Feuds, Beards & Cameroon Rule UFC 79
Hughes vs. St. Pierre
Dec 28, 2007
Matt
Hughes (Pictures) vs. Georges St. Pierre
(Pictures)
After months of buildup via "The Ultimate Fighter," the long-awaited showdown between Matt Hughes (Pictures) and UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra (Pictures) reached a less than fitting climax when Serra's balky back forced him out of the bout.
Doomsayers were quick to sound the death knell for UFC 79's main
event, but former champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (14-2) was all
too happy to play Kirk Gibson and now hopes to move one step closer
to reclaiming the undisputed title that many assumed would stay
with him long term.
Arguably the most physically talented competitor MMA has ever seen, St. Pierre's ascension appeared complete when he avenged his loss to Hughes and took home the title that had once eluded him. Fate had a cruel trick in store for St. Pierre, however, when he lost the belt to Serra who "earned" the opportunity through the machinations of everyone's favorite societal bane, reality television. Undeserved or not, Serra made the best of his opportunity and scored a stunning first-round knockout win.
Hughes (41-5) knows what that feels like. He had no answers for St. Pierre in their rematch despite coming into the fight having beaten the break-dancing Canadian once before. That loss seemed to signal the end of what had been a five-year run of dominance by Hughes, most of which was spent as undoubtedly the best welterweight in the world.
Whether Hughes has been eclipsed by the next generation of MMA talent is debatable, but a lackluster performance against Chris Lytle (Pictures) at UFC 68 was hardly the resounding statement of dominance that his supporters had hoped for. On the rare occasions that Hughes sheds his perpetual veneer of arrogance, he has made no secret of the fact that his time in MMA may be nearing its end.
The man in the black hood wielding a scythe may turn out to be St. Pierre unless Hughes can keep the tempo of this bout under control with his bullying style. That means giving up on any aspirations of going toe-to-toe with St. Pierre, who is simply far too versatile to be trifled with on the feet.
Common sense would dictate that a wrestler as dominant as Hughes would have little trouble putting his skills to good use against St. Pierre, but in a sport where Mexican luchadores barely raise an eyebrow, common sense is useless.
Hughes' powerful wrestling may prove just as useless given St. Pierre's jaw-dropping takedown defense, which was on full display in the Canadian's bout with Koscheck, a former Division I national wrestling champion.
There isn't much that Hughes can do differently against St. Pierre; his relatively one-dimensional style is strikingly similar to Koscheck's. Worse yet, Hughes lacks any real striking ability, and that is a weakness that St. Pierre has exploited in both of their bouts.
Forced to step right inside of St. Pierre's striking range in search of a takedown, Hughes will find himself taking considerable damage with nothing to show for it. St. Pierre turns this into a kickboxing match instead of a wrestling meet.
Once that happens, it won't belong for Hughes, as St. Pierre scores a technical knockout late in the second round. Now if only Fiona Apple would handle St. Pierre's entrance music, we could all die happy.
After months of buildup via "The Ultimate Fighter," the long-awaited showdown between Matt Hughes (Pictures) and UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra (Pictures) reached a less than fitting climax when Serra's balky back forced him out of the bout.
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Arguably the most physically talented competitor MMA has ever seen, St. Pierre's ascension appeared complete when he avenged his loss to Hughes and took home the title that had once eluded him. Fate had a cruel trick in store for St. Pierre, however, when he lost the belt to Serra who "earned" the opportunity through the machinations of everyone's favorite societal bane, reality television. Undeserved or not, Serra made the best of his opportunity and scored a stunning first-round knockout win.
Questions about St. Pierre's commitment to the sport quickly
swirled, and he was suddenly cast as the Fiona Apple of the
welterweight division -- a perception that could not stand up to
reality as St. Pierre silenced his critics with a thorough
dismantling of Josh
Koscheck (Pictures).
Hughes (41-5) knows what that feels like. He had no answers for St. Pierre in their rematch despite coming into the fight having beaten the break-dancing Canadian once before. That loss seemed to signal the end of what had been a five-year run of dominance by Hughes, most of which was spent as undoubtedly the best welterweight in the world.
Whether Hughes has been eclipsed by the next generation of MMA talent is debatable, but a lackluster performance against Chris Lytle (Pictures) at UFC 68 was hardly the resounding statement of dominance that his supporters had hoped for. On the rare occasions that Hughes sheds his perpetual veneer of arrogance, he has made no secret of the fact that his time in MMA may be nearing its end.
The man in the black hood wielding a scythe may turn out to be St. Pierre unless Hughes can keep the tempo of this bout under control with his bullying style. That means giving up on any aspirations of going toe-to-toe with St. Pierre, who is simply far too versatile to be trifled with on the feet.
Common sense would dictate that a wrestler as dominant as Hughes would have little trouble putting his skills to good use against St. Pierre, but in a sport where Mexican luchadores barely raise an eyebrow, common sense is useless.
Hughes' powerful wrestling may prove just as useless given St. Pierre's jaw-dropping takedown defense, which was on full display in the Canadian's bout with Koscheck, a former Division I national wrestling champion.
There isn't much that Hughes can do differently against St. Pierre; his relatively one-dimensional style is strikingly similar to Koscheck's. Worse yet, Hughes lacks any real striking ability, and that is a weakness that St. Pierre has exploited in both of their bouts.
Forced to step right inside of St. Pierre's striking range in search of a takedown, Hughes will find himself taking considerable damage with nothing to show for it. St. Pierre turns this into a kickboxing match instead of a wrestling meet.
Once that happens, it won't belong for Hughes, as St. Pierre scores a technical knockout late in the second round. Now if only Fiona Apple would handle St. Pierre's entrance music, we could all die happy.
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