UFC 79: A Passing of the Torch

“Rush” Georges St. Pierre solidified his status as one of the world’s top pound-for-pound mixed martial artists with his two round domination of former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes.

The main event, which took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, was an utter domination from start to finish. Hughes was the first combatant to make his way to the coveted octagon walking with his calm, confident swagger. Shortly after, Georges St. Pierre made the walk to the octagon possessing an angry yet focused stare.

With both warriors in the octagon, referee Steve Mazzagatti called both guys to the center for the pre-fight festivities. After both provided one another with a gesture of respect, it was time for war.

Round one began with St. Pierre dictating the pace as he picked his shots staying light on his feet to avoid any of the attempted takedowns by Hughes. At the 1:52 mark, St. Pierre caught Hughes off guard by catching a single and putting the former champion on his back. From there St. Pierre finished out the round by mixing in slams, ground-and-pound, and submission attempts to force the MMA legend to question his chances.

The second stanza was much of the same as St. Pierre continued to dictate the pace. Early on, St. Pierre, a native of St. Isidore, Quebec, put Hughes on his back where moments later he passed Hughes’ guard and began to resume his attack which eventually spelled the end for Hughes. After softening Hughes up with some elbows, St. Pierre took Hughes’ back which luckily for Hughes, he was able to bull his way out. As they returned to their feet St. Pierre scored a huge trip takedown. From there he trapped Hughes’ head and began to crank a kimura which he transitioned to an armbar forcing Hughes to verbally submit.

With the win, St. Pierre upped his record to 15-2 as he earned the status of the interim UFC welterweight champion. During his post-fight interview, St. Pierre said “I’m going to take off this belt, for me it’s a good collection but it doesn’t mean nothing to me. Thanks to the UFC to give me that, it’s a good honor but the real champion is Matt Serra and until I get my belt back, I’m not going to consider myself champion.”

After handing the interim title off to Phil Nurse, St. Pierre continued to talk with Joe Rogan saying, “Absolutely, Matt Serra beat me that night beat me fair and square. He was the better man. I make many mistakes, I had a lot of issues but he was the better man that night. Next time when I fight him it might be a different story and people will understand what I’m talking about.”

“Matt Hughes adjusted himself and came into the fight left handed, I was not prepared for that. I used my wrestling skill to control the fight and my submission skill as well, I have been working a lot on that. I had an awesome training camp, I was on the top of my game.”

Former UFC champion, Matt Hughes, was gracious in defeat saying, “I came in, no excuses here, I came in at 120%. I really trained hard for this fight. I brought in some of the best people and we really had a good game plan. Georges is the better fighter, there is nothing else I can say besides that. I do want to thank my fans for showing up and I also want to thank Georges fans for showing up because that’s who is paying our way to be honest.

It’s funny I was just thinking, I just released a book, people have read it and they are already asking for a second book and you know, a defeat like this, in a second round against Georges, I don’t know how much longer I’ve got in this. He’s a young kid, he’s doing great and you know, I’ve got to sit down and think about things. I’ve got to talk with Dana and the UFC and see what they want me to do so just a lot of things on my mind right now.”

If healthy, look for Matt Serra to defend his UFC welterweight title against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 83 which is tentatively scheduled for April 19th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.