St. Pierre’s return stirs several UFC questions
So many questions loom around tonight’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event as one of the organization’s biggest stars returns after more than a year and a half away from action to defend his title in his hometown of Montreal.
Most of the unknowns revolve around what happens if Georges St. Pierre is successful in retaining the welterweight belt against interim champion Carlos Condit in the main event of UFC 154.
The biggest question, however, should be answered in short order once the bell rings.
Can St. Pierre, at 31, return from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament as the same dominant, athletic force that made him one of the best fighters in UFC history?
St. Pierre, who last fought in April 2011, says he is “120 percent” and that he would not take the fight if he didn’t think he could perform up to his pre-injury level. He says he will not even think about his knee or the lengthy layoff once the fight begins.
“Mixed martial arts is like when you play golf,” St. Pierre said. “All the repetitive movements are things I’ve done before. When he does a move, I’ll be instinctively reacting. Once the ball’s in the air in golf, you can’t change anything. I shouldn’t be thinking too much. I should be following my instincts and my reflexes. Trust my training. It’s better to be on cruise control. I’ve worked on very specific issues, and I will be reacting.
“If I was afraid about my leg, I wouldn’t be in the ring.”
Condit isn’t counting on fighting a diminished St. Pierre.
“We’ll find out (tonight), but from reports and everything I’ve heard, Georges is better than ever,” Condit said. “I’m excited. I want Georges at his best.”
Should St. Pierre be good enough to win, the real questions start to arise. The UFC appears intent on St. Pierre moving up to fight longtime middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Should he choose to stay at welterweight, does he defend the belt against Nick Diaz, who will return from a steroid suspension in early 2013, or the winner of tonight’s top contender matchup between Johny Hendricks and Las Vegan Martin Kampmann?
One thing is certain: The organization is thrilled to have St. Pierre back in the mix.
“We missed him. It’s good to have him back,” UFC president Dana White said. “For him to be gone, I mean, it sucks. He’s the biggest pay-per-view draw in the company, and when he’s gone for over a year, it’s definitely not a good thing.”
A potential bout between St. Pierre and Silva almost certainly would be the biggest fight in UFC history. Condit seems to be all that is standing in the way of that.
While the 28-year-old admits he would love to watch that fight, he intends to make sure it doesn’t happen.
“I would say that it’s definitely motivating,” Condit said. “I like playing the role of the spoiler. There’s a lot of people in the sport and in the media that I think are overlooking me as an opponent for Georges and looking toward the superfight with Anderson. I don’t feel like Georges is overlooking me, but I’m excited to get in there and do my thing and hopefully change a lot of plans.”
It’s an opportunity Condit, a former World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight champion and winner of five straight since dropping his UFC debut, always has dreamed about. Condit trains in Albuquerque, N.M., under Greg Jackson, the strategic guru who has worked with St. Pierre for years but decided not to work with either fighter for this bout. Condit says he has tracked St. Pierre’s career waiting for this chance.
“Georges has always been a benchmark,” Condit said. “He’s been at the top of the sport. I’ve always been honing my skills to maybe one day fight him, but that was a far-out dream. When Georges was fighting those big fights early in his career, I was starting my (career) in casinos in New Mexico. It was something I couldn’t have even imagined.”
Now he gets the chance to be the first to test St. Pierre in his return to action.
The champion says the time away has been beneficial, as it has reignited the competitive fire he thinks he was starting to lose.
“When you get hurt and you cannot (compete) for a long time, you realize a little bit how you missed it,” St. Pierre said. “It’s a little bit like when you’re in love with your girlfriend, for example. When you’re with her every day, sometimes you don’t realize you love that person, but when you’re away from her for a long time, you realize you really love that person because you miss her.”
The fight headlines a pay-per-view card that begins at 7 p.m. A four-fight preliminary card will air live on FX (Cable 24) at 5.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.