lvl

At 170 Pounds, GSP Can't Be Stopped.

You never say never in MMA, as Matt Serra will tell you, but at 170 pounds the strategy GSP employed last night simply can't be stopped. Every time he fights now, Georges just sucks the life out of his opponents. You can see it in their eyes by the end of round 2 or 3 each time.

All things considered, BJ Penn was the optimal skillset to deal with GSP's strategy last night. He has tremendous takedown defense, he's an incredibly advanced black belt, he has the punching power to catch guys for short periods standing up, and he has a great ability to stand up after a takedown.

It's hard to overstate GSP's performance...in fact, you can't. He easily passed the guard of a guy who won the world championships when it counted the most. He took down the guy with the best takedown defense. He outboxed a guy Freddie Roach calls the best boxer in MMA. And he held a guy down that Randy Couture and Matt Lindland couldn't hold down.

The only threat to GSP at 170 is if he lets down his guard or picks a poor strategy. Using the same strategy from last night he will stomp Thiago Alves, though knowing St. Pierre he'll probably leg kick Alves to death for victory, just to prove a point. If not Penn, who has the stylistic answer to St. Pierre at 170 pounds?


If Georges St Pierre Defeats Thiago Alves, 185 Is the Only Option


Currently, the 185 pound division is a bit of a wasteland. Anderson Silva reigns on top, and is so far above everyone else that we have to see meaningless fights like his fight against Thales Leites in April. Anyone has a chance, but nobody would try to claim this is a legitimate or compelling title fight.

The same thing will happen to the welterweight division if (when) GSP defeats Thiago Alves. At that point, there will only be rematches with guys Georges dominated, and first time fights against guys like Jake Shields that are such mismatches that they border on being sick jokes.

For the sake of saving both divisions, St. Pierre's future is at 185 pounds. I know he trains with a lot of guys at 185, but I think he can be convinced. At 185 pounds, he would really open up both divisions. He should leave his title behind and go to middleweight, and allow a new 170 king to be crowned.

At 185 pounds, the interesting matches abound. Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping, Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva...what fan wouldn't love to see GSP fight these men?

Georges always talks about how he needs a challenge to stay motivated, and this is the right challenge for him going forward. He would need to build muscle and take the time to do it right, as he said last night in the post-show press conference, but this is a guy that takes down Rashad Evans at will.

Usually people suggest weight changes because a guy loses, but in St. Pierre's case, it's because he's too good.

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James Deuce

Give credit to the writer when you post articles like this.

Anyway, GSP will be very hard to beat. I think almost everyone would love to see GSP/Silva. That would be such a mega fight, and it would consist of so much different techniques and skills. GSP has a lot of options ahead if he beats Alves.

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Bigpapa42

The problem with St. Pierre moving up to 185 permanently is that it would mean giving up one of his advantages at 170 - his size. He is a huge welterweight. He obviously has a very diverse skillset, but that size is a major advantage when the fight goes to the ground. If he does move up, GSP isn't undersized for middleweight, but he certainly wouldn't be a big middleweight. The top MWs - Silva, Franklin (if he moves back down), and Bisping (arguable if he's 'top') - are all big for the weight class. While GSP would be competitive at 185, I think he would go from being a great, dominant WW to a very good and competitive MW.

Personally, I think a better option is keeping GSP at WW. Do the Silva superfight if necessary, but as a one-time thing. Feed St. Pierre the occassional undeserving challenger to keep things interesting, much like they are doing with Silva. And have the UFC focus on bringing in some solid fighters for 170 to build up the division a bit. There is talent out there. The UFC just doesn't seem to want to pay to land them.

Dmac

He got it from BloodyElbow.com

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lvl

sorry for not posting the source, just did a copypast. it seemed to be a topic where you can have good discussion. did not read the rules here and have simply forgotten to add the source. did not think about that.

if he wins his next fight i would not directly let him drop his belt and move up, but i would start to give him a few fights at 185, but not directly against Anderson Silva.
that would be directly a mega-fight that everyone want to see, me also but i rather see him work his way up in that 185division and if he then has to face Anderson Silva it would be even more of a mega-fight then it would be now at the moment.

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Kimura

If GSP moves up to 185 and fights Silva, the same thing that happened to Penn will happen to him...no doubt in my mind.

I think there's nothing wrong in dominating your weight class. Matt Hughes did it for so long and it was fine...Chuck Lidell did it for years as well and there were no problems with that, why all of a sudden people want GSP to move up in weight class?

I would understand if he fought 10 guys and beat them all without a problem, but he's only had two Title defences. I say leave it be and enjoy the GSP ride. Also, the Welterweight division is full of tough guys that can give GSP a problem.

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Bigpapa42

I agree completely.

Much as I love St. Pierre, weight classes exist for a reason. A great welterweight is almost always going to lose to a great middleweight, just like a great light heavyweight is almost always going to lose a great heavyweight, etc. When you are talking about elite fighters, the skill levels are so high that the size and power advantage can be what separates them. Its not always going to decide the fight, but its often the major difference.

That doesn't mean I would want to see a GSP-Silva superfight. But it would heavily favor Silva.

I don't think GSP moving weight classes is a great idea. I don't see what's wrong with dominating a weight class for a long time either. Long-term reigns is one thing that the UFC has lacked for quite awhile and those can be pretty valuable things. They help build continuity.

The Alves fight will be interesting. He's not an easy opponent, but a big question is whether he'll be able to make weight. Assuming GSP gets past Alves, there isn't that much left in the weight class for him to go after. Still, the UFC is managing to do okay at middleweight with Anderson Silva going against questionable challengers like Patrick Cote and Thales Leites. Good fighters, but they haven't done that much to "earn" a title shot. They're just solid fighters that are getting thrown in there to giving Silva likely victories so the champion can look ever more dominant. Pride did this a ton, throwing virtual cans in there against the champs. The biggest difference is that the UFC still uses these fights to headline, whereas Pride would often put them on deeper cards. I wouldn't mind seeing the UFC throw some mid-level fighters in there against GSP just for the entertainment value.

da one enigma

The problem that the UFC is going to run into is staleness.

During the reigns of Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell the UFC was less constricting with their contracts and were just getting into the MMA boom. Since then, the UFC has lost a lot of top name talent and it's slowly but surely sapped the depth of the divisions.

Also, since those times, the UFC has been quick to put together some really stellar cards to really capitalize on the MMA boom. If you think about it, 2008 had some really great fights and 2009 already has and will prove more too...but how long will it last?

GSP is cleaning out the WWs and Anderson Silva has already been doing that with the MWs. The fans are going to be hungry for some really intriguing fights and I dunno if the UFC is going to be able to deliver continually, the way they have been. With the LHW division though, I see it being a revolving door of champions.

That's why I can understand the author's idea to have GSP move up in weight. It's either that or the UFC will be forced to cross-promote which I see as an inevitability. With a dominant reign from a guy like GSP, I see things get stale...fast.

Kimura

Nice post Enigma....

I doubt things will get stale anytime soon. Except for Heavyweight and Middleweight division, the UFC is doing well. All the other divisions are jam packed.

The Lightweight Division is healthy and has tons of fighters...Kenny Florian of course, Diego Sanchez, Nate Diaz, Clay Guida, Mac Danzig, Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, etc.

The Welterweight Division is not as deep, but it still has a bunch of challengers for GSP for now. Thiago Alves, Diego Sanchez (if he moves back up), Mike Swick, John Fitch (I would love to see a rematch), Luigi Fioravanti (so underated), Anthony Johnson, Ben Saunders (not yet, but this guy is gonna be a star), Marcus Davis.

By the time he fights half of these guys, more fighters are gonna come in.

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