UFC 154 St. Pierre vs. Condit

Georges St. Pierre has dominated the UFC welterweight division since winning his first title from Matt Hughes on November 18, 2006, with only a shock defeat at the hands of Matt Serra interrupting a five-year reign at the top. However, for the past 18 months a torn ACL has kept him out, with two title defences cancelled and a new interim champion in Carlos Condit having to be crowned.

The seriousness of the knee problems St. Pierre suffered in late-2011, coupled with his panicked reaction to previous injuries against Jake Shields and Thiago Alves, caused many to doubt that he would be able to perform at his best on his return at UFC 154. It seemed reasonable to suppose that if he was unable to impose his wrestling on Condit, then the heavy-handed "Natural Born Killer" would have the opportunity to do what nobody had done since Serra: test the champion's chin. In a pulsating five-round classic, the theory would be proven half-right, as while St. Pierre was able to impose his wrestling on Condit, his positional dominance was very nearly nullified in a split-second.

Four of the five rounds were very much of a piece, with the Canadian successfully taking Condit down at will. What made the fight much more interesting than, say, St. Pierre's fight with Dan Hardy, was that this time he was up against an opponent who would not let him lay and pray, as Condit was a revelation on the ground, constantly threatening off his back with attempted submissions and sweeps. St. Pierre rose to the challenge, successfully fighting to maintain his dominant position. The champion was far more aggressive on top, both looking to improve his position, and do damage to the challenger. Most notably, towards the end of the first round, a short elbow opened up a nasty cut on Condit's forehead.

A MEMORABLE MOMENT
As good as the grappling-based exchanges were in the other four rounds, it will be the third that will live long in the memory, for it was here that Condit successfully caught St. Pierre with a head kick. St. Pierre went down hard, and for a moment looked in real danger of being finished, as Condit swarmed all over him. But unlike in the Serra fight, St. Pierre proved himself capable of weathering the storm. Indeed, he did so much more than simply survive; not only did he manage to get back to his feet, not only did he manage to push Condit back with his striking, and not only did he manage to slam his opponent to the canvas, but he was also able to control the remainder of the round to the extent that two of the judges awarded it to him.

The comeback in the third, combined with the narrow but consistent advantage St. Pierre maintained in the other four stanzas, secured him a typically emphatic yet unusually entertaining unanimous decision victory.

Having surpassed Matt Hughes' record in welterweight title fights (10-2 as opposed to 9-3), questions then turned to what was next for one of the most dominant champions in the sport's history. Throughout the build-up to the show, the shadow of long-time middleweight champion Anderson Silva loomed large, with the Brazilian in Montreal promoting his desire to face the welterweight champion in a superfight. A bloodied and bruised St. Pierre sounded anything but keen when, immediately after defeating Condit, he was put on the spot about facing Silva.

Days before press time, it was announced that GSP had instead focused his sights on perennial tormentor Nick Diaz, pushing a bout with Silva to the side for now. Still, it was not the "The Spider" who stood to lose the most from that decision, but rather Johny Hendricks, who once again showed that there's more to his game than takedowns, when he almost matched his knockout of Jon Fitch by needing just 46 seconds and one big right-hand to destroy Martin Kampmann. The decision to push Diaz to the front of the queue - following a drug suspension incurred after a loss to Condit - is a controversial one that only serves to prove that Dana White is making too many decisions based on short-term gains.

Results Darren Elkins def. Steven Siler (Decision [unanimous] / R3 / 5:00) - Ivan Menjivar def. Asamat Gashimov (Submission [armbar] / R1 / 2:44) - Matthew Riddle def. John Maguire (Decision [unanimous] / R3 / 5:00) - Antonio Carvalho def. Rodrigo Damm (Decision [split] / R3 / 5:00) - John Makdessi def. Sam Stout (Decision [unanimous] / R3 / 5:00) - Cyrille Diabate def. Chad Griggs (Submission [rear naked choke] / R1 / 2:24) - Patrick Cote def. Alessio Sakara (Disqualification [punches to back of head] / R1 / 1:26) - Pablo Garza def. Mark Hominick (Decision [unanimous] / R3 / 5:00) - Rafael dos Anjos def. Mark Bocek (Decision [unanimous] / R3 / 5:00) - Francis Carmont def. Tom Lawlor (Decision [split] / R3 / 5:00) - Johny Hendricks def. Martin Kampmann (Knockout [punch] / R1 / 0:46) - Georges St. Pierre def. Carlos Condit (Decision [unanimous] / R5 / 5:00)