GONE ARE THE days when a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury marked the beginning of the end of a fighter and Georges St-Pierre hopes to prove that this is the case on Saturday.
It has been a long and arduous return to fitness for the man regarded as one of the greatest welterweights of all time and if anyone has the ability and determination to return from such a damaging injury, it’s GSP.
Although the shadow of the injury and the question of ring rust still loom large, facing Carlos Condit is the biggest challenge he must overcome this weekend in Montreal at UFC 154.
The co-main event between Johny Hendricks and Martin Kampmann could potentially produce a challenger to whoever unifies the welterweight belt while a heavily stacked undercard means there is a lot to look forward to.
GSP set for unification bout
It seems like a lifetime ago when St-Pierre bossed Jake Shields at UFC 129 and notched up another successful title defence. Eighteen months away from any sport is a long time.
So as well as having to face arguably his toughest foe to date, GSP must put to bed any lingering doubts hanging over his knee injury as he looks to get back to being the one true welterweight champion.
In Condit he faces a tough and extremely intelligent fighter who couples a devastating knack of finishing fights with being one of the best thinkers in the business. His devastating KO of Dan Hardy at UFC 120 and his dismantling of Nick Diaz last time out demonstrate both aspects of his skill-set perfectly.
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His high focus and intensity will be matched by St-Pierre who claimed to have “his fire back” after admitting that he felt stale in a few fights before his injury. This matchup will be as much about the mental side of the game as the physical one so expect a slow start as they figure each other out.
GSP won’t want to stand with Condit for five rounds like he did against Jake Shields so expect him to shoot for takedowns and this is where the fight could be won or lost.
If Condit can’t stuff the takedowns, he will be in for a long night as St-Pierre is ruthless from guard or mount. Expect Condit to target the knee of the Canadian but this may be used in desperation if he can’t get the better of the stand-up battle.
Internet rumours are circulating that Anderson Silva will be cage side to announce a super-fight against St-Pierre if he wins but there is no doubt that Condit will be doing everything in his power to stop that from happening.
Best of the rest
Despite the rumours, an impressive performance from either Johny Hendricks or Martin Kampmann would make it difficult to look past them for the next shot at the welterweight champion.
Hendricks is on a four-fight win streak having beaten the likes of Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck while Kampmann has wins over Thiago Alves and Jake Ellenberger under his belt.
His more impressive recent displays means that Hendricks is the slight favourite coming into this fight and this is definitely the toughest bout to call on the card. However, it has all the potential of being one of the “fight of the night” candidates come Saturday.
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Nick Ring and Mark Hominick will represent the home crowd as they face Costa Philipou and Pablo Garza while “Filthy” Tom Lawlor will look to add another “KO of the Night” award to his locker as he faces Francis Carmont.
A heavily stacked undercard sees the likes of Patrick Cote, Sam Stout and Mark Bocek entertain the Canadian fans while John Maguire and Matthew Riddle look to get onto a future main card with a good performance in their fight.
