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Georges St-Pierre, left, squares off with Carlos Condit. Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press/Press Association Images
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Uncaged: A look back at the biggest upset in UFC history

As Georges St-Pierre prepares to make his comeback, Brian Kirk looks back at his shock defeat to Matt Serra at UFC 63.

WITH THE NEXT UFC event not due for another couple of weeks, there is no better time to look back on one of the most exciting fights in the organisation’s history.

Georges St-Pierre is already considered to be one of the greatest fighters to enter the Octagon and he is due to make his long-awaited return to action after injury to face Carlos Condit at UFC 154 on 17 November.

It has been a long and arduous eighteen months for St-Pierre in which he has seen Condit take over the mantle of UFC interim welterweight champion and he faces a tough fight to get his belt back.

It is not the first time GSP has been in this position, although the manner in which he lost the belt the first time around is still stuff of MMA folklore.

Matt Serra vs Georges St-Pierre I

St-Pierre first fought in the UFC in 2004 when he defeated Karo Parisyan before swiftly dispatching Jay Hieron to earn a shot at championship gold and one of the all-time greats, Matt Hughes.

It was the much more experienced Hughes who inflicted the first loss of GSP’s career but that only served to galvanise and re-focus the Quebec native, who won his next six fights, including a win over Hughes and got his hands on the belt.

Meanwhile Matt Serra, a tough and gritty New York fighter, had just won the chance to face the newly crowned champ next time round after winning series four of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Up until then, Serra was considered a durable journeyman who carried a somewhat unremarkable 4-4 UFC record and had surprisingly managed to come out on the right end of a decision against Chris Lytle in the TUF finale to earn a shot at St-Pierre at UFC 63.

Serra was given no chance. With the bookies, he was the biggest underdog in UFC history. GSP had breezed past the likes of BJ Penn and Sean Sherk to get to this point; Serra had losses to Karo Parisyan and Din Thomas on his record.

The build-up to the fight wasn’t overly hyped, mainly due to the fact that everybody thought a St-Pierre win was merely a formality. He was the better wrestler, striker, and much better on the ground.

But the first round of their fight summed up the immense unpredictability of the sport in a nutshell.

After an initial feeling out period, GSP looked to establish his lethal precision jab; he took control of the centre of the Octagon and seemed to be very much comfortable and in control.

That all changed in a split second when three minutes into the first round Serra threw a wild overhand right that stumbled GSP and rocked the MMA world.

A visibly unsteady St-Pierre struggled to get his footing right and Serra caught him with some heavy hooks that flattened the Canadian before pouncing on top of him and forcing him to tap due to strikes.

YouTube Credit: Axl9

Serra was the now the proud owner of the UFC championship belt and the biggest upset ever seen in the organisation.

A re-match was scheduled immediately and it turned out to be second time lucky for St-Pierre as he dominated the first round before finishing Serra with a series of devastating knees to the body early in the second.

YouTube Credit: SamGameJ

GSP would go on to defend the belt another six times beating the likes of Dan Hardy and Josh Koscheck before injury forced him to vacate the title in 2011. He will get a chance to get his belt back at UFC 154.

Serra’s last fight was against the man he beat to get his title shot, Chris Lytle, at UFC 119 in 2010. He hasn’t fought since that defeat, concentrating instead on training the likes of Chris Weidmann in New York, but the first fight against GSP remains the defining moment of his career.

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