Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (22-2) vs "The Natural Born Killer" Carlos Condit (28-5)
We are finally here. The main event of the evening. One of the most anticipated returns in UFC history. One of the most anticipated fights in UFC history. It's been a year in the making. The returning GSP will look to unify his title against the new champion Carlos Condit. Condit will look to validate himself as the true champion in his division after much controversy. Will GSP look the same after his long lay off and career ending injury? Can Condit finish GSP? Is he even a challenge to him? Without further ado, let's do a preview! Let's get the most talked about part going into this fight first, what the heck is GSP going to look like? An injury like a torn ACL could be a major career ender. Your knee may never be the same again. You can have surgery and rehab it all you want, but the mental part is up to the person. If you can't trust your knee again you can't fight or play to your full potential. GSP is highly intelligent. If he knew he would never fight the same he would retire. He already stated so. His return tells me that he is 100%. Striking- GSP is one of the best strikers in MMA. Before the haters say he was out struck by Shields, GSP wasn't even trying when he fought him. Shields only had offense when he poked him in the eye. His technique is unparalleled. His timing is excellent. His footwork and ability to control distance is great. He has one of the best jabs in all of MMA. Condit is a great striker himself but I don't think he is better than GSP. Condit can throw combos and mix strikes together. He has proved to have knockout power when he blasted Dan Hardy's head off. He has crazy high risk moves he pulls off easily. Nobody has a reach advantage over each other. Advantage- GSP Wrestling- There is no argument here. GSP is arguably the best MMA wrestler of all time. He never wrestled as a youngster but he blossomed into an unstoppable wrestler. Top level wrestlers like Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck were put on their backs like they never wrestled a day in their life. BJ Penn has absurd balance but GSP took him down with ease in the rematch. The bad news for Condit is that he is no wrestler. He has below average takedown defense. Nick Diaz dragged him down. Condit is not going to magically learn takedown defense training for just 8 weeks. Advantage- GSP Grappling- Here is an interesting point. A lot of people didn't expect Condit to get up to his feet against Dong Hyun Kim. They believed once he judo threw him down it was going to be a long night. I didn't disagree with them. Kim has some of the best top control in MMA. So when Condit swept him it blew my mind. I couldn't believe he had just done that. There I realized that Condit has an underrated ground game. He is going to need it against the punishing top control of GSP. GSP and Jon Jones, in my opinion, are tied for best top control in all of MMA. Usually when they get you down you are not getting back up. I wouldn't be surprised if GSP controls him, but I also won't be surprised if Condit is able to get to his feet a couple of times in the fight. Another note about Condit is that when he is taken down he punishes his opponents on top of him. If he hasn't found a opening to sweep, he will begin to rain down hard elbows to his opponents head to create openings. If he can get GSP scared of his elbows, then he might have found a way to stay on his feet. Condit has a lot of tools when he is on top. His ground and pound is brutal. He also has underrated top control. Against Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger, he used his top control when they were gassed to set up ground and pound and submissions. I don't think anyone has an advantage in the submissions. Both have great submissions but even better defense. Advantage- Very Slight Advantage to GSP because of top control. Mental and Physical Health- Cardio doesn't seem to be a factor in this fight. Both men are known for their high level cardio. Carlos has a iron chin. Ellenberger couldn't put him out no matter how hard he hit him. GSP's chin is not as hard but it's underrated. He gets a lot of flak because of Matt Serra's punch to the back of the head. Carlos is one of the mentally toughest fighters in the game. Fighters with nothing to lose are always dangerous. GSP is also underrated here. He quit against Hughes and Serra but it made him mentally stronger. He fought when he pulled his groin and he is returning after a major injury. Advantage- Carlos Condit. I am giving the fight to GSP rightfully so but Condit winning would not shock me. GSP will control range with his jab, take him down at will, and get up if Condit is hurting him. Rinse and repeat on route to a decision win. Haters will hate. Nuthuggers will hug. Some will say they wish GSP never came back. Anderson will not call out GSP and the fans of both will go to war again. Winner- GSP