After more than 18 months of inactivity and numerous false starts, Georges St. Pierre will be stepping into the Octagon once again.
The UFC welterweight champ will be defending his title against interim titleholder Carlos Condit this Sunday at UFC 154 in the former’s hometown of Montreal.
GSP last fought in April of last year, defeating Jake Shields by unanimous decision. Former WEC champ Condit earned the interim strap against Nick Diaz earlier this year.
So who will unify the belts?
Striking
St. Pierre’s karate background mixed with his more recent Muay Thai training lends itself to a very technical and precise striking style that’s a winner with the judges. However, St. Pierre’s last stoppage victory was over three years ago (vs BJ Penn) and he hasn’t stopped anyone standing since 2007 (against Matt Hughes).
While Condit’s striking may be a little less technical, he is much more willing to let the leather fly and has more knockout wins as a result. Notably, Condit knocked the heavy-handed Muay Thai fighter Dan Hardy in 2010. Interestingly, GSP has recruited Hardy as a sparring partner for this fight.
Advantage: Condit.
Wrestling
This one is easy. Condit is a well-rounded fighter with solid takedowns but St. Pierre is considered the best pure wrestler in the game, despite having no high school or collegiate background in the sport.
Advantage: GSP.
Submissions
A toss-up. Condit holds 13 submission wins and is well above average on the ground. He avenged a submission loss to BJJ black belt Carlo Prater in WEC by returning the favour with a guillotine choke.
While St. Pierre’s last submission win was all the way back in 2007 in the third Hughes fight, he’s shown incredible defence on the ground and superb top control.
Advantage: Tie.
Intangibles
St. Pierre is coming off both the longest lay-off and biggest injury of his career, so some ring rust may be present. Condit is the taller of the two at 6’2”, though both possess a 76in. reach. The hometown advantage may serve to motivate GSP but shouldn’t deter Condit, who is a perennial underdog.
Both are experienced in title fights, though Condit has only gone past the third round twice in his career. Both have also been trained by Greg Jackson, though the famous coach has opted to relinquish his responsibilities for this fight. GSP has reportedly recruited trainers from Thailand to aid him in this fight.
Perhaps the biggest intangible is all the talk about a possible GSP vs. Anderson Silva match-up. Will St. Pierre look past Condit to the big payday? Will Condit seize the moment and be the monkey wrench to this dream match?
Prediction:
It will take GSP a round or two due to ring rust to get his rhythm going. Condit will land a significant shot or two in the meantime.
St. Pierre’s wrestling advantage will then begin to show as he takes down Condit and peppers him with ground-and-pound.
Condit will likely fade in the later rounds as GSP grinds out his game plan and imposes his will.
Result: GSP via unanimous decision.
Other fights on the main card:
Martin Kampann vs Johny Hendricks
Francis Carmont vs Tom Lawlor
Nick Ring vs Costa Philippou
Mark Hominick vs Pablo Garza
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