The Greatest MMA Column 12.13.11: St-Pierre Injury Reaction
Posted by Dan Plunkett on 12.13.2011
How will Georges St-Pierre's injury effect his career going forward? 411's Dan Plunkett takes a look! Plus thoughts on Jon Jones' win over Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's broken arm and the rest of the results from UFC 140!
Georges St-Pierre out of UFC 143 Due to Complete ACL Tear
In February, for the first time in nearly four years, a new UFC welterweight champion will be crowned. Well, an interim champion at least. Reigning UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has been forced out of his scheduled February 4 title defense against Nick Diaz with a completely torn ACL. With St-Pierre unable to compete, Nick Diaz will fight Carlos Condit for the interim championship.
Ever since his 2007 upset loss to Matt Serra, Georges St-Pierre has been untouchable in the welterweight division. Since that loss, St-Pierre has only lost three rounds on at least one judge's scorecard. One of those rounds, round four against Jake Shields, is simply an example of poor judging. The other two, round five against Shields and round one in his 2007 bout with Koscheck, could have been scored either way. Over that time, he has not only beaten every top challenger thrown in front of him, he has dominated them. Most challengers were dominated to the point that there is simply no desire from fans to see them ever challenge St-Pierre again. Whereas the other dominant champion of his era, Anderson Silva, has had fans flock for rematches against Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen, fans demand fresh title match-ups for St-Pierre. That is perhaps the biggest sentiment to his dominance.
In October, St-Pierre was forced out of a title defense against Carlos Condit due to a knee injury not directly related to his later ACL tear. St-Pierre has a reputation for training hard year round, while most other fighters only train equally as hard when preparing for a fight. At 30-years-old, St-Pierre has been a top fighter for seven years, and one has to wonder whether the string of injuries could be related to his body starting to break down after years of arduous training. That may not necessarily be the case, but it is a possibility.
Even if that isn't the reason for Georges' ACL tear and recent string of injuries, they are still cause for concern. It's strongly possible, and perhaps even likely, that Georges won't initially be able to perform at the high level that he has during his most recent title run. In fact, he may never be able to perform at that level again. Granted, Georges has proven to be significantly better than each of his previous opponents, so even if he never returns to his previous level that doesn't mean he won't continue on as champion. The most notable example of an ACL injury affecting a fighter in MMA is "Shogun" Rua. When Rua returned from his injury, his first performance was dismal and a shadow of the fighter that had formerly ruled the light heavyweight division. However, within a year "Shogun" was fighting at a level that was arguably higher than he had been fighting at in his "prime years." Then again, Rua was a few years younger when his injuries hit.
The lesson is that St-Pierre's career certainly isn't over. Should he return on schedule in late-2012, he'll be 32-years-old and won't have fought in around 18 months. In that first fight back he may not look anything like the fighter that has dominated the welterweight class for the past four years, but if history is any indicator, things should only get better from there. Even in the unlikely event that St-Pierre's career falls apart after that, in his nine years in the sport he's cemented his place as one of the all-time greats, which is something an injury cannot take away.
UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida Thoughts
Many thought if anybody at light heavyweight could legitimately challenge Jon Jones, it would be Lyoto Machida. While there are still top light heavyweights that haven't gotten their crack at the champion, that Machida may have proven that thought correct on Saturday night. For the first time since becoming the elite fighter we know today, Jones lost a round, albeit a relatively close one. He attempted to strike with Machida in the opening frame and clearly came out on the losing end, though he wasn't blown out. By the end of the round, Machida actually seemed to have some momentum behind him. That momentum halted when Jones scored a takedown in the second round and landed an elbow that opened up a nasty gash on Machida's forehead. Back in a standing position, Jones seemed to hurt Machida with a left hand and "The Dragon" fell to the floor. Machida got back to his feet and clinched with Jones. From there, Jones, who has great front headlocks, secured a standing guillotine choke that rendered Machida unconscious. Overall, it was a very good performance from Jones. He proved that he can stand and strike with one of the division's elite strikers and be fairly competitive, and once it hit the floor he was in control for the rest of the fight.
The win caps off possibly the greatest single year for any fighter in MMA history. Jones entered the year scheduled to take on Ryan Bader in a battle of the two of the best light heavyweight prospects in the company. At the time, it was thought that at best he could get a title shot in the summer or possibly not until the end of the year, assuming he kept winning. Plus, Rashad Evans, his then-teammate who he had agreed to never fight, was slated to fight "Shogun" Rua for the light heavyweight title. Had Evans gone on and won that fight, 2011 would have been a very different year for Jon Jones.
However, Evans got injured and was forced out of the fight with Rua. After Jones easily dispatched Ryan Bader, he was offered the shot against "Shogun" on six weeks' notice. That set the course for his incredible run this year where he defeated three top-five ranked former champions. I can't recall any fighter having a year better than that, especially with Jones finishing all fights. "Shogun" Rua's 2005 was a great year, going 5-0, and beating four top fighters in four months, but with the exception of Ryan Bader, Jones' competition was better than Rua's (yes, I'm saying 2011 Rampage is better than 2005 Rampage). Next up for the 2011 Fighter of the Year is some time off, followed by a title defense against either the winner of 1/28's Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis fight or Dan Henderson.
I thought Frank Mir was going to crush Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, the second-greatest heavyweight in MMA history, on Saturday night. In a way, I was right I suppose, but I was very surprised by how the fight went. Early on, Mir looked bad. He wasn't moving as well as he has in the past, Nogueira was connecting hard punches to his face, despite his 260-pound frame he wasn't really out-muscling Nogueira in the clinch, and he seemed to get tired early on. It looked to be close to over when Nogueira rocked Mir about two minutes into the fight. Mir desperately tried to take the fight to the ground and was met with follow-up punches from Nogueira. Then, Nogueira attempted to finish off Mir with a submission. That didn't work, and the two battled for position until Mir locked up a kimura. Nogueira rolled and Mir only locked it in tighter. He cranked on the shoulder lock until he broke Nogueira's arm, at which point the Brazilian finally tapped out. The sight of Nogueira's arm being twisted was easily the most gruesome sight in a UFC fight since Corey Hill's leg snapped in 2008. Mir deserves a top guy in his next fight, potentially Cain Velasquez, and should get a title shot with another win. As for Nogueira, word is his recovery will only take 9 months, which is fairly good news.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira easily dispatched Tito Ortiz in the first round of their fight. Ortiz came to fight and was swinging for the fences early, but after Nogueira rocked him with a left hand he was on the defensive for the remainder of the fight. Nogueira then dropped the former "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" with a knee to the body and pounded away on Ortiz's left side to get a stoppage victory. Ortiz, 36, has one fight remaining on his UFC contract, and I'd like to see him get one more chance. While he's not drawing in pay-per-view buyers anymore, he's still a big name that could draw ratings on television. Perhaps his farewell fight could be broadcast on FOX. As for an opponent, I've always said I'd like to see him fight Stephan Bonnar, and I stick by that, but a fight against Rich Franklin or a rubber match with Forrest Griffin are strong possibilities.
Brian Ebersole and Claude Patrick fought a very evenly contested match with most seeming to think Patrick got the upper hand, but Ebersole was awarded the decision win. Some were upset with the decision, but it was a close fight and I didn't have a problem with it. Ebersole is a fighter that's not going to be a top guy, but he has the skills and experience to be relatively competitive with almost anybody in the welterweight division.
Mark Hominick's first fight since the death of his friend and trainer Shawn Tompkins didn't go very well. He opened up with a very wide left hook that was easily evaded by Chan Sung Jung. "The Korean Zombie" counted with a punch that dropped the Canadian and finished the fight in just seven seconds. Jung admitted that luck played a role in his quick victory, and while that's probably the case, it was still a big win for him and he's 2-0 in the UFC now. As for Hominick, he made one tactical error and paid the price for it. He's still a very good fighter and should rebound strong in 2012.
That's all the time I have for this week. Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed it. You can join 115 others and follow me on Twitter if you please. Feel free to leave feedback in the comment box or at the e-mail address below.
