Issue 108

December 2013

FO analyzes the fight everyone is talking about. Will UFC champion GSP be able to throw caution to the wind againstknockout merchant Hendricks – because he may just have to?

Looking to make the ninth defense of his world title, Georges St Pierre (24-2), Canada’s greatest fighter of any discipline for several decades (only boxers Tommy Burns, Sam Langford and Jimmy McLarnin, who all retired in the 1920s and ‘30s, really come close) faces yet another of his ‘toughest challenges yet’ in knockout-punching elite wrestler Johny Hendricks (15-1).

Unbeaten in 11 straight fights since his April 2007 title defeat to Matt Serra, St Pierre is one of the greatest UFC champions of all time. 

Chosen three times as Canadian athlete of the year (athlete, not fighter) from 2008 to 2010 by Canadian sports TV network Sportsnet, GSP also reportedly earns far more from his various mainstream sponsorships deals and endorsements than he does from anything that happens inside the Octagon. And as one of the sport’s biggest and most consistent pay-per-view sellers, he earns plenty just from doing what he does best – winning.

Yet, even in victory, St Pierre has plenty of detractors, given that seven of his eight title defenses have gone the distance. Many of GSP’s supporters would point to the high quality of his opposition, but five of the seven have subsequently been finished inside the distance; and of the two most recent – Carlos Condit was beaten by Hendricks, while Nick Diaz (completely dominated by GSP) has not fought since. Part of the reason GSP doesn’t finish fights is that he’s simply far too cautious at times. 

Challenger Hendricks is rarely cautious and has developed an unusual pattern of scoring a first round finish in one fight, then going the distance in his next. In March 2011 he flattened TJ Waldburger in 95 seconds with a pair of lefts. In August, at UFC 133, he decisioned the tough but unspectacular Mike Pierce in a close one. Hendricks then closed out the year with a truly stunning 12-second blitzing of former title challenger Jon Fitch. And he followed that with a tough split-decision win in a three-rounder against another former NCAA Division I national champion wrestler in Josh Koscheck. Then in November, he obliterated Martin Kampmann in a shocking 46 seconds, ending the fight with a single, monstrous left hand.

Most recently, he went to war with Carlos Condit, battling for three action-packed rounds and walking away with the well-earned victory. For those who keep track of such patterns, Hendricks is on that measure at least, due an explosive first round win.

Despite never wrestling in high school or college, GSP is one of MMA’s most dominant wrestlers. That’s an amazing testament to his athleticism, speed, explosiveness and technique. Even Hendricks, a two-time national champion in 2005 and 2006 on the elite Oklahoma State University team, may not be able to win that way.

For such a highly decorated amateur, Hendricks hasn’t always adapted his wrestling well to the cage. Successfully defending 63% of his opponents’ attempted takedowns and scoring with just 50% of his own as a UFC fighter, the obvious, and for many, automatic assumption that he may be the one to outwrestle GSP may be mistaken. The champion’s own totals are 88% and 75%, respectively.

When he fought Jake Shields and Josh Koscheck, GSP used his jab and takedown defense to keep the fight standing, and he may aim to do the same with Hendricks. But he will need to be extremely wary of that huge left hand. 

On paper, Hendricks is the biggest puncher and the most effective finisher St Pierre has faced since he beat Thiago Alves in 2009 and Carlos Condit in 2012. St Pierre has a good chin but can be hurt. Hendricks has the power to finish any welterweight, even one this good.