UFC welterweight Champion Georges
St. Pierre is finally set to make his long awaited return from ACL knee surgery
tonight in front of his home crowd at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec,
Canada, and to be completely honest the stakes could not be any higher. The organization
is not giving GSP an easy fight to ease his way back into the sport after the 18
month layoff due to his injury. St. Pierre will be entering the octagon tonight
against a man that could very well be the biggest threat he’s ever faced while defending
his crown. On this frosty November night in 2012 that will likely go down in
MMA history he’ll be taking on “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit; the
interim UFC Welterweight Champion.
The big question that everyone is
curious to find the answer to is whether GSP will come back as explosive and
athletic as he was before having one of the most serious operations an athlete
can undergo in his ACL knee repair. The word out of Georges’ camp is that he is
stronger and faster than he was before the operation, but let’s get real for a second:
the reality is that no athlete is ever stronger and faster than before such a
major operation to such a critical part of what makes premiere athletes so
dominant. Some athletes never return from similar operations, some come back
and never find their full stride again…and some come back only to watch
themselves lose all that they once had in a tragic passing of the torch.
However, we are indeed talking
about Georges St. Pierre, one of the most dominant and explosive athletes we’ve
ever seen in any sport, let alone in MMA. Georges has explained on several occasions
that he was nervous about his return but then realized that he had nothing but
the best doctors and rehabilitation specialists working with him around the
clock to get him back to the top of his game. So the question everyone wants to
know is, “will Georges be the same fighter?”
My guess is yes. St. Pierre has
never failed to blow my expectations out of the water. He improves in every
single appearance, he never stops growing, learning, and he continually becomes
a better professional. As much time and money as the UFC has put in to making
Jon Jones the face of the company their efforts will never elevate Jones to the
level of Georges St. Pierre, not because he is not as talented or full of
potential, but because St. Pierre is the most humble, honest, and respectful
champion I have ever seen in any sport. The way he carries himself in and
outside of the cage is unmatched by anyone and that type of professionalism
does not lead to a sudden collapse after a single injury, regardless of the severity.
St. Pierre is here to stay and his resurgence of dominance will be on display
for the MMA world to see tonight as he battles Carlos Condit in a Champion vs.
Champion bout that will tell us more about Georges St. Pierre than any of his
past fights have combined. The task may not come easy but my gut tells me that
GSP will, like he always has, exploit the weakness of his opponent and attack
it without restraint.
Condit, although he is a dangerous
fighter in every position known to the fight game, has always had a weakness in
defending the takedown. Well, it just so happens that GSP has the highest
takedown percentage of any fighter…ever. That should give fans a better
understanding of the probability that Condit may fight the majority of this
fight from his back…and the stats show that if St. Pierre is successful in
taking Condit to the ground that this could be a very long, brutal night for “The
Natural Born Killer”. This is not to say that Condit will not be able to stop
St. Pierre’s takedown attacks. After all, Condit implemented an outstanding
game plan that saw him outpoint, out speed, and outsmart Nick Diaz to claim the
interim welterweight strap last February. His footwork in that fight proved to
the world that Condit is surely the threat to GSP. His talent and veteran
experience will test Georges, but I still have to believe that “RUSH” will be
too dominant in every aspect of the fight. Condit may give GSP a run for his
money, but when all is said and done St. Pierre will unify the two welterweight
straps and walk away King of the UFC welterweights once again.
Tonight, the Champion will reclaim
his spot atop the MMA world and leave the MMA community in awe at how great he
can still look even after so much time.
-Jake
Chastain
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