On a night that was supposed to celebrate Georges St-Pierre’s legacy not tarnish it, one of the most elusive championships in the sport was practically ripped from Johny Hendrick’s arms.
On a night that was bound for optimal greatness as the UFC celebrated its 20th anniversary, two judges skewed yet another decision that was clear-cut reality.
On a night put forth by a promotion adamant on giving the fans the best fights around, a winner was crowned a loser and a legend stayed the course.
In other words, something seemed off.
If you watched last night’s main event at UFC 167 in Las Vegas, you know darn well that something didn’t play out the way it should have. Now whether it was the way two of the three judges scored St-Pierre’s dismal striking and inability to take Hendricks down round-by-round, we’ll never know.
But for Dana White to stand in front of the media at his usually happy-go-lucky post-fight press conference and say his biggest cash cow rightfully lost, you know somebody screwed the pooch.
The fact that St-Pierre more or less rewarded himself personal vacation time following the fight, which is something that would land any one of us on the unemployment list, was no more than raunchy icing on an already sour cake.
The only thing we can take away from last night, amidst the thick exhaust of the GOAT peeling off into the sunset, is that a rematch needs to be made.
There’s literally no other fight for St-Pierre or Hendricks to entertain. Obviously Hendricks still wants to fight and isn’t going to wait for GSP to get back from Barbados or wherever he’s going, but the guy deserves the belt, let alone another shot to take it.
So based on those implications, along with the fact that the UFC is a promotion that usually gets what it wants, it would shock a lot of people if Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta are unable to sway the welterweight king in the right direction.
For the UFC, a rematch would mean dollar signs of unfathomable proportions. It would serve as the promotion’s greatest grudge match since Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II. They could even schedule it for Hendricks’ home state of Texas at UFC 171 in Dallas.
Either way you look at it, there’s one and only one fight for GSP to take next. Not only to appease the masses and give a well-deserving challenger another shot to not leave it in the judges’ hands, but to forever solidify his legacy.
As a pure athlete, one who is fueled by ultimate competition and surviving adversity, there’s no way St-Pierre wants to leave the sport with this hanging over his head. It’s something that tarnishes a reputation, whether you’d like to admit it or not.
The pound-for-pound prince needs to step up one more time, realize he’s doing this for more than himself, battle through a final grueling training camp and promote a rematch as the biggest fight of all time and the legendary Georges St-Pierre’s final curtain call.
After that, he can take all the time off he wants.
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