No matter what happens at UFC 143, the main event should end with one winner and one loser. This isn’t guaranteed, as draws do happen, but with both men having a penchant for finishing fights, it isn’t likely.
So the winner will get to face Georges St-Pierre down the road and at the same time have a chance to claim dominance in the division.
The question to this hypothetical depends on the type of environment.
The truth is that both men could easily beat Georges St-Pierre. They would just need more then 25 minutes to do it.
If St-Pierre was a champion who took risks and aimed to take out every challenger that stepped in the cage with him, the answer would be different. Neither might stand a chance against him, but as he has evolved, he has developed into a fighter who makes game plans based on the time limit and his opponents’ strengths.
There is nothing wrong with this. It is what you do in sports, and it is what makes some of the greats.
But MMA is a hybrid of fighting and sports. Athletes aren’t the ones who survive at the top for long.
Fighters are.
In the old rules of MMA, both Condit and Diaz would be champions, because they are the type to outlast their opponents until they can knock them out or submit them. GSP is the type to make plans around the rules and exploit them.
St-Pierre could easily be the man who finishes fights and goes out and performs like both of his potential challengers, but because he doesn’t, he has grown rusty in that sense.
If the fight were to take place in a ring under Pride rules, GSP might very well lose his crown.
Still, within the frame of the UFC and the Octagon, he is perfect. He uses the cage effectively, has the proper cardio and knows how to pace himself.
He is the perfect machine for the job of being a UFC champion.
That is why no matter who wins the match, neither man can defeat him in the Octagon.
As a fighter they could.
As mixed martial artist they could.
But not as UFC fighters.
And that is the unvarnished truth.
Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report. He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com which focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film, and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.
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