After four straight weeks of UFC events, mixed martial arts fans will have to wait until October 29 for the next one. Fortunately, UFC 137will be one of the more stacked cards of the year, headlined by Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit.
“The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit came into the UFC following a successful stint in the WEC as the organization’s Welterweight Champion. Despite a split decision loss to Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut, Condit went on to win four straight fights, including knocking out both Dan Hardy and Dong Hyun Kim.
Still, Condit was set to face BJ Penn at UFC 137 until Nick Diaz blew his opportunity by not showing up to press conferences. Despite being the late replacement, Condit is very much worthy of his position as title challenger. He’s 27-5 overall with 13 wins by submission and 13 by knockout.
Georges St-Pierre, however, is the most dominant welterweight in the history of the sport. He has now won 9 consecutive fights for a 22-2 record, and his only two losses have been avenged.
St-Pierre will go into this fight a heavy favorite and with good reason. Condit is an exciting fighter that always looks for the finish. Just for comparison, St-Pierre has won 9 of his 22 fights by decision, while Condit has 27 wins and only one has been by decision. “Rush” will certainly need to finish Condit if he wants to satisfy the mixed martial arts community.
On the feet, both fighters have excellent striking. However, over the years, it is clear that St-Pierre’s attack has become much less dynamic. His fight with Josh Koscheck was essentially won using just the jab. Condit, however, won his last fight by flying knee and tends to be more willing to throw kicks.
On the wrestling side of things, St-Pierre has a clear advantage over almost everyone in the division, and Condit is no exception. Condit is a well-rounded fighter, but the one deficiency he has is his wrestling ,and that is likely what St-Pierre will exploit.
Condit does have a very dangerous guard, although St-Pierre usually works to pass very quickly and doesn’t often leave himself vulnerable to submissions. GSP is no slouch on the ground either and is capable of finishing the fight via submission, especially if he spends the majority of the time on top, as is most likely.
As a former WEC Champion, Condit has fought into the championship rounds once before. He did look noticeably fatigued, but conditioning usually isn’t an issue for “The Natural Born Killer.” If this fight heads into the later rounds—GSP’s last six fights have all been at least 20 minutes—it’s possible that St-Pierre could have a slight edge.
Carlos Condit is a very exciting fighter and very much worthy of this title shot, but I don’t suspect he’ll be able to take out Georges St-Pierre. The question doesn’t seem to be whether or not GSP can win, but if he can finish.
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