UFC 48: Payback Preview
Georges St. Pierre vs Jay Hieron
Jun 14, 2004
GEORGES ST. PIERRE
(Photo
Gallery): Canadian jiu-jitsu fighter, wrestler, striker; also
known as "Jungle"; TKO Canadian Welterweight Champion; trains
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Renzo Gracie purple belt Angelo Exarhakos;
boxing coach Howard Grant, Muay Thai coaches Conrad Plad and Victor
Vargotzky, and fighters David Loiseau, Steve Vigneault among others
on the TKO Management team; has also trained with Ivan Menjivar,
with a 7-0 record in MMA making his 2nd appearance (1-0) in the
UFC.
HISTORY: St. Pierre likes to blend his muay Thai, wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when fighting. His first exposure to martial arts was as a young boy in elementary school. After a confrontation with a larger classmate went poorly, Georges realized the importance of being able to defend himself. Prior to his UFC debut, all of the 23-year-old's MMA experience had taken place in Canada at the Universal Combat Challenge, which now operates as TKO. St. Pierre will fight outside of his homeland for just the second time. His main instructor is Angelo Exarhakos, who trains BJJ under Renzo Gracie, and St. Pierre will sometimes make the trip to New York to train with other Gracie black belts. Team Exarhakos, now referred to as simply "TKO Management," consists of UFC veteran David "The Crow" Loiseau and Steve "Lion Heart" Vigneault.
St. Pierre/Ivan Menjivar: In his debut at UCC 7 he punished tough
Ivan Menjivar and stopped the World Super Lightweight Title
contender in the first round with strikes. The bout was later ruled
a No Contest by the UCC Commission.
St. Pierre/Justin Bruckmann: St. Pierre returned to UCC 10 to claim the Canadian Welterweight Championship from Justin Bruckmann via armbar. Bruckmann was ready to stand and exchange but St. Pierre shot in and brought him right to the ground. St. Pierre was able to pass Bruckmann's guard but Justin got back to his feet. Bruckmann shot in for a takedown but St. Pierre was able to avoid it and mount him. Georges began striking Justin with punches and elbows and finished with the armbar submission for the win.
St. Pierre/Thomas Denny: St. Pierre controlled the pace of the bout with his superior takedowns and ground skills. Denny ate numerous elbows, knees and head drops (ala Galbraith). The punishment from legal knees to the head was too much for Denny and the bout was stopped in the second round.
St. Pierre/Pete Spratt: This is the bout that landed St. Pierre on the UFC 46 card and left Spratt off of it. From the bell St. Pierre had little trouble bringing Spratt down. They grappled from half guard until Georges took Pete's back and Pete stood up. Spratt was able to avoid the choke and put St. Pierre in guard, but Pete was still in danger. Georges was able to sink the choke and though Pete stood up again, he couldn't shake him. Spratt fell backwards to the ground tapping ala Frank Trigg-Matt Hughes.
St. Pierre/Parisyan: St. Pierre showed his skills early as he avoided Parisyan's Kimura arm lock attempt and controlled the action on the mat. Karo struck well but Georges ended the round strong. St. Pierre nailed Parisyan with a right hand to start the second round and brought the judo player to the canvas. He was even more effective with his punches and elbows this round, opening cuts over both eyes. Parisyan began the final round with another Kimura attempt but St. Pierre was able to bring him down again. With the bout in control, St. Pierre hung back, took Parisyan down a final time and took home a unanimous decision victory in his UFC debut.
STRENGHTS AND WEAKNESSES: His takedowns are solid. St. Pierre is a technician when it comes to bringing his opponent to the mat. He's also competent enough to know not to let them up once they're grounded. In the UCC, he was able to use knees and elbows to strike a downed opponent on the mat. St. Pierre's major weakness is fighting outside Canada against big competition. He's moving in the right direction, having beaten Denny and Pete Spratt and defeated Parisyan in the UFC.
HOW HE CAN BEAT HIERON: With strikes on the feet. St. Pierre has little fear of grapplers as he showed by schooling budding judo superstar Karo Parisyan. He'll be able to keep out of trouble on the mat against Hieron and take him where he hasn't been before: later in a fight with someone who can really hurt him. St. Pierre can give him a welcome to the welterweight division in the form of a fist to the face.
JAY HIERON: American wrestler; Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt; kickboxer; All-American wrestler from Hofstra University; Ring of Combat veteran; Eruption veteran; Reality Fighting veteran; trains with Chris Cardona, Keith Trimble, Peter Zirogannis, Matt Berman and the rest of the fighters at Bellmore Kickboxing Academy; also trains with Renzo and Rodrigo Gracie; has trained with Phil Baroni and Matt Serra; with a 4-0 record in MMA making his 1st appearance (0-0) in the UFC.
HISTORY: Long Island native Jay Hieron began fighting MMA in 2003. He took part in the local New Jersey-based shows Reality Fighting and Ring of Combat events, going 3-0. Jay also fought in the Massachusetts Eruption promotion scoring another win there. He apparently also fights under the name James Hierynomos and defeated Alex Gamez by unanimous decision in a kickboxing bout. The fight took place at the Top Kick's Superfights event sanctioned by the World Kickboxing Association. With just four MMA bouts to his credit, the relatively green Hieron gets a shot in the grandest cage in the land.
Hieron/Keith Plate: Fighting as an amateur, Hieron pounded Keith Plate with strikes and forced the TKO stoppage at Reality Fighting 4 in July of 2003.
Hieron/Jermaine Johnson: Hieron took down the Team Endgame fighter and finished him via rear-naked choke in just over one minute.
Hieron/Fernando Munoz: Not much to say here. Hieron put Munoz down with strikes in less than a minute at the Ring of Destruction 6: Total Devastation show.
Hieron/Fabio Holanda: Hieron was able to take the victory from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and Brazilian Top Team member Fabio Holanda in an all-out war. Jay won by unanimous decision.
STRENGHTS AND WEAKNESSES: Hieron is a wrestler that learned jiu-jitsu to compliment his ground game. He has kickboxing skills but his ground game is what will keep him in fights. He likes to strike so a stand-up display is inevitable. As for a weakness, none of his MMA opponents to date have a professional win. We really don't know what this kid can do yet.
HOW HE CAN BEAT ST. PIERRE: With strikes on the feet. Although he has been training BJJ for some time and beat an inexperienced (in MMA) BJJ black belt, St. Pierre has shown himself to be very skilled on the mat. If Jay can keep this battle standing, he may be able to unleash the striking ability that has earned him his 4-0 record.
MY PICK: St. Pierre. As luck would have it, these fighters have actually trained together. They should be somewhat familiar with each others style. The experience level is similar but the competition faced is night and day. St. Pierre has faced three solid UFC veterans (including Menjivar) and a KOTC regular in Denny. To the contrary, none of Hieron's opponents have ever won a pro bout. Georges should control this one. I feel it will St. Pierre by TKO from strikes in the 1st Rd.
DOWN THE ROAD: Hieron/Dustin Denes: The ATT fighter submitted UFC veteran Adrian Serrano and lost a decision to "Mr. Pride" Akira Shoji. If Hieron made the cut, this guy should too.
Hieron/Buck Greer: Greer choked out LaVerne Clark last month and went the distance with Dennis Hallman. He's no further away than many recent signings.
St. Pierre/Amar Suloev: He's 4-0 since the loss to Baroni and he was destroying Phil before the foul. If they're smart, they bring him back. And Andrei Semenov, too.
St. Pierre/Anderson Silva: Remember when Silva was supposed to fight Carlos Newton in the UFC? And instead he had visa trouble and eventually KO'd Newton in Pride? The guy is still 10-2. He'll face Jeremy Horn in Korea soon and the winner should wind up on an "A Show" if there is any justice.
HISTORY: St. Pierre likes to blend his muay Thai, wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when fighting. His first exposure to martial arts was as a young boy in elementary school. After a confrontation with a larger classmate went poorly, Georges realized the importance of being able to defend himself. Prior to his UFC debut, all of the 23-year-old's MMA experience had taken place in Canada at the Universal Combat Challenge, which now operates as TKO. St. Pierre will fight outside of his homeland for just the second time. His main instructor is Angelo Exarhakos, who trains BJJ under Renzo Gracie, and St. Pierre will sometimes make the trip to New York to train with other Gracie black belts. Team Exarhakos, now referred to as simply "TKO Management," consists of UFC veteran David "The Crow" Loiseau and Steve "Lion Heart" Vigneault.
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St. Pierre/Justin Bruckmann: St. Pierre returned to UCC 10 to claim the Canadian Welterweight Championship from Justin Bruckmann via armbar. Bruckmann was ready to stand and exchange but St. Pierre shot in and brought him right to the ground. St. Pierre was able to pass Bruckmann's guard but Justin got back to his feet. Bruckmann shot in for a takedown but St. Pierre was able to avoid it and mount him. Georges began striking Justin with punches and elbows and finished with the armbar submission for the win.
St. Pierre/Travis Galbraith: At UCC 11, Georges defended his title
by stopping Travis Galbraith with strikes early in their bout. St.
Pierre quickly shot in for a double-leg takedown and went to work,
striking Galbraith with fists and elbows. He actually picked up
Galbraith's head and dropped it on the mat several times rendering
Travis virtually unconscious before the referee stepped in. Upon
the stand up Galbraith attempted to continue to battle, even
pushing the referee out of the way, but he was out on his feet and
the fighters were separated.
St. Pierre/Thomas Denny: St. Pierre controlled the pace of the bout with his superior takedowns and ground skills. Denny ate numerous elbows, knees and head drops (ala Galbraith). The punishment from legal knees to the head was too much for Denny and the bout was stopped in the second round.
St. Pierre/Pete Spratt: This is the bout that landed St. Pierre on the UFC 46 card and left Spratt off of it. From the bell St. Pierre had little trouble bringing Spratt down. They grappled from half guard until Georges took Pete's back and Pete stood up. Spratt was able to avoid the choke and put St. Pierre in guard, but Pete was still in danger. Georges was able to sink the choke and though Pete stood up again, he couldn't shake him. Spratt fell backwards to the ground tapping ala Frank Trigg-Matt Hughes.
St. Pierre/Parisyan: St. Pierre showed his skills early as he avoided Parisyan's Kimura arm lock attempt and controlled the action on the mat. Karo struck well but Georges ended the round strong. St. Pierre nailed Parisyan with a right hand to start the second round and brought the judo player to the canvas. He was even more effective with his punches and elbows this round, opening cuts over both eyes. Parisyan began the final round with another Kimura attempt but St. Pierre was able to bring him down again. With the bout in control, St. Pierre hung back, took Parisyan down a final time and took home a unanimous decision victory in his UFC debut.
STRENGHTS AND WEAKNESSES: His takedowns are solid. St. Pierre is a technician when it comes to bringing his opponent to the mat. He's also competent enough to know not to let them up once they're grounded. In the UCC, he was able to use knees and elbows to strike a downed opponent on the mat. St. Pierre's major weakness is fighting outside Canada against big competition. He's moving in the right direction, having beaten Denny and Pete Spratt and defeated Parisyan in the UFC.
HOW HE CAN BEAT HIERON: With strikes on the feet. St. Pierre has little fear of grapplers as he showed by schooling budding judo superstar Karo Parisyan. He'll be able to keep out of trouble on the mat against Hieron and take him where he hasn't been before: later in a fight with someone who can really hurt him. St. Pierre can give him a welcome to the welterweight division in the form of a fist to the face.
JAY HIERON: American wrestler; Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt; kickboxer; All-American wrestler from Hofstra University; Ring of Combat veteran; Eruption veteran; Reality Fighting veteran; trains with Chris Cardona, Keith Trimble, Peter Zirogannis, Matt Berman and the rest of the fighters at Bellmore Kickboxing Academy; also trains with Renzo and Rodrigo Gracie; has trained with Phil Baroni and Matt Serra; with a 4-0 record in MMA making his 1st appearance (0-0) in the UFC.
HISTORY: Long Island native Jay Hieron began fighting MMA in 2003. He took part in the local New Jersey-based shows Reality Fighting and Ring of Combat events, going 3-0. Jay also fought in the Massachusetts Eruption promotion scoring another win there. He apparently also fights under the name James Hierynomos and defeated Alex Gamez by unanimous decision in a kickboxing bout. The fight took place at the Top Kick's Superfights event sanctioned by the World Kickboxing Association. With just four MMA bouts to his credit, the relatively green Hieron gets a shot in the grandest cage in the land.
Hieron/Keith Plate: Fighting as an amateur, Hieron pounded Keith Plate with strikes and forced the TKO stoppage at Reality Fighting 4 in July of 2003.
Hieron/Jermaine Johnson: Hieron took down the Team Endgame fighter and finished him via rear-naked choke in just over one minute.
Hieron/Fernando Munoz: Not much to say here. Hieron put Munoz down with strikes in less than a minute at the Ring of Destruction 6: Total Devastation show.
Hieron/Fabio Holanda: Hieron was able to take the victory from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and Brazilian Top Team member Fabio Holanda in an all-out war. Jay won by unanimous decision.
STRENGHTS AND WEAKNESSES: Hieron is a wrestler that learned jiu-jitsu to compliment his ground game. He has kickboxing skills but his ground game is what will keep him in fights. He likes to strike so a stand-up display is inevitable. As for a weakness, none of his MMA opponents to date have a professional win. We really don't know what this kid can do yet.
HOW HE CAN BEAT ST. PIERRE: With strikes on the feet. Although he has been training BJJ for some time and beat an inexperienced (in MMA) BJJ black belt, St. Pierre has shown himself to be very skilled on the mat. If Jay can keep this battle standing, he may be able to unleash the striking ability that has earned him his 4-0 record.
MY PICK: St. Pierre. As luck would have it, these fighters have actually trained together. They should be somewhat familiar with each others style. The experience level is similar but the competition faced is night and day. St. Pierre has faced three solid UFC veterans (including Menjivar) and a KOTC regular in Denny. To the contrary, none of Hieron's opponents have ever won a pro bout. Georges should control this one. I feel it will St. Pierre by TKO from strikes in the 1st Rd.
DOWN THE ROAD: Hieron/Dustin Denes: The ATT fighter submitted UFC veteran Adrian Serrano and lost a decision to "Mr. Pride" Akira Shoji. If Hieron made the cut, this guy should too.
Hieron/Buck Greer: Greer choked out LaVerne Clark last month and went the distance with Dennis Hallman. He's no further away than many recent signings.
St. Pierre/Amar Suloev: He's 4-0 since the loss to Baroni and he was destroying Phil before the foul. If they're smart, they bring him back. And Andrei Semenov, too.
St. Pierre/Anderson Silva: Remember when Silva was supposed to fight Carlos Newton in the UFC? And instead he had visa trouble and eventually KO'd Newton in Pride? The guy is still 10-2. He'll face Jeremy Horn in Korea soon and the winner should wind up on an "A Show" if there is any justice.
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