A Peek at Georges St. Pierre: the Champion Looks Bigger
by Michael Rome on Dec 15, 2009 10:00 PM EST
in MMA News
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PrintGeorges St. Pierre was recently named the Canadian Athlete of the Year for 2009, which marks his second year in a row winning the title. He beat out Sindey Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins to win it by a vote of 64-36. The award itself is news, but perhaps more interesting is the video of St. Pierre accepting the award.
As I was watching the video, Georges St. Pierre's increase in muscle and overall size struck me immediately. His arms and chest are bigger. Dave Meltzer spoke with St. Pierre in mid-November, and got the story on St. Pierre's new size:
He's up from his usual 187-188 pounds as his walk-around weight to 195-196, and said he's slowly developing muscle that he will maintain. At the same time, he emphasized that his athletic performance comes second to his health, and despite competing in a dangerous sport, he is not going to take any steps that would hinder his long-term well-being. The 28-year old St. Pierre said that if he gets up to 200 pounds, he may have to move up a weight class. He's noted that he goes against middleweights, light heavyweights and heavyweights in training all the time, and does very well against them.
It's very possible that Georges St. Pierre is going to grow his way out of the welterweight division and into the middleweight division. BJ Penn is still hoping to move to 170 to eventually go after St. Pierre, but he may find that by the time he gets there his white whale has migrated to another body of water.
My guess is both Penn and St. Pierre have two fights left in their current divisions. If they both win out, we could see something unprecedented in the UFC: a simultaneous shift up for two champions. At 170, there are intriguing fights for Penn against Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Dan Hardy, Carlos Condit, Anthony Johnson, and many others. At 185, St. Pierre has a plethora of intriguing options, including Anderson Silva, Demian Maia, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Michael Bisping, and maybe even Rich Franklin.
The only roadblock to St. Pierre's move to 185 is Nate Marquardt. GSP is unwilling to move up and jump ahead of or fight his friend, so he will wait and see how Nate does in his quest for the title. If he loses to Sonnen (unlikely) or Silva (likely), then I think we'll see St. Pierre take the plunge.
I have mixed feelings about the two moves. On one hand, it will provide a lot more intriguing fights on PPV in late 2010 and into 2011 and 2012. On the other hand, there's something to be said for long periods of dominant champions. Unfortunately, in a sport where people have to pay $50 to see the important shows, you have to bow to the consumer, and the consumer may not be interested in seeing BJ Penn walk all over the Tyson Griffins of the world.
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So Dan Hardy will be facing a larger stronger GSP?
ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee
I can’t believe that GSP beat Crosby, seeing that Crosby won the Cup this year. If Crosby was on a Canadian team he probably would have won by a large margin.
Keep firing Assholes!
Fedor has accomplished nothing until he fights Kimbo.
Does this mean that Aldo will be taking over at 155 when it’s time for the switcheroo?
Keep firing Assholes!
Fedor has accomplished nothing until he fights Kimbo.
I thought the same thing immediately. Aldo’s young, he could gradually grow himself to 155. I think he’s only 5’7", so he’d be of average or just below average height, and his reach looks like it’d be enough at lightweight as well. The end result of all this could be outgrowing the UFC to become a professional walrus wrangler.
by Kwisatz Haderach on Dec 16, 2009 12:01 AM EST up reply actions
Moves up in weight, yeah, yeah, yeah...
did you see what you wrote?
An MMA FIGHTER has beaten out a HOCKEY PLAYER for Canadian athlete of the year, TWICE!
Is mine the only head that is having trouble believing that? Its amazing. Go Canada!
He beat him by a lot too.
MMA is disproportionately popular in Canada. If you took the numbers they do in Canada and extrapolated the buyrates to the United States, the numbers would be enormous.
by Michael Rome on Dec 15, 2009 10:08 PM EST up reply actions
And Fedor Emelianenko was Russian Male Athlete of the Year 2009. Does that mean the sport is finding acceptance easier in other countries?
At the risk of sounding ignorant, could their be a shortage of professional sports that are past times in some countries? Where in the US we have football, baseball. basketball, golf, hockey, tennis and boxing all of which have fairly good followings, other countries may have more excess demand for a sport like MMA and thus it catches on faster.
by Dropkick434 on Dec 15, 2009 11:46 PM EST up reply actions
We are conditioned to like MMA by hockey fights.
Example hockey fight:
1 Wild swinging
2 Clinch
3 Takedown
Keep firing Assholes!
Fedor has accomplished nothing until he fights Kimbo.
Frye/Takayama should have taken place on skates.
by Kwisatz Haderach on Dec 16, 2009 12:05 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
You’re not entirely wrong in the sense that I know that at least in Russia martial arts are very respected – boxing , judo and karate are quite common as a past time sport .
They do like soccer and basketball too but right now they don’t have any international level stars , so that left Fedor and that tennis player and Fedor won :)
The Tennis player won too
She was female athlete of the year.
Svetlana is horrific
'He built his whole reputation as a waffle house chef. They’ve been serving him up ham and eggs with a side of canned tomatoes' - Don Frye on Fedor Emelianenko
by Well Read Idiot on Dec 16, 2009 11:15 AM EST up reply actions
I would like to take a poll, i think russian, along with samoan, and english woman are the ugliest in the world. thoughts anyone?
If Crosby were on a Canadian team it wouldn’t have been close.
Keep firing Assholes!
Fedor has accomplished nothing until he fights Kimbo.
This vote wasn’t close. St. Pierre ran away with it.
by Michael Rome on Dec 15, 2009 10:09 PM EST up reply actions
Crosby would have won by a huge margin if he played somewhere like Montreal, Toronto, Calgary…
Keep firing Assholes!
Fedor has accomplished nothing until he fights Kimbo.
I’m not sure it would be as big of a landslide as you think, it’s not like GSP had any fights in Canada this year.
The only thing Jon Jones does better than Matt Hamill is hear.
(And smash faces)
by ufc4 on Dec 15, 2009 11:00 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
It's not like he fights for a Canadian promotion...
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
Good point. Course Canada’s favorite sport has always had fighting involved :), though sadly less than it used to.
by Kwisatz Haderach on Dec 16, 2009 12:03 AM EST up reply actions
By God do you know what this means?
More Georges St. Pierre can only mean more riddum
Long time lurker, first time poster
"The greatest enemy will hide in the last place you would ever look." - Revolver
by flyingkneetoface on Dec 15, 2009 10:15 PM EST reply actions
Dey can't andle iz riddum now!
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
I too would love to see both GSP and BJ rule their divisions for a long, long time, but I understand the sport’s ever evolving nature and need to see big fights right now, not two or three years from now. Of the current champs, I see Silva and GSP being quite successful in a higher division. Silva probably more so than GSP. An in shape and revived BJ in the WW division would be a true pleasure to watch. The possible matches are excellent. The only thing I wouldn’t be looking forward to is what I see as the inevitable BJ bellyaching about how GSP is not willing to face him, etc.
I love me some Sexyama!
If Hardy thought he could handle GSP's riddum before....
There’s no way he can handle the riddum now
Hardy
Is probably going to get put on his ass early and often and I’m just gonna guess GSP is going to hit very hard now.
Firefrankwren.com: It's gonna happen this offseason
Health is GSP’s number one concern… that’s why he’s waiting for Anderson to move up to 205 first.
Anderson has 1 or 2 more fights left and then he’s moving up.
BJ to WW would invigorate the WW division… GSP to MW would invigorate the MW division.
When champs clean out their divisions. Ideally They move up… the division then restructures and hopefully someone who was dominant in a lower weight class comes up to reinvigorate it.
Am I the only one who thinks GSP
beats Anderson? Anderson’s got plenty of power and accuracy, so it’s always a danger that he could KO GSP coming in, but once GSP gets a hold of him, I’ve gotta think he’ll be able to control the fight and take Anderson apart.
I know, I know..it’s blasphemy to think anyone can beat Anderson, but I don’t see GSP playing into his strengths (the stand-up, duh).
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
by misterjonez on Dec 16, 2009 12:44 AM EST up reply actions
If GSP can take Anderson down & GnP the daylights out of him, that’ll work so long as he stops the BJJ sub attempts.
Though, if Hendo could take him down, and GSP is better planner, so it’s a possibility.
I just remember Angry Silva in the second round of that fight and think that what would happen to GSP.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Dec 16, 2009 12:48 AM EST up reply actions
I think you’re right if it was at a catch weight around 178lbs and it was only for 3 rounds.
At 185 in a five round fight GSP’s only probable avenue of beating Anderson his holding him down for five rounds. Dan Henderson tried that for one round and was exhausted.
The problem for GSP is his dimensions… he’s not long enough to do anything to anderson from top position so ground and pound is highly unlikely. I see it as a massacre.
People think GSP has a weak chin because of serra but in reality he doesnt… he was never out cold and was never knocked out in his career… But Anderson will kill him.
You think GSP would have too much trouble
passing Anderson’s guard? In guard, length is a serious asset. In side-control, it’s nearly worthless. If GSP couldn’t pass Anderson’s guard, then I absolutely agree that it’s a slaughter.
The bit about Hendo gassing after a round of trying to stay on top of him makes me wonder, though. Rich Franklin and someone else have come out and said, essentially, that Anderson is just ridiculously strong. Maybe it’s just not feasible to keep him down for five rounds, as you suggest.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
If Anderson will lock body triangle there will be no guard passing…
by dancingChicken on Dec 16, 2009 4:30 AM EST up reply actions
It’s not like he can lock in a body triangle at will. And GSP moves to half guard faster than anyone following a TD.
Ho Ho, I didn’t say “he will lock a body triangle at will”. I said “if…”.
by dancingChicken on Dec 17, 2009 3:00 AM EST up reply actions
It's true: he wasn't out cold
But watch the video carefully and you’ll see he tapped due to strikes.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
Yeah he tapped… that doesn’t mean he has a weak chin. Im just pointing out that people think he has a weak chin when in fact he took a shit load of shots and was still conscious.
I think he explained in a interview leading up to Penn II
that he taped because he had gotten caught behind the ear and any attempts he had made to recover had been squashed by Serra, so he decided to forgo getting unnecessarily pounded out.
Oh yeah
I’m not disparaging the guy at all – he knew it was over and made what we can all say was a good decision. No sense getting beaten in the head when there’s no gain.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
For sure, GSP definitely doesn’t have a weak chin. And since when does getting punched behind the ear resemble being hit on the chin?
I love me some Sexyama!
When “chin” became code for “the magical confluence of physical attributes that make up your ability to take punishment without being knocked out” that nobody understands.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
I think the only reason GSP is waiting to move up, is because his training partner marquardt is in line for a title shot agains anderson, and doesnt want to jump in front of him. He is waiting to see if marquardt beats anderson in the rematch, if he doesnt, he is moving to MW and challenging anderson. GSP is allready stronger than pretty much any LHW , at 170lbs, so its scary how much stronger he will be with some extra muscle. He pretty much toys with his training partners like marquardt, rashad evans ,and jardine taking them down at will, and i dont think he will have any problem doing the same to anderson, because any time a fighter commits to the standup, and throwing punches its instant take down by GSP. He wresles against HW olympic wrestlers, and holds his own, as well as training against carwin who would make any ww look weak, so i dont see any problem with GSP dominating MW as easily as he did WW. HE will seem even much faster at that weight class, and i really dont see anyone stronger than him there.
YES!
Aldo to 155
BJ to 170
GSP to 185
Silva to 205 (after shogun wipes the floor with his buddy)
Kimboplex
by BakiHanma21 on Dec 15, 2009 10:44 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
And Brock to 360!
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
I’d just like to point out that this is just the Sportsnet “Athlete of the Year” award, which, while still pretty cool, does not exactly have the same cache as the Lou Marsh Award, the offical “Canadian Athlete of the Year” award. Crosby won that easily, though GSP was a finalist for that as well.
by McEwen on Dec 15, 2009 10:55 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
The Lou Marsh Award is awarded by journalists and they tend to stick to mainstream sports only, or they simply give the damn thing to whoever can win a gold medal at the Olympics. The Sportsnet award actually comes from viewers who voted online. The fact that Canadians voted for an MMA fighter (a french one on top of that!) two years in a row over an English speaking hockey player tells a lot about how hot MMA is becoming in Canada.
Again, not trying to disregard his winning the award, but it’s the “viewer’s choice” award of the UFC’s Canadian outlet. It would be like trumpeting a win in a SpikeTV viewer’s poll. No one other than Sportsnet reports on this award.
All that being said, it is a sign of MMA’s status in Canada, but it’s a much bigger statement on GSP’s popularity in Canada.
Michael,
You expressed a commonly heard sentiment when you stated that “there’s something to be said for long periods of dominant champions.” I, for one, would like to hear what it is precisely that can be said for this. What I want to see are the most intriguing and exciting fights—regardless of the weight class and regardless of whether the champion in that weight class has had a long run. Given that the hypothetical double Penn/GSP bump up would mean lots more interesting fights than if they both piddle around in their current weight classes, I don’t see why anyone would prefer the latter option to the former. If they both stay put, there will be more lopsided fights like GSP vs. Hardy. Of course, BJ could continue fighting at 155 as well in his quest to have two belts at once. I get the sense that once GSP makes the move up, he won’t be going back down to 170—but who knows…
"Der freie Mensch ist Krieger" -- Nietzsche
The argument is that when you have long periods with a single champion on top, the changing of the guard is far more significant and creates major new stars rather than a series of interchangable moderate stars.
There was a period where Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, and Rich Franklin were UFC champions for a long time. Liddell had a 2 year run at 205, Hughes had two very long runs, Franklin for 16 months. Look at the guys who beat them: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Georges St. Pierre, and Anderson Silva. Notice anything there?
When you have a dominant player on top, there will be some boredom for a while, but eventually that top guy falls and after they fall you get a new big star and the guy who was champion remains a star even after he loses the title.
If St. Pierre moves to 185 and they crown a new 170 champion like Koscheck, will people care as much about that division? And if these guys all fail in their moves up, will they throw away their stardom for the cheap thrill of good fights right now instead of important fights long term?
by Michael Rome on Dec 15, 2009 11:53 PM EST up reply actions
Penn, St. Pierre and Silva synchronizing class changes would be incredible – and likely necessary – for each of the divisions.
Anderson moving up isn’t going to happen because of Machida. Even if Machida loses his title Anderson won’t go up, because he’d be getting in the way of Machida getting it back as well as getting in Nog’s way. Essentially, outside of a Blackhouse internal meltdown I don’t see Silva going up.
by Michael Rome on Dec 15, 2009 11:55 PM EST up reply actions
i also don’t see him wanting to get a new belt for only 2 or 3 fights… he said he wanted the biggest paydays, not necessarily to fight for another belt
by Austin Martin on Dec 16, 2009 12:06 AM EST up reply actions
Silva will move up for sure if Machida loses. Little nog is not good enough to hold the title so at worst you’ll have an AKA situation at LHW where one will probably hold the title and that’s Anderson.
Anderson has said as much both publicly and privately that even if Machida loses he’s not going for that title, that it’s Machida’s to go for.
by Michael Rome on Dec 16, 2009 12:21 AM EST up reply actions
Has there been anymore talk of Anderson wanting to fight Mir now? I would think his eagerness for that fight might have quelled after Mir’s added size and dominance of Kongo
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13
It was 1 min fight. Lets not get carried away with the word “dominance”.
by dancingChicken on Dec 16, 2009 4:34 AM EST up reply actions
After Anderson beats Belfort he’s getting the “GSP” deal… and all the money fights are at 205.
If the fight is against Machida he probably wont… but if it’s against Shogun it will be done.
God I wish shogun wins…
Thought I read Anderson would not fight for a title at 205 because of his friendship with Machida and basically letting that be his division whether he’s champion or not.
I know Silva said he wanted a money fight with a heavyweight, namely Mir. I doubt he wants that fight anymore.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13
Why not? Because of Mir’s deadly repeated ad nauseam overhand left?
by dancingChicken on Dec 16, 2009 4:40 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, Anderson absolutely smokes anoyone who doesn't have
top-notch takedowns, irregardless of their weight class. Frank Mir wouldn’t touch Andy in the striking game, and there’s no way he can work a clinch or takedown on him.
Brock, Carwin, Randy, and Cain are the obvious guys in the UFC that I could see totally dominating Anderson. Randy wouldn’t look impressive, but he’d get a hold of him at some point and grind him up. The guy simply never gets tired. The others would only have to survive one exchange to get a hold of him, then they’d just muscle him down. I still think GSP could do it, but he’d be at a physical disadvantage considering Anderson’s length.
But let’s be fair, Anderson would be spotting them 40-80lbs. Anyone else, Andy just shuts out the lights.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
Not Randy
Randy will get KTFOed. The others guys – yeh ok.
Brock and that is about it.
Those other guys have shown that they are too tempted to trade and that would be the end of it.
Additionally, the reason their ground game might work is more due to size than skill. I think Anderson’s ground game is often discounted due to how little we get to see of it.
GSP doesn’t really look too much bigger than usual. In fighting form he’s a shredded beast, but it looks like hes gone the natural way and put on some muscle with some fat, which he’ll need to do to keep gaining weight. He’s going to be a beast either way, thiago alves and Fitch could easily fight at MW and be competitive and GSP tooled them.
Interesting how we MMA fans love dominance, but then quickly become bored by it and start tearing stars down. I’m actually of the camp that doesn’t mind seeing some rematches. The assumption that a second fight would go like the first doesn’t hold up that well when you look at how unpredictable the sport is. In certain cases, like Fitch or Alves, Marquardt or possibly Florian, I’d rather see them get another shot than a lesser fighter, as long as they’re still beating top opponents. They’ve seen what the respective champ has to offer, may be more comfortable with the pressure and would be driven by the previous loss. I wouldn’t pick any of those mentioned to win in a rematch, but I’d be interested to see how they’d approach it. Seems to me they’d take a different tack and the fights would play it out differently, even if the result was the same. As an example, I like Dan Hardy, and am fine with and excited for his shot at GSP. At the same time, I can’t say he’s a better fighter than Alves or Fitch, both of whom would be favored over Hardy in a fight.
by Kwisatz Haderach on Dec 16, 2009 12:21 AM EST reply actions
Not criticizing the post by the way. It just made me think about the subject in general.
by Kwisatz Haderach on Dec 16, 2009 12:22 AM EST up reply actions
i like hardy too, but what the hell does he have to offer gsp? you’re right, i’d love to see an alves or fitch rematch, or even kos fighting for the belt.. you at least know he’ll always be game for a great fight
by Austin Martin on Dec 16, 2009 12:23 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah I’d like to see Kos get a shot too. One thing I’d say about Hardy’s chances is that no one will outwrestle GSP. Fitch couldn’t, and so I doubt Kos could. So really I guess the guy with the best puncher’s chance has the best chance. So maybe Daley or Johnson, too. Kos and Alves have KO power, but less reach. But yeah, I like rematches if the challenger is still obviously number 2 or 3.
by Kwisatz Haderach on Dec 16, 2009 12:28 AM EST up reply actions
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