St. Pierre broke Penn's will to win
Anyone looking for pointers on how to beat Georges St. Pierre was left wanting after his dominating win over B.J. Penn at UFC 94.
Georges St-Pierre Retains Title
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LAS VEGAS -- This time there were no disputes, no divided opinions, no doubts. The better 170-pound fighter was victorious Saturday at UFC 94 and he made it look easy.
Georges St. Pierre retained his welterweight title with a fourth-round TKO of reigning lightweight champion B.J. Penn. The victory was decisive; St. Pierre won every round and most weren't even close.
It was such a lopsided affair that each judge gave St. Pierre at least one 10-8 round; two judges awarded him two 10-8 rounds. Their scorecards at the time of the stoppage read 40-35, 40-34 and 40-34. ESPN.com had it 40-35.
The scores came as no surprise to any of the 14,885 in attendance at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Many ringside observers, who helped generate a paid gate of $4.3 million, shook their heads at the ease with which St. Pierre dominated one of the world's best pound-for-pound fighters. St. Pierre knew early on he had this fight in the bag.
"I knew I broke him mentally after the first round," said St Pierre, who improved to 18-2. "It was my game plan and I stuck to it. My game plan was to make the first round and the second round … mostly like a wrestling match.
"B.J. Penn, when he comes out, he always comes out very strong in the first round. He's got very good hand speed."
His hand speed was nonexistent on this night. Only the first round, when Penn was able to avoid being taken to the ground, was competitive. Regardless, St. Pierre won the round by being more aggressive and landing the harder punches during clinches.
In the middle of the second round, however, things began to come apart for Penn. He was taken to the ground a minute into the stanza and St. Pierre began to land punishing elbows and right hands.
Avoiding St. Pierre's takedowns was a promise Penn made repeatedly before the bout. Staying on his feet, Penn said over and over, was key to exacting revenge on the man who defeated him by split decision in March 2006.
It was a promise he never came close to fulfilling. Not only was Penn unable to keep this fight off the ground, but also when they stood toe-to-toe St. Pierre used his nearly 5-inch reach advantage to land stinging jabs. Penn's head snapping backward was a scene repeated during every phase while the men were on their feet.
This was a mismatch in every sense of the word. Penn (13-5-1) wasn't fast enough or strong enough. He wasn't better standing up or on the ground. And size -- St. Pierre admits entering the cage weighing no less than 185 pounds -- wasn't the cause of this wipeout.
"The first fight showed that size wasn't the difference," UFC president Dana White said. "I'm not going to use size as anything, Georges beat him tonight. Period; bottom line."
Truer words could not have been spoken. To say St. Pierre was victorious because he was physically larger would taint his accomplishment and do him a major disservice.
This win was St. Pierre's crowning moment as a mixed martial artist. No longer is he just one of the best fighters pound-for-pound; St. Pierre has added his name to the conversation as No. 1 overall, alongside Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko.
White isn't prepared to go that far. He still considers Silva the No. 1 guy, but St. Pierre is firmly in the debate.
"No, I still wouldn't call him pound-for-pound the best in the world, but I would say … he is No. 2. No doubt about it," White said. "Anderson Silva has been annihilating everybody for a long time, Georges has some work to do now.
"If Georges takes out Thiago Alves, then he's on his way."
Alves is the No. 1-ranked welterweight in the UFC. He is scheduled to get the next shot at St. Pierre, though White doesn't yet have a date set. Besides, St. Pierre deserves time to savor this win over Penn.
While White remains steadfast that St. Pierre ranks a notch below Silva in the pound-for-pound rankings, he will be forced to reconsider if the welterweight champ survives what could be his stiffest test to date.
Alves is a very tough cookie. He is big, powerful, vicious and fearless. Most important, he is confident of defeating the champion.
"[St. Pierre] won't be able to take me down that easy," Alves told ESPN.com. "I'm ready to defend his takedowns. I saw some things tonight I can use to my advantage.
"GSP is a strong fighter, but people will be surprised by my standup. I will be able to stand with him."
Alves will present to difficult challenge for St. Pierre; no question he will have more to offer than Penn. St. Pierre admits Alves won't be an easy outing, but says he will be up for the test.
"I'm a very proud champion," St. Pierre said. "I always look for the best challenge and right now the best guy is Thiago Alves. I look forward to fighting him."
At the moment, there won't be too much talk of Alves; the champ wants to enjoy the greatest win of his career. Nothing thus far compares to punishment he laid on Penn, who was taken to nearby Spring Valley Hospital for observation.
"This is the best day of my career so far," St. Pierre said. "It is a memorable time for me."
Franklin McNeil covers boxing and mixed martial arts for The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.
