for a submission or a ground-and-pound attack on Condit.

St-Pierre is one of the best wrestlers in MMA, and if he uses this strategy he’ll more than likely come out victorious.

3. Jiu-Jitsu Game

Condit and St-Pierre are both accomplished Jiu-Jitsu specialists—Condit (Purple belt) and St-Pierre (Black belt).

If St-Pierre takes the fight to the ground, then he’ll have to contend with Condit’s submission skills, which are highly efficacious. Condit might only be a purple belt but his record of 13 submissions in 26 wins speaks for itself.

St-Pierre’s submission attempts on Dan Hardy failed to yield results, maybe due to the fact that “The Outlaw” was all heart and as stubborn as an ox.

Or, St-Pierre just lacked that killer instinct to finish off the kimura he locked in.

Either way, if an opportunity presents itself this time around, St-Pierre will most definitely do what he has to do.

Both fighters have been submitted before, but if I had to put my money on who comes out on top, I wouldn’t bet against Condit.

The Jiu-Jitsu game is his realm, and even though Condit is six fights removed from submitting anyone, I still take Condit to hand St-Pierre his second loss via submission with an armbar.

2. Stand and Bang Game

St-Pierre has shown that he can box if need be.  He put an absolute clinic on Josh Koscheck at UFC 124, utilizing his jab and hitting Koscheck at will.

The result—Koscheck was hospitalized due to the damage attributed to the fists of St-Pierre.

Condit seems to be an unqualified monster when it comes to standing and banging—he has finished 13 of his opponents by implementing various strikes.

This is a dangerous area for both fighters, but more so for St-Pierre.

However, Condit has the upper hand in this department.

Condit via KO/TKO.

1. End Game

St-Pierre is the UFC Welterweight Champion for a reason—he’s the most well rounded athlete in MMA today, and strategizes almost every eventuality before and during a fight.

St-Pierre has defeated the crème de la crème of the welterweight division—Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Josh Koscheck (twice), B.J. Penn (twice), Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves and not to mention Jake Shields.

He might not be finishing opponents, but he’s winning, and the emphasis should be placed on winning.

Condit is looking to be the heir apparent and he will be intent on bringing his A-game to the Octagon.

The likes of Dong Hyun Kim, Dan Hardy, Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger (St-Pierre’s supposedly greatest threat to his tenure as welterweight champion), they have all fallen at the hands of Condit.

Condit has both striking and submission skill sets in his arsenal, and I expect him to exploit the two.

Nothing is a given in MMA—one carefully placed strike, one wrong move, and a fight could be over before you blink.

A lot is at stake for both fighters.

A loss for Condit and it’s back to the drawing board and to the queue of a long line of welterweights vying for championship glory.

If the unthinkable occurred and St-Pierre were to lose, not only will his psyche be damaged but the “Rush” mystique would be gone, I presume, forever.

This fight could go either way, but come Oct. 29 at UFC 137, Condit will be crowned the new UFC Welterweight Champion.

I know I’ll get a lot of heat for this prediction, but I’m sticking by my guns.