UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell respects Georges St-Pierre’s ability to outclass opponents, but he doesn’t sound thrilled about giving up a Saturday night to watch the welterweight champ fight, either.
On an appearance with ESPN’s Sportsnation, “The Iceman gave his opinion on the dominant French-Canadian titleholder (transcription via MMA Mania):
“I think some people make complaints about some of the champions playing it safe. I understand it, but I don’t want to watch it. I think St. Pierre is a great fighter. He’s awesome, I just don’t like watching him play it safe. And he fights safe. I mean against Diaz, he spiral rode him for half the fight. I don’t like watching that. Now, for him to able to do that to guys that are at that level, it’s impressive. But it’s not exciting to me. And the way they chose the fight. I mean ‘I’ve been beating this guy up for four rounds, I’m still just gonna win the last round … I actually think this next fight coming up, I’m excited, he’s fighting Johny Hendricks and I think Hendricks is going to make him fight.”
With Anderson Silva losing the middleweight title to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in July, “Rush” is the longest reigning champion in the UFC, capturing the strap in April 2008 and subsequently defending it eight times.
Despite his impressive ledger, St-Pierre has drawn the ire of critics for winning six straight unanimous decisions between July 2009 and March 2013.
His last TKO came against BJ Penn at UFC 94 in January 2009, with “The Prodigy’s” corner throwing in the towel after the former lightweight champ had been battered for four rounds.
Furthermore, his last submission victory was at UFC 79 in December 2007, tapping out Matt Hughes with a second round armbar in their rubber match.
Perhaps Liddell is right in speculating that Hendricks will be able to give GSP a run for his money, as “Bigg Rigg” is a former four-time All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University and have devastating knockout power with his left hand.
In comparison, Liddell, one of the most accomplished light heavyweight titleholders of all time, at one point scored seven straight knockouts in a row, including four straight title defenses.
However, the revered striker’s iron chin failed him late in his career, as he was knocked out three times in a row before hanging up the gloves in June 2009.
Will Hendricks be the one to force a “Fight of the Night” performance out of GSP at UFC 167 on November 16 or will the champion’s takedowns and top control once again be the story of the fight?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
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