Tag: UFC 158

GSP vs Diaz: Where Does It Rank Among 2013’s UFC Main Events?

The UFC 158 main event played out exactly as many of the experts predicted, with Georges St-Pierre controlling Nick Diaz on his way to a unanimous decision victory. Although the outcome was generally expected, GSP vs. Diaz was actually still fairl…

The UFC 158 main event played out exactly as many of the experts predicted, with Georges St-Pierre controlling Nick Diaz on his way to a unanimous decision victory. 

Although the outcome was generally expected, GSP vs. Diaz was actually still fairly entertaining. If we were to rank it against some of the other main events that have happened so far in 2013, it’d probably be right up there as one of the most interesting, if for no other reason than the drama and antics created by the still-boiling rivalry between the two fighters.

But the fight itself wasn’t particularly exciting outside of the drama.

In the seven UFC fight cards so far this year, three have ended by way of decision, two by submission and two by knockout.

The UFC on FX bout between Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort started the year off strong, ending in a huge knockout for Belfort. The other knockout so far came in Japan when Wanderlei Silva knocked out Brian Stann in what is perhaps the current “Fight of the Year” favorite of 2013.

The two submissions came in back-to-back fight cards, the first when Renan Barao submitted Michael McDonald to retain his UFC interim bantamweight championship with a beautiful arm-triangle choke. A week later, Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche topped that fight with an epic battle which was the first female fight in UFC history, ending with yet another Rousey armbar. 

Of the three bouts that finished with a decision, St-Pierre vs. Diaz has to take the cake as the most entertaining bout. The other two, Demetrious Johnson versus John Dodson and Jose Aldo versus Frankie Edgar were both decent fights, but neither really lived up to the hype of being between two exciting stylistic fighters. Not to mention, the five-round decisions can get a little taxing to watch if there’s not much in the way of near-finishes. 

All things considered, GSP-Diaz was a good fight but only falls about middle of the pack in terms of entertainment when compared to the other main events so far in 2013. 

It certainly can’t be ranked above Silva-Stann, Rousey-Carmouche or Belfort-Bisping, but it does fit right in after that as the fourth or fifth-best UFC main event we have seen so far in 2013. 

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UFC 158 Results: What’s Next for the Losers?

UFC 158 is in the books. Georges St. Pierre successfully defended his UFC welterweight championship, and Johny Hendricks did enough to get by Carlos Condit.The focus is on the winners of the evening. “Who will they fight next” will be asked, but what a…

UFC 158 is in the books. Georges St. Pierre successfully defended his UFC welterweight championship, and Johny Hendricks did enough to get by Carlos Condit.

The focus is on the winners of the evening. “Who will they fight next” will be asked, but what about the losers?

Some may be cut, but the majority will earn another fight in the organization to try and pick up a win. Whom should they face?

Let’s take a look at the losers of UFC 158, and who is in store for them in their next outing.

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Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz: GSP’s Easy Win Should Kill Rivalry

Nick Diaz talked the talk, but he failed miserably in attempting to walk the walk. Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre scored an easy win over Diaz in the main event at UFC 158, and the so-called rivalry is dead.Rivalries exist when there are two …

Nick Diaz talked the talk, but he failed miserably in attempting to walk the walk. Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre scored an easy win over Diaz in the main event at UFC 158, and the so-called rivalry is dead.

Rivalries exist when there are two competitors of equal or similar talent, and that clearly isn’t the case with GSP and Diaz. The champion dominated the challenger for five rounds to the delight of the crowd at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

In the Octagon, Diaz tried to taunt, he threw a punch after the bell, and he talked more trash, but in the end, he lost.

GSP didn’t just out-class Diaz in the Octagon; even his post-fight interview was handled better. He gave Diaz tons of credit for being a great fighter, and he even unsuccessfully asked the pro-GSP crowd to give Diaz a hand.

When Diaz took the mic, he claimed he didn’t want to make excuses, but predictably delivered a few. He mentioned being rusty after being out of action for a year.

He referred to GSP‘s attacks rather dismissively and continued with the persona that makes him one of the more disliked fighters in the sport.

Diaz even said he would probably retire. We’ll miss you…not really.

The UFC can now move on to the fight that should have taken place on Saturday. Johny Hendricks defeated Carlos Condit in a spectacular fight in the co-main event, and now Hendricks is in line for his long-awaited shot at the title.

Diaz talked his way into this title shot despite coming off a loss and a drug suspension (Yahoo! Sports), and that never sat well with me.

I’m happy to see GSP and the UFC hopefully move on to a bout that makes sense from a fighting standpoint. This main event was based on trash talk that Diaz obviously couldn’t back up.

 

Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay on YouTube and Twitter for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games

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UFC 158 Results: Fighters Who Took Huge Step Forward with Big Performance

Georges St-Pierre’s title defense against Nick Diaz was the main attraction at UFC 158, but plenty of other fighters did well for their careers on Saturday night.From highlight-reel knockouts to decision wins against an elite opponent, it takes a great…

Georges St-Pierre’s title defense against Nick Diaz was the main attraction at UFC 158, but plenty of other fighters did well for their careers on Saturday night.

From highlight-reel knockouts to decision wins against an elite opponent, it takes a great effort to really stand out as a fighter that needs to take the next big step.

UFC 158 had its share of fighters that are in line for bigger fights after impressive performances. Here are three that set themselves up for even greater success with big wins.

 

Johny Hendricks

The bearded wonder didn’t put Carlos Condit away, but he did enough to earn his title shot against Georges St-Pierre.

While many would have liked to see him set up the fight with a knockout, the adversity he faced against Condit could be a positive. There’s an argument to be made that Condit won, but it showed that Hendricks can go the distance and win fights with his wrestling when he doesn’t get the stoppage.

Hendricks really didn’t need to have the most impressive performance in the world. Truth be told, he should have been in the main event against St-Pierre. His credentials were better than Diaz‘s before tonight and a win over Condit only makes his case that much stronger.

Dana White wasted little time in deeming Hendricks the No. 1 contender in the welterweight division, and at this point, he deserves that distinction.

 

Jake Ellenberger

The Juggernaut was somewhat of an afterthought in light of the four welterweights at the top of the card. After his knockout win over Nate Marquardt, he’s officially back in the top tier of the division.

Ellenberger looked every part the legitimate contender we thought he was when he reeled off six straight wins before his upset loss to Martin Kampmann.

After his less-than-dominant split decision win over Jay Hieron, it appeared Ellenberger may have lost it. Marquardt was a much more credible opponent and Ellenberger looked as dominant as ever.

He shouldn’t vault Hendricks for the next crack at GSP, but he certainly made the case to be placed in a title eliminator.

 

Darren Elkins

Before the main card got started, Elkins made a huge statement on the FX broadcast of undercard fights.

The 28-year-old entered the fight on a four-fight win streak but still felt a little under appreciated. That could be owed to the fact that all four of those wins were by unanimous decision.

Elkins put away any talk of him being a one-dimensional wrestler with his knockout win over Antonio Carvalho. With the win, he’s proven that he can not only out-grapple opponents for three solid rounds, he has the power to put on exciting fights and put people away.

There’s a good chance that the UFC won’t be keeping Elkins on the undercard much longer.

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UFC 158 Results: Twitter Reacts to Georges St-Pierre’s Win at UFC 158

UFC 158 is in the books, and after five rounds of action, Georges St-Pierre retained his title in front of his home crowd. St-Pierre out-wrestled Nick Diaz to earn a unanimous decision victory. Twitter was buzzing about this fight, but St-Pie…

UFC 158 is in the books, and after five rounds of action, Georges St-Pierre retained his title in front of his home crowd. 

St-Pierre out-wrestled Nick Diaz to earn a unanimous decision victory. 

Twitter was buzzing about this fight, but St-Pierre’s win may actually be overshadowed by Diaz‘s alleged retirement and the great show that Carlos Condit and Johny Hendricks put on. 

Here are some of Twitter’s reactions to St-Pierre’s win:

MMA legend Bas Rutten shared his thoughts on St-Pierre’s eighth straight title defense. 

Light heavyweight contender Dan Henderson praised St-Pierre’s wrestling and made another plea for Olympic wrestling. 

Lightweight vet Yves Edwards also shared his thoughts on GSP‘s wrestling. 

Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren believes he has what it takes to defeat St-Pierre after watching the fight. 

Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter already has his prediction in for St-Pierre vs. Hendricks. 

Although St-Pierre did not show us anything new, he is still the champ and has a new challenge waiting for him in Johny Hendricks. 

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report MMA for all of the post-fight coverage and news. 

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Georges St-Pierre’s Next Fight: Who Should He Face?

UFC 158 went down Saturday night from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. And in the main event, Georges St-Pierre defended his UFC welterweight title by taking a unanimous decision victory over Nick Diaz.But you know what? The fight’s over now. It’s …

UFC 158 went down Saturday night from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. And in the main event, Georges St-Pierre defended his UFC welterweight title by taking a unanimous decision victory over Nick Diaz.

But you know what? The fight’s over now. It’s been over for literally hours now, give or take. So the time for reflection is over. We can’t spend our lives in the past, looking back. Internet users don’t look back.

OK, OK. Maybe we can look back a little. As expected by many observers, it was pure dominance from St-Pierre Saturday. He landed takedowns far more often than he didn’t (though credit to Diaz for stuffing a few), fully controlled Diaz on the ground and even outboxed Diaz on the feet.

With 18 UFC victories, St-Pierre is now tied with all-time leader Matt Hughes. He also tied Royce Gracie for the second-longest UFC winning streak with 11 (Anderson Silva is first with 16).

So what’s next for Georges St-Pierre? What does the future hold? Well, based on his increasingly terse rapport with the media of late, a long and decidedly private vacation may be the first order of business. As for his next opponent, that should be Johny Hendricks.

No question about it. Hendricks bested the great Carlos Condit Saturday night, and earned the title shot. Hendricks’s last four victims: Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Martin Kampmann and now Condit. That is what is known as a murderer’s row.

Hendricks mowed them all down. I realize Anderson Silva and other things are out there in the ether—let’s toss out streaking welterweights Jake Ellenberger and Demian Maia as well—but if St-Pierre doesn’t fight Hendricks now, it will be a glaring hole. I don’t think St-Pierre wants that any more than anyone else wants that. No, barring a crazy injury or suspension, St-Pierre and Hendricks will fight in a few months. To my mind, it’s the only credible thing to do.

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