In a nearly perfect performance of his powerful new pugilistic prowess, Georges “Rush” St. Pierre nullified everything the villainous Josh Koscheck tried to throw his way in their main event matchup at last night’s UFC 124 in Montreal, Canada. Reminiscent of other big events on the world stage, ala the World Cup, the capacity crowd in attendance chanted in anticipation for their French-Canadian countryman all night long, often chanting his name while the undercard was going on. When he finally hit the cage to cap off the evening, St. Pierre certainly did not disappoint with his performance.
In a showing that should largely silence critics who’ve slandered him in recent fights for winning what can be deemed “safe decisions “ using his world-class wrestling ability, St. Pierre dominated this matchup without the action hardly hitting the ground at all. Instead Georges utilized a newfound skill set in his boxing, peppering Koscheck with arguably more jabs than have ever been thrown in a mixed martial arts bout, ever. According to FightMetric, GSP outstruck his opponent 136-30 in this bout, landing 55 of 146 attempted jabs and staying one-step ahead by utilizing his distance and timing his punches about as well as he’s been praised for timing his shots in the past. I mentioned this on Twitter, but with this newfound boxing ability to add to his world-class wrestling and kyokushin karate, St. Pierre may be the culmination of the dreams of one legend in Bruce Lee, who conceptualized a complete fighter like this as the ideal fighter. With this performance, his ninth defense in a row, GSP arguably cements his status as #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world and moves closer to a dream matchup with middleweight fighter Anderson Silva. In the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White reconfirmed Jake Shields are the next challenger for the welterweight title.
The PPV undercard featured some exciting performances with three out of four matchups failing to go the full distance. In the lone bout that went to the judges, a rejuvenated Thiago Alves showed off his impressive Muay Thai, outlasting John Howard with vicious leg kicks and two punch combinations to take the decision. It is notable that this marked the first bout in a while where Alves made weight at the welterweight limit of 171 with no issue. He credits Mike Dolce and the Dolce Diet for his improved conditioning and judging from this performance, it looks like bright days ahead for ATT’s Thiago Alves.
In other action, New Jersey’s Jim Miller bested Jorge “Macaco” Patino protégé Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira via knee-bar submission. In tapping out Oliveira to win his sixth in a row, Miller puts himself in line to challenge for the lightweight belt. Journeyman lightweights were also on display in a bout that ended with a spectacular knockout as Mac Danzig, moving backwards, knocked out Joe Stevenson with a perfect punch placed right on the button to put “Daddy” to sleep. The vegan Danzig likely saved himself a reprieve, staying in the UFC after this win. 6’11” “Skyscraper” Stefan Struve defeated fanboy-turned-fighter and Underground legend Sean McCorkle via TKO to finish off the night’s televised undercard.
UFC 124 – Results
PPV Card
- Georges St-Pierre def. Josh Koscheck via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
- Stefan Struve def. Sean McCorkle via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:55
- Mac Danzig def. Joe Stevenson via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:54
- Thiago Alves def. John Howard via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jim Miller def. Charles Oliveira via submission (kneebar) – Round 1, 1:59
Preliminary Bouts
- Dan Miller def. Joe Doerksen via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Mark Bocek def. Dustin Hazelett via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:33
- Rafael Natal and Jesse Bongfeldt fight to a majority draw (28-28, 28-28, 29-28 Natal)
- Sean Pierson def. Matt Riddle via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ricardo Almeida def. T.J. Grant via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- John Makdessi def. Pat Audinwood via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
