GSP (photo) defended the welterweight belt at UFC 158. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Throughout the UFC 158 promotion, the North American Nick Diaz provoked Georges St Pierre, but in the main fight of the event, held this Saturday (16), in Montreal, Canada, GSP showed why he is the welterweight champion. During the 25 minutes of the fight, the Canadian took no notice of his rival, dominated the five rounds of the fight and took the win with a unanimous decision from the judges. The result guaranteed St. Pierre his eighth UFC belt defense.
The fight
The climate of rivalry and provocation proposed by Nick Diaz did not affect St. Pierre's strategic and cautious play. At the beginning of the dispute, the champion waited for the challenger's first attack to seek the takedown and take the fight to the ground. On the ground, Nick even tried to apply an armbar, but GSP managed to escape the attack and start punishing him with punches throughout the entire period.
History repeated itself in the following rounds. St. Pierre expected attacks from Diaz, who when he tried to land punches was surprised by takedowns. Lost in the fight, Nick even attacked Georges after the end of the round.
Unable to impose his game, Nick tried to gesture, provoke and invite his rival to exchange blows. In the third round he even managed a combination of punches, but, again, he was taken down by the champion.
At the end of 25 minutes of competition, victory for Georges St Pierre in the unanimous decision of the judges. (50×45, 50×45, 50×45).
After the fight, the rivalry between the fighters seems to have ended. Diaz raised GSP's arm, who praised his opponent. “Nick, thanks for promoting the fight. Canada, this guy is cool,” said St. Pierre, who spoke about his plan for the duel.
“I had a strategy of keeping the fight on the ground. I know that Nick's boxing is the best in MMA and I tried to work on his karate movements to impose my game”, added the champion.
Hendricks wins Condit battle and calls for fight against GSP
In the second most important fight of the night, John hendricks e Carlos Condit They fought an intense battle during the 15 minutes of combat. The welterweights, who lead the ranking of challengers in the category, started the duel at a blistering pace.
In the very first movements, Hendricks went on the attack, combining two powerful blows against his rival's face. In turn, Condit was not intimidated, assimilated the punches well and responded with a knee. The frank exchange of blows raised eyebrows among the Canadian public. But after taking a hard direct hit, Hendricks attacked Condit's legs and took down his rival.
On the ground, Hendricks landed some short strikes, but with a lot of flexibility, Condit was able to get up. In the stand-up fight, Johny landed some good punches, but at the end of the first round, Carlos balanced the fight and ended the round on his rival's back.
In the second round, it started as the first round. Hendricks landed two punches and Condit responded with a knee. Soon after, Johny tried to take him down, but Carlos got up quickly and put his rival against the bars. However, always with great force, Hendricks landed the most dangerous blows.
Behind the judges' score, Condit opened the game in the third round. The former interim champion landed good punches that shook Hendricks, who managed to absorb the attacks and take the fight via unanimous decision from the judges (29×28, 29×28, 29×28).
At the end of the fight, John hendricks asked for the chance to face Georges St Pierre for the welterweight belt. “St. Pierre, if you win today, we will fight in five months. I know you are fans of GSP, but I liked the right to fight him. GSP, please give me this chance. We’re going to have a great fight,” he said.
Check out the complete UFC 158 results below:
Main Card
Georges St-Pierre defeated Nick Diaz in the unanimous decision of the judges;
John hendricks derrotou Carlos Condit in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Jake ellenberger defeated Nate Marquardt by knockout in R1;
Chris Camozzi defeated Nick Ring via unanimous decision;
Mike Ricci defeated Colin Fletcher via unanimous decision;
Preliminary Card
Patrick Cote defeated Bobby Voelker via unanimous decision;
Darren Elkins defeated Antonio Carvalho via TKO in R1;
Jordan Mein defeated Dan Miller by technical knockout in R1;
John makdessi defeated Daron Cruickshank via unanimous decision;
Rick Story defeated Quinn Mulhern via TKO in R1;
TJ Dillashaw defeated Issei Tamura by knockout in R2;
George Roop defeated Reuben Duran via unanimous decision.
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