Beyond the Fight 04.11.08: Anatomy of an Upset Pt. I

Posted by Sergio G. Hernandez on 04.11.2008

Rabid Canadian MMA fans made UFC 83 a record sell-out. But those of the Great White North aren't the only ones salivating for the main event. This week, we'll focus on George St. Pierre while we take a look at one of the biggest rematches in UFC history.

Since last week's column where I blasted YAMMA, it's been announced that Mark Kerr HAS been cleared to fight.

Whoopee. Doesn't change a thing.

Reading various online MMA outlets, including the work of my fellow 411Mania writers, my sentiment is pretty much shared by… well, everyone.

Let's talk about a fight that matters, yeah?

In a little over two weeks, UFC will present the rematch for the greatest upset in MMA history. In Interim Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre's home country of Canada, he seeks to unify the 170 titles by defeating the man who took his title away to begin with: Matt Serra.

To understand how much of an upset this is, let's take a look back at each fighter's careers leading up to that historic night in Houston and the events that followed. This week, we will look at the challenger, Georges St. Pierre.

St. Pierre was coming off a string off dominating victories in UFC's most stacked division. After first tasting defeat at the hands of future Hall of Famer Matt Hughes at UFC 50, he rattled off wins against Jason Miller, Frank Trigg, Sean Sherk, and B.J. Penn before absolutely humbling Hughes in their rematch en route to his first taste of UFC gold.

He dominated Miller, a fixture on the Hawaiian MMA scene and then went on to cement Frank Trigg's legacy of not being able to defend a rear naked choke. His next victory, in my opinion, was the most impressive. Facing off against former Welterweight title contender, Sean Sherk, GSP proved he had his eyes once again set upon the top of the 170 mountain. Sherk, a fighter whose only loss was a decision against Hughes, was completely destroyed by the French Canadian in less than 8 minutes. It took Hughes 25 minutes to secure his victory over the stocky Minneapolis native.

GSP was seemingly on his way to a title shot. But someone was standing in the way: B.J. Penn.

Press "Pause" on this train of thought for just a moment and go back in time about two years. B.J. Penn, having failed at securing the Lightweight title (and in effect, killing the division for over three years… thanks a lot!), jumped up in weight to take on the seemingly invincible Matt Hughes. What followed was a Top 5 contender for a Greatest MMA Upsets list.

Penn choked out Hughes in the first round and even gave Hughes a little sugar to top it off. Contract disputes and an eagerness to fight outside the UFC led to Penn being stripped of the title without ever having lost it in the cage.

When Penn arrived back in the UFC, he had an immediate claim to the number one contendership.

The showdown between the future of the welterweight division was set at UFC 58.

GSP survived… and I mean SURVIVED the first round but went on to control the pace of the fight for the second and third earning a split decision. Personally, I felt a draw was in place as I scored the card 10-8, 9-10, 9-10. But GSP won and earned his second title shot.

Things, though, have a funny way of working themselves out. St. Pierre suffered a groin injury, which forced him to pull out of his fight with Hughes, and the UFC immediately threw Penn in. Hughes/Penn II was stellar but a rib injury severely hampered Penn's ability and he lost via TKO in third round.

Hughes, avenging his only blemish since 2001, was ready to take on GSP.

Hughes would be facing a different fighter in Sacramento than he did back in 2004. GSP was admittedly nervous before their first encounter and seemingly suffered from a bit of stage fright.

The GSP that answered the first bell on November 18, 2006 was far more confident in his abilities and it showed immediately. GSP nearly finished the fight at the tail end of the first round when Hughes was literally saved by the bell.

The former Miletich Systems fighter would not be so lucky in the second round. Hughes ate a high kick and a few punches and elbows later, he was no longer the UFC Welterweight champion.

Georges St. Pierre's destiny was fulfilled.

His first defense was to be at UFC 67, part of a double main event promoting The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback winners cashing in their "last chance." He was to square off against welterweight winner, Matt Serra, and Anderson Silva would also defend his newly won Middleweight title for the first time against Travis Lutter.

In a twist of fate, no title bouts took place that night as Lutter failed to make weight and St. Pierre suffered a knee injury, forcing his bout with Serra to be postponed.

Two months later, in UFC's debut Texas show at the Toyota Center in Houston, St. Pierre was finally ready to defend the title he had literally begged for a shot at. At the time, betting websites had St. Pierre at as much as a +1000 favorite, meaning you had to bet $1,000 to win $100. The MMA community didn't seem too concerned in what seemed like a formality either. Most of the talk revolved around a rematch with Penn or a rubber match with Hughes.

A little over 200 seconds into the fight, Georges St. Pierre had his back on the mat, wondering, along with everyone else, what went wrong.

The biggest upset in MMA history had just taken place and everyone – the fans, the fighters, even Serra himself – was completely and utterly shocked. The future of the welterweight division, the man who dominated the most decorated UFC champion in history was just destroyed by a man best known for being knocked out by Shonie Carter via spinning back fist.

What followed in the next months was particularly interesting. At first, GSP gave full credit to the new 170 pound champ, saying he was the better man. Later, though, GSP was seemingly giving excuses for his loss ranging from lack of training to not being mentally focused.

What followed was a much-talked about trip to a sports psychologist, something GSP always considered as a crutch for the weak minded. He said he emerged a better fighter for it and now speaks of the virtues of psychology in aiding athletes.

His first fight back to a potential title shot was no pushover. Since Josh Koscheck's debut on The Ultimate Fighter 1, he had been on a tear. A minor bump in the road in the shape of Drew Fickett aside, Koscheck was winning himself into title contention.

Koscheck was coming off a win over previously undefeated Diego Sanchez and touted himself as the best wrestler the welterweight division had to offer. GSP's response? Outwrestle the wrestler.

A dominant, if not slightly uninspiring, performance by GSP put him back in the win column and bolstered his confidence. The bad blood between Serra started to boil as GSP took offense to Serra calling him "frenchy." GSP promised to take the belt back when they met again.

GSP would have to wait a while as Dana White pegged Serra and Matt Hughes at the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 6. The two butted heads during TUF 4 and had been verbally sparring since.

Their title match was set for UFC 79 but about 5 weeks before the bout, Serra withdrew with a herniated disc in his back. The opportunity to fight Hughes for an Interim Welterweight championship was presented to GSP and he jumped at the opportunity.

Again, GSP dominated Hughes. Again, the fight did not leave the second round.

In his post-fight interview, GSP refused the interim belt, saying the only belt that mattered was the belt around Serra's waist and that Serra was the true champion.

GSP, coming off of dominant victories over two of UFC's welterweight elite, is ready to recapture the crown he lost in Texas over a year ago.



Next week, we'll talk a look at his historic bout from Serra's perspective all leading up to the huge showdown on April 19!