My review of UFC 158: St. Pierre vs. Diaz, which went about how everyone expected it to.
Georges St. Pierre def. Nick Diaz: This was 25 minutes of what everyone expected. GSP didn’t spend too much time sanding with Diaz, and when he did, he stayed out of range and used his jab and leg kicks. Whenever he really tried though, he was able to put Diaz on is back and maintain position for as long as he wanted to. Diaz’s only offense came in the third round when he landed a couple of nice punches that busted the nose of GSP. Otherwise this fight was all GSP, all the time. I can’t complain about the way things went, because they went how I thought they would, but take away the crowd loving GSP and hating Diaz, and this was one boring fight. GSP is great at what he does, but there is just no sense of killer instinct from him. He’s happy with playing a positional top game, landing ground and pound when he has a chance, and fighting on cruise control. I can’t fault him, because it obviously works and no one is able to stop it, but it’s still rather boring to watch. In fairness, Diaz is nearly impossible to finish, but it’s not like GSP going to a decision is a new thing. This has been his trend ever since he recaptured the title, and it likely won’t end anytime soon. GSP actually looked kind of sloppy in this fight and possibly lacking cardio. This is of course compared to the GSP I’m used to seeing and it obviously didn’t hurt his performance, thanks in large part to the fact that Diaz was the perfect style fight for him. He’ll face Johny Hendricks next, which is a good fight and definitely one that Hendricks has earned, but I get the feeling that we’re headed for another 25-minute decision. I don’t know where we’re headed with Diaz. He once again kind of retired after the fight, but we all know that’s a joke. Then he admitted to not paying taxes, so he might be headed to jail. You never know what you’re going to get with Diaz, which is why people either love him or hate him, but at least they have an opinion about him. I hope he fights again, and I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch with Carlos Condit, but if he wants to compete in triathlons for the rest of his left, so be it.
Johny Hendricks def. Carlos Condit: I loved this fight because it was exactly what I had hoped with would be. Hendricks pressed forward and threw his bomb of a left hand while Condit, maybe not so smartly, stood and traded with him. Condit tried to use kicks, but Hendricks moves forward a lot quicker than I think Condit thought he did. And anytime Condit got aggressive, Hendricks quickly switched levels and got a takedown without much resistance. It was like this for the majority of the 15-minutes, except in the final frame when Hendricks started to tire and Condit really poured it on. Unfortunately for Condit, it was too little too late as Hendricks won the first two rounds with his power striking and multiple takedowns. Personally, I thought Condit won the fight. Hendricks landed some good shots early and maybe Condit was a bit rocked, but Condit always fired back with something significant. And Hendricks did get easy takedowns, but he never did anything with them. Either Condit got up without taking any damage or he was the busier fighter from the bottom with strikes. Hendricks took the decision though and now he’ll face Georges St. Pierre in a pretty interesting match-up giving his power and wrestling background. I still don’t think Hendricks can beat GSP, but he’s definitely earned the title shot and he does have a favorable skill set that’ll at least make people believe that he has a chance. It’s a shame that Condit is on a two fight losing streak, because he’s really starting to get over with the fans and both fights have been wars. When the UFC talks about guys “coming to war” Condit is the first name they should mention, because he’s never in a boring fight. If Nick Diaz decides to fight again, I think a Condit vs. Diaz rematch makes sense, although Rory MacDonald still wants the Condit rematch as well. The problem there is that MacDonald is still injured and I’m sure Condit would like to get back in the cage quickly and erase these last two losses.
Jake Ellenberger def. Nate Marquardt: The good thing about this fight is that there was actually a finish and we didn’t have to put up with Marquardt doing nothing for 15-minutes. He tried to throw leg kicks early, but Ellenberger eventually timed them and unloaded with a quick combo that put Marquardt down. A couple more punches on the ground and Marquardt was out according to everyone except Marquardt. Disappointing loss to Martin Kampmann aside, Ellenberger has been on a tear in the division and could earn a title shot with another victory. He could face Demain Maia next in a #1 contender’s fight, which is an interesting match-up given their styles and a fight I definitely would like to see. Marquardt continues to be an extremely baffling fighter. He has the talent, we’ve all seen that before, but he’s so inconsitent that it’s frustrating to watch. Or maybe he just is who he is. A good fighter who can beat a lot of guys, maybe beat some top guys if he’s having a good night, but for the most part is just in the middle of the pack.
Chris Camozzi def. Nick Ring: This fight sucked. Ring threw a bunch of kicks, Camozzi threw a bunch of punches and in the end Camozzi won because he did more damage and Ring got tired. Both fighters are average at best and for all the “promise” that Ring had, it’s quickly gone away with how bad he’s performed in the UFC. Decent win for Camozzi just because anytime you win on PPV and beat a guy in their home country it’s considered a decent win.
Mike Ricci def. Colin Fletcher: This fight really sucked. Fletcher can’t strike and couldn’t get Ricci to the ground so he was a punching bag the entire fight. But Ricci isn’t very good so he basically had a light sparring contest and easily won the decision. Both of these guys are terrible and I never want to see them fight again.
