Georges St. Pierre Superior Ground Work Defeats Nick Diaz in UFC 158
By Rob Cruz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 17 Mar 2013
Montreal, Canada - Georges St. Pierre made his way to the Octagon focused, calm, cool and collected backed up by the forces of good Le Habitants at The Bell Centre cheering him on at full force. As expected the poker faced Nick Diaz walked out and was greeted by the same boo birds that came back to life which gave villain Josh Koschek the same type of reception back in December 2010.
There were no high fives or touch gloves, both fighters did not participate with any exchange of pleasantries. The intensity of this fight warranted immediate separation so that fight could go on without further delay.
If you know the way Georges St. Pierre (GSP) fights, his diversity and key timely transitions with different styles from karate, wrestling, boxing and jujitsu is what makes him dangerous. Right from the first round, GSP capitalized with his wrestling and takedowns on Nick Diaz. Diaz was totally outclassed on the ground, GSP turned him at will and neutralized Diaz?s ability to hunt down any loose limbs GSP may offer. GSP had his safety on, his wrestling and takedowns where the key difference in the Octagon against Diaz.
There were no love lost during the fight from Diaz who made attempts to swing at GSP in the early rounds after the bell has rung. GSP was in control and dictated the pace of this fight by chipping away at Diaz with his jabs and then taking it to the ground over and over again for most of the fight where Diaz could not escape GSP?s tactical wrestling and ground work.
When the fight went toe to toe, GSP?s jabs were crisp and landed on many occasions on Diaz?s chin. In the he middle rounds, Diaz showed some spark with his striking and assembled a few combinations on GSP that busted him up and bloodied his nose. Diaz?s volume punching connected on GSP, he displayed superior boxing over GSP in the middle rounds with a better connect rate. In between the middle rounds, Coach Faraz Zahabi advised GSP not to box toe to toe with Diaz and to go for his legs and take the fight to the ground where GSP was most effective.
Whenever distance was created on their feet, Nick Diaz was able to land effective punches on GSP right down the middle with straight punches. GSP made the necessary adjustments that kept fight close in and take it to the ground as instructed by his Coach Zahabi. Frustration has set in the championship rounds for Nick Diaz as GSP was able to slow down Diaz and neutralize him to a point that Diaz could not throw anything substantial.
As expected, the grudge heading into this fight fueled it, this fight was not a fast paced action packed fight with lots of hay makers, it was a technical showdown of neutralizing offense on the ground. GSP managed to take Diaz off his game and take him to a place where his offense was ineffective. The high percentage of takedowns accomplished by GSP scored many points on the judges' scorecards.
The fight ended with reconciliation, GSP immediately came towards Nick Diaz when the bell rang that ended the fifth round. He handed Diaz an olive branch and congratulated and thanked him for the fight. Nick Diaz knew the outcome of the fight before it was announced and raised GSP?s hands up in the air in victory.
GSP earns another hands down victory by unanimous decision and retains his UFC Welterweight crown. All of the judges scored the fight 50-45, his sixth straight victory by decision. GSP?s array of superman punches, crisp jabs, ground and pound and a big switch kick that took down Nick Diaz were just too much to handle. GSP earns his 18th victory in the UFC and is now 24W-2L with an 11 fight win streak.
During the post fight interview, Nick Diaz who is now 26W-9L, with 6W-7L in the UFC, commented that he had nothing left to prove and it?s time for him to pack it up and retire from fighting, he thanked his team and apologized to his hometown in Stockton.
As a true Champion and role model of the sport, GSP gave a classy speech that gave credit and tribute to Nick Diaz, he thanked him for his efforts with promoting the fight. Le Habitants cheered at GSP?s graciousness and also surprisingly cheered for Nick Diaz.
Every ?Wolf Ticket? has been purchased and the money is in the till for the UFC. The grudge and animosity between GSP and Nick Diaz is over, the better man emerged tonight. Nick Diaz can ride off towards the sunset into his retirement from The Octagon. GSP will fight another day and defend his Welterweight belt against number one contender Johny Hendricks who won over Carlos Condit in the co-main event in UFC 158 Montreal.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rob Cruz.
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