Both have a lot on the line at UFC 79. While most of the attention is on St. Pierre, who with a win would become UFC interim welterweight champion, Bocek stands to rebound from a loss to Frank Edgar (Pictures) in his July UFC debut.
With St. Pierre and Hughes splitting two previous clashes, not only will this rubber match establish a de facto No. 1 contender to Matt Serra (Pictures), it will also give bragging rights as to which man is the better fighter -- something almost as important.
St. Pierre was a late replacement for Serra, who was injured while preparing for Hughes. The American former champion claimed that this late addition could be to his benefit, but St. Pierre doesn't think so.
"When I heard the news that Serra got hurt, I was already in tremendous shape," St. Pierre said. "I could not let this opportunity go."
Once the fight was announced the French Canadian welterweight went into overdrive, assembling what he called the "best training camp of my life."
Not only did he continue to work in Montreal with BTT Canada coach Fabio Holanda (Pictures) and his Canadian training partners -- David Loiseau (Pictures), Patrick Cote (Pictures), and Jonathan Goulet (Pictures) -- St. Pierre brought in Denis Kang (Pictures), Greg Jackson, Rashad Evans (Pictures), Nathan Marquardt (Pictures), and Keith Jardine (Pictures).
Inside an organization known for dropping fighters who lose, Bocek knows the importance of his bout with Doug Evans.
"I can't wait for this fight," he told Sherdog.com. "I've got to get a win."
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu prodigy from Toronto struggled in his UFC debut against Edgar, although he says that the fight was stopped too early. "Yeah I thought I was going to roll to guard but they stopped the fight -- I shouldn't have let that happen."
But that's in the past, and Bocek is clearly focused on Evans now. He said that when the fight was offered to him, he had only seen Evans match against Roger Huerta (Pictures), and although it was a loss, he seemed like a tough guy, so he accepted.
To prepare, Bocek trained in Temecula, Calif., with Team Quest since Nov. 14. He worked strength and conditioning with Ryan Parsons in the morning, and trained MMA with guys like Dan Henderson (Pictures) and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures) in the evening.
He said Team Quest is a really good fit for him and that he's gotten better at all aspects of his game.
"I'm not going to give my game plan away," said Bocek, "but I think everything he can do, I can do better."
Told that he sounded very confident, Bocek replied: "Confident? Yeah, I am."
Horodecki and Fabiano set for IFL Grand Prix
After a long season of team-based competition, the International Fight League is finally set to hold the finals for its inaugural Grand Prix. Canadians Chris Horodecki (Pictures) and Wagnney Fabiano (Pictures) look to take the lightweight and featherweight titles, respectively.
A matchup between the pair had been a distinct possibility, as each fighter went 4-0 in 2007 as IFL lightweights, but with Fabiano dropping down into the newly created featherweight division that won't happen.
While Fabiano has had only one name riveted in his mind -- LC Davis (Pictures) -- Horodecki has had to suffer through a plethora of opponent changes. First he was set to rematch Shad Lierley (Pictures), whom he had already defeated in June, but the scrappy lightweight had to drop out due to a broken toe. John Gunderson (Pictures) stepped in but also was forced to withdraw due to injury. Less than a week before the Dec. 29 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., Horodecki is set to fight Ryan Schultz (Pictures).
Schultz is another IFL lightweight that Horodecki has already vanquished, but that doesn't mean the young Canadian takes another win for granted.
In an interview with CBS Sports, Horodecki said of Schultz: "I know he's still a super tough guy and I can't take him lightly. He's got a good team behind him and he's got a great coach with Matt Lindland (Pictures), so he's not going to lay down for anybody. I'm always taking every opponent very seriously. That's how I've always done it."
Phoenix Fight Promotions Updates Card
A new addition to the ranks of Canadian MMA promotions, Nova Scotia-based Phoenix Fight Promotions looks to have a very solid first card. Veteran Edwin Dewees (Pictures), who recently lost to Frank Trigg (Pictures), will face Kingston's Cory MacDonald (Pictures) in the Halifax Forum on Jan. 12.
Jason MacKay (Pictures) had originally been scheduled to meet BTT Canada's Samuel Guillet (Pictures), but a 30-day suspension by the Nova Scotia Boxing Authority for his prolonged rear-naked choke on Brad Duguay at KOTC in Moncton last weekend nixed that.
The NSBA recently changed the suspension to a fine, thus allowing MacKay to meet Steve Claveau (Pictures), who co-promotes Quebec's Ring Extreme with middleweight David Loiseau (Pictures).
Edwin Dewees (Pictures) vs. Cory MacDonald (Pictures)
Jason MacKay (Pictures) vs. Steve Claveau (Pictures)
Brad Cardinal vs. Yves Jabouin
Samir Saif vs. Ryan Jimmo (Pictures)
Craig Skinner (Pictures) vs. Chad Cox
Jon Stutzman vs. Tim Wadsworth
Clint Martin vs. Mike Scudder (Pictures)
Iraj Hadin vs. Steve Rogers
Shayne Daley vs. Chris Currie
Peter McGrath (Pictures) vs. Vartan Pour Nick
Jason Rorison vs. Jon Macgrath
Remi Morvan vs. Larry Sockobasin
The Fight Club
Unlike the fictitious club in the movie of the same name, the promoters of this new Edmonton-based event want you to talk about Fight Club. Their inaugural event brings a very big name -- and even bigger body -- to Edmonton's Shaw Centre on Dec. 28, as the man called "Butterbean" will battle Nick Penner.
Eric Esch (Pictures) vs. Nick Penner
Steve Vujnovic vs. Victor Bachmann
Sheldon Westcott vs. Jay Jenkins (Pictures)
Marcus Hicks vs. Mason Hunter
Tim Thursron vs. Jerry Elliot
Phil Wark vs. Chase Holthe
Chuck Pelc vs. Lee Berger
HCF's Next Big Show
Calgary based Hardcore Championship fighting announced another blockbuster card last week. Previously top-10 ranked Brazilian light heavyweight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) will finally make his Canadian debut on Feb. 1 in Calgary, against Canadian Todd Gouwenberg (Pictures).
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) vs. Todd Gouwenberg (Pictures)
Gegard Mousasi (Pictures) vs. Evangelista Santos (Pictures)
Thomas Schulte (Pictures) vs. Garett Davis (Pictures)
John Alessio (Pictures) vs. Derrick Noble (Pictures)
Damir Mirenic vs. Mike Pyle (Pictures)
Andrew Buckland vs. Dan Chambers (Pictures)
Solomon Hutcherson vs. Amir Rahnavardi (Pictures)
Myles Merola vs. Ariel Sexton
Tim Hague vs. Miodrag Petkovic
Nabil Khatib (Pictures) vs. Lucas Rota
Babian Cortez vs. Juan Barrantes