UFC 170: Rousey and McMann Clash for the Title

After her victory over Miesha Tate, it was announced that the UFC had already chosen her next opponent and the fight would be occurring very shortly.  Sara McMann has been chosen as the next gladiator to step I to the cage with the UFC's hungry dragon named Ronda Rousey.

Sarah McMann is an undefeated competitor who is 7-0 in her professional MMA career. She holds notable wins over Shana Baszler and Shiela Gaff.  Of her seven wins 6 come by way of stoppage (3 submissions, 3 TKOs) with one decision.  McMann is a silver medaliat at thw 2004 Olympic Games in women's freestyle wrestling at 63 kg (~138 lbs.)  This will be a clash of two Olympic medalists from the same year, but different sports.

This will be a great clash between two female titans in the UFC. I believe that McMann poses the greatest threat to Rousey's title, even over Zingano who is the rightful contender for the title. They will be replacing Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier as the headlining bout at UFC 170 in February.

New Options in the Middleweight Realm

With Anderson Silva passing the torch to Chris Weidman with his recent fight-stopping injury, there are new possible fights in the UFC's Middleweight Division.  Though the injury to Silva is tragic if not sad for any MMA fan, it is not a complete loss to followers of the UFC.  If Silva were to have won his fight, we would've been seeing a rematch of a fight that we had already seen in the last few years with Vitor Belfort guarenteed a title shot against the winner.  Vitor Belfort has improved since his last fight with Silva, but the fight against Silva was a quick knockout not a closely contended fight.  Though both Silva and Belfort are knockout artists, one could not convince me that Belfort would even stand a chance against Silva in a rematch.

With Silva away and probably never getting a title shot or even fighting again at the current age of 38, Weidman and the UFC can finally move on.  One of the beautiful things manifesting from such an ugly ending, is a fresh match up between Vitor Belfort and Chris Weidman.  Had Weidman not won against Silva this past weekend we may have never seen or considered a match between the two of these amazing competitors.  It will be a mtach that will showcase the champion's raw athleticism and great wrestling against Vitor Belfort's experience, striking and amazing power-striking. I predict that Weidman will get the better of Belfort in their match, but with Belfort anything is possible.

There are other options lurking about at 185 lbs like former Strikeforce Middleweight Jacare Souza who is 2-0 in his UFC career after his TKO victory over Yushin Okami. Silva had said before that he would never face his teamates Jacare Souza and Lyoto Machida if the UFC wished to have him face either man for any reason. He even went as far as to say that he would surrender the title so that Souza or Machida could fight for the belt had that time come.  Souza has great killer instincts and finishing abilities. His two wins in the UFC were both stoppages, one a submission and the second a TKO. Souza 100% has a chance to potentially stop Weidman or any other man to wear the UFC Middleweight Championship. He faces Francis Carmont who is on a six-fightwin streak since joining the UFC.

Who remembers the words 'the Machida era?' I do. I would love to see the Machida Era truly start considering the original era at 205 was derailed by Shogun Rua by way of KO. Lyoto Machida was guanteed to be the man to face Jon Jones for the UFC on many occassians and then it wouldnt fall through. I believe that Lyoto Machida was definitely the second best 205 lb fighter in the UFC, after Jones, before he fled to the UFC's Middleweight Division following a poor judge's decision loss to Phil Davis at UFC 163. In his middleweight debut, Machida ran through Mark Munoz with a head kick knock out. He is now set to face Gegard Mussasi in early 2014 and with a victory over Gegard we could possibly see Machida fighting for the title in late 2014 or early 2015.

Other fighters who could potentially get title shots soon would be Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Mark Munoz. 

UFC 168: Salaries

Main Card:

Chris Weidman ($200,000 + $200,000 =
$400,000) def. Anderson Silva
($600,000)
Ronda Rousey ($50,000 + $50,000 =
$100,000) def. Miesha Tate ($28,000)
Travis Browne ($28,000 + $28,000 =
$56,000) def. Josh Barnett ($170,000)
Jim Miller ($46,000 + $46,000 = $92,000)
def. Fabricio Camoes ($8,000)
Dustin Poirier ($23,000 + $23,000 =
$46,000) def. Diego Brandao ($20,000)

Preliminary Card:

Uriah Hall ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000)
def. Chris Leben ($51,000)
Michael Johnson ($18,000 + $18,000 =
$36,000) def. Gleison Tibau ($39,000)
Dennis Siver ($33,000 + $33,000 =
$66,000) def. Manny Gamburyan
($25,000)
John Howard ($16,000 + $16,000 =
$32,000) def. Siyar Bahadurzada
($17,000)
William Macario ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Bobby Voelker ($12,000)
Robert Peralta ($12,000 + $12,000 =
$24,000) def. Estevan Payan ($10,000)

UFC 168: Recap

Despite UFC 167 being the 20th anniversary for the UFC, tonight's event had just as much pressure to be a five-star event.  The main card featured a night in which there was not a single fight that went the distance.  Also in the prelims we got a chance to see Uriah Hall rise back from the brink of being cut to making Leben quit between rounds.

The first fight on the main card was between Dustin Poirier and Diego Brandao.  It was a fight in which Dustin Poirier used great speed in his stand-up game which eventually got him the victory via TKO due to strikes.  It would be a great match to see him face off against Frankie Edgar after he faces Penn or possibly in a rematch against Cub Swanson who beat him via unanimous decision.  Another option for Poirier would be a clash with fellow UFC 168 winner, Dennis Siver, who defeated Manny Gamburyan by decision in the prelims.

Next on the card was a fight in the lightweight divison in which Jim Miller took on Fabricio Camoes.  Miller was able to submit Camoes off of his back with an armbar in the first round.  I think a good fight to make for Miller would be against Donald Cerrone if he beats Martins in there clash early 2014.

The evening kept rolling with another fight in the UFC's Heavyweight Division.  Travis Browne and Josh Barnett met in the center of the Octagon and instantly went to work.  Travis Browne got the better of the stand-up striking exchanges which led Barnett to look for a takedown.  While Barnett shot for the take down and pressed Browne against the cage, Browne landed a knee and a series of elbow strikes to the side of Barnett's head, which left him out cold.  Dana White has already announced that Browne's next opponent will be submission specialist, Fabricio Werdum.

The next match was the most exciting fight of the evening in the first title fight of the night, Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate.  Tate and Rousey came out swinging to the fences as soon as the fight began. Both women were landing clean shots until the fight inevitably went to the ground.  For three rounds, Rousey and Tate scrambled on the ground for position.  There were times that Tate was in conntrol and Rousey and vise-versa.  It took Ronda Rousey five armbar attempts at the armbar before the final one was enough for Tate to tap in the third.  Miesha Tate's grappling defense was one of the best performances of submission defense that I have seen in a long time.  Tate gave Rousey her toughest fight in her MMA career.  The fight between Rousey and Tate was just as exciting if not more exciting as the inaugural UFC Women's Bantamweight title fight.  After the fight, Dana White announced that Rousey would be returning to action very shortly to headline the UFC 170 card and defend her title against Sara McMann.  It will feature two Olympic medalists from the same year fighting for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship.

The main event was between Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva who both had a lot to prove in their fight.  For Weidman it was an opportunity to prove that his first victory wasn't a fluke.  For Silva it was an opportunity to prove that he could beat the only man to beat him in the UFC.  As soon as Silva came out to exactly the same song that he used at UFC 162, it felt like deja vu.  Anderson Silva was in the blue corner for the first time since he won the title at UFC 64.  When the fight began Weidman was able to get a takedown early in the first round.  Silva was able to get back up instantly but was forced to get into a clinching situation with Weidman.  Weidman got the better of the clinch game and eventually dropped Silva and controlled him with great ground and pound from the guard.  Silva was able to use his jiu jitsu in order to survive the barrage of punches until the round ended.  In the second round we saw Silva get looser on his feet and began to look more comfortable.  The second wouldn't last that long as Silva threw two kicks that would seal his fate.  The first one he threw was speculated to have fractured his leg when it was checked by Weidman and the second one thrown broke Silva's leg.

Chris Weidman successfully defended his UFC Middleweight Championship via TKO by way of checked leg kick.  Vitor Belfort will be the next man to face Weidman for the belt.  This could be the last time that we saw Anderson Silva in the UFC.  We hope to see a healthy Anderson Silva whether he fights again or not.

UFC 168: Post Fight Bonuses

The UFC has released its results for the post fight bonuses for UFC 168 and here they are:

Fight of the Night Bonus: Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate

Submission of the Night Bonus: Ronda Rousey

Knockout of the Night Bonus: Travis Browne

UFC 168 Results

Main Card:

Chris Weidman def. Anderson Silva due to injury (leg fracture) Round 2
Ronda Rousey def. Meisha Tate via submission Round 3
Travis Browne def. Josh Barnett via TKO (elbow strikes) Round 1
Jim Miller def. Fabricio Camoes via submission (armbar) Round 1
Dustin Poirier def. Diego Brandao via TKO (punches) Round 1

Preliminary Card:

Uriah Hall def. Chris Leben via TKO (corner stoppage) Round 1
Michael Johnson def. Gleison Tibau via KO (punches) Round 1
Dennis Siver def. Manny Gamburyan via unanimous decision
John Howard def. Siyar Bahadurzada via unanimous decision
William Macario Patolino def. Bobby Voelker via unanimous decision
Robbie Peralta def. Estevan Payan via KO (punches) Round 3
145 lbs.: Estevan Payan vs. Robbie Peralta -- Peralta wins by KO (punches) - 0:12 rd. 3

UFC 168: Weigh-in Results

Main Card:

UFC Middleweight Championship: Chris Weidman (184) vs. Anderson Silva (185)
UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship: Ronda Rousey (135) vs. Miesha Tate (135)
Josh Barnett (252) vs. Travis Browne (242)
Jim Miller (156) vs. Fabrício Camões (156)
Dustin Poirier (146) vs. Diego Brandao (153)

Preliminary Card:

Chris Leben (185.5) vs. Uriah Hall (185)
Gleison Tibau (156) vs. Michael Johnson (156)
Dennis Siver (145) vs. Manvel Gamburyan (146)
John Howard (171) vs. Siyar Bahadurzada (171)
William Patolino (171) vs. Bobby Voelker (171)
Robbie Peralta (145.5) vs. Estevan Payan (145)

Zingano Still Number 1

UFC President, Dana White has stated that Cat Zingano is recovering pretty well and expects her to be ready to fight again in the summer of 2014.

Cat Zingano fell victim to a knee injury not long after her tko victory over Miesha Tate earlier this year. With Zingano hurt, that opened the door to Tate getting a second crack at Ronda Rousey who took her Strikeforce title in 2012. Despite Tate replacing Zingano as the challenger for Rousey's title, Dana White still says that Cat Zingano will remain the number one contender. If she can recover in time he hopes to have her challenge the winner of this weekends fight between Tate and Rousey.

New Ronda Rousey Photo

This is a recently released photo of Ronda Rousey for a T-Shirt for skin cancer awareness.

WSOF 8: Jessica Aguilar Makes WSOF Debut for Strawweight Title

At the beginning of November, World Series of Fighting announced that it would be trying its hand at Women's MMA when they signed Jessica Aguilar to their roster.  Just in time to compete with the UFC who is also adding the Strawweight Division to their roster, WSOF has announced their first female fight is to take place on January 18th at WSOF 8.  The bout will feature Jessica Aguilar versus Alida Gray.

Jessica Aguilar was Bellator standout in while their female divisions lasted.  Aguilar holds a victory over the face of the UFC's Strawweight Division, and Invicata FC Swtraweight Champion Carla Esparza.  She also holds a victory over Megumi Fujii who is arguably one of the best women to ever compete in WMMA.  Her opponent Alida Gray is 4-0 in her professional career and has only been a pro for since earlier this year.

Holly Holm Faces Juliana Werner at Legacy FC 30

Undefeated WMMA star Holly Holm will be fighting at Legacy FC 30 against Juliana Werner in April in Legacy FC's first Women's Bantamweight Championship match.  Holm is currently 6-0 and certainly causing a stir in the MMA community with her impressive record.  Holm has competed twice now in Legacy FC and won both of those fight by knockout.  Holm has a potential to become a force to be reckoned with in WMMA's Bantamweight Division and possibly a contender for the UFC Bantamweight title if signed to the UFC eventually.  Rousey, the UFC's current Bantamweight Champion, has already expressed interest in a fight with Holly Holm.

Related Article: http://toughsparmma.blogspot.com/2013/12/rousey-interested-in-fight-holm.html

Who would have a better chance at beating Ronda Rousey for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship?--Tough Spar MMA

Jessica Aguilar

Holly Holm

Miesha Tate

Cat Zingano

Alexis Davis

Poll Maker

UFC 168: Extended Preview

Will Anderson Silva be able to win his title back from Chris Weidman?--Tough Spar MMA

Yes--he will do it in impressive fashion

Yes--he will do so, but it will be a tough fight

No--Weidman will finish him again

No--Weidman by decision

Poll Maker

UFC 170: Nurmagomedov and Melendez Square off

Young and exciting UFC Lightweight, Khabib Nurmagomedov, has gotten his wish. Not long after Melendez went to war with TUF winner, Diego Sanchez, Nurmagomedov and Melendez both expressed an interest in each other for their next opponent. Khabib also went as far as making a mock trailer for a future clash between the two top contenders.

Nurmagomedov is 5-0 in the UFC and is ready for a huge step up in competition and he gets to face the man who is right behind Benson Henderson as the #1 contender in the UFC's 155 lb division.  Gilbert Melendez fought for the title against Benson Henderson earlier in 2013 and lost a close decision that some felt he had won. He then made up for it with a decisive decision win over Diego Sanchez.

This fight has been added onto the UFC 170 card which is headlined by a Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier.

Gastelum Gets Story Instead of Condit

After being pulled out of his of fight with fellow TUF winner Court McGee this month, TUF 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum is now ready to get back in the cage.

Earlier this month shortly after it was released that Woodley would get a fight with Condit, Gastelum came out and stated that he had asked for the Condit fight at UFC 171.  Instead of Condit, Gastelum now will get to face Rick "the Horror" Story who is a well-round welterweight who will also present a challenge to Gastelum.  I think this fight promises fireworks between two very entertaining welterweights.

UFC 168: Best Friends Trailer

A fun teaser of Tate and Rousey a week before the actually fight

Rousey Interested in Fight with Holm

UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey has expressed interest in a bout with former IBA boxing champion and current WMMA sensation, Holly Holm if she were to get signed with the UFC.  Holly Holm is 33-2-3 in her professional boxing career and 6-0 in her professional MMA career, with 5 TKO/KO victories and one decision.  Right now the UFC isn't in talks with Holm at all, but Rousey hopes that she eventually gets signed so that the two of them can clash in the Octagon.

It would possibly one of the biggest WMMA draws (outside of Cyborg vs. Rousey) for die-hard MMA fans that are aware of Holly Holm and what she is capable of.  I think that it would be a great crowd-pleasing fight between two women who are both finishers.  Holly Holms is definitely one of combat sports' greatest female athletes whose MMA career is on the rise, but I believe that she would need to face a top ten fighter in the UFC before we even start acting like this fight should happen.  She doesn't have any victories over any huge names and she will need to prove herself against someone the likes of Sarah McMann, Alexis Davis, Amanda Nunes or Liz Carmouche before this potential super fight could happen.

Phil Davis' Camp Wants Rua Next for Davis

UFC Light Heavyweight Phil Davis was last seen in action at UFC 163 in August against Lyoto Machida who he defeated via a unanimous decision.  It seems that the NCAA Division I Wrestling Champion and his camp finally have someone whom they want next for Davis and that man is Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

Rua is coming off of an amazing KO victory over James Te Huna earlier this month at UFC Fight Night 33 in Brisbane Australia.  Rua is on his way back up the UFC's Light Heavyweight rankings with his win over Te Huna.  The fight makes sense for both men considering where they stand in the division Rua at #6 and Davis at #4.  This would be an interesting fight for both men to see who's style is more dominant, Davis's wrestling or Rua's striking.  I believe that this is a fight that can and should happen.  With Davis's striking beginning to get better he just may be able to stand with Rua long enough to land one of those spectacular takedowns that he has in his arsenal.

Woodley Gets Fight w/ Condit

After UFC President, Dana White, stated that they were still seeking another opponent for Carlos Condit, the organizarion has found that man.  Dana White and the UFC have decided to put Tyron Woodley in the cage opposite Condit.  Woodley had been begging White for a fight with Condit and Dana White said that that fight would not happen and that both men would be facing other opponents. The fight will be added to the same card as the fight for the vacant UFC Welterweight title in Dallas at UFC new 171.

Diaz Turns Down Condit Rematch

It has been reported that UFC President, Dana White, has offered a fight that one would assume that Diaz could not refuse, but he did.  Back at UFC 143 in February 2012, the UFC decided to put together a Welterweight fight for the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship in Georges St-Pierre's absence due to injury.

Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit were placed in opposite sides of the Octagon to fight for this title.  Carlos Condit easily out-scored Diaz in a five round MMA fight that was simply a kick boxing fight inside of a cage.  There was not a moment that one of them was truly in danger of the other, but it was inarguably a win for Condit.  Full fight link here courtesy of Carlos Condit's YouTube Channel.  If you watched the fight already then you know that this was one of Diaz's first retirements after he felt that he won the fight.  Any man in their right mind would want to avenge a loss that they felt that they had won, but not Nick Diaz folks.  Diaz was offered a rematch against Condit at UFC 171, but Nick Diaz declined to take the fight.

I think that if this fight were to occur a second time in their current states that it would be another Condit victory, but with a more aggressive Condit than before.  What are your thoughts on the rematch if it were to occur?

Dana Shoots Down Woodley's Condit Request

Dana White has revealed that Tyron Woodley has begged Dana White to give him a fight with Carlos Condit.  Dana has stated that Woodley has been constantly texting Dana White to give him a fight with Carlos Condit.  Dana doesn't feel that Woodley is quite ready for a shot with the #2 Welterweight in the UFC.  White has stated that Woodley will very likely get a different UFC vet instead of Condit.

I agree with White that maybe Woodley hasn't quite earned a shot at Condit, but I think that it would be an awesome fight for the fans.  I think Woodley could be a dangerous opponent for Condit early in the fight, but after the first round of the fight, Condit's cardio would prove too much for Woodley.  Condit was able to survive a barrage of punches from Johny Hendricks in their fight at UFC 158.  I think that Condit would earn a decision victory over Woodley or a TKO in the late rounds of the fight.

UFC on Fox 9 Recap

UFC on Fox 9 was a great event that featured some of the UFC's best talents at 155 lbs and under that was headlined by a title fight in the UFC's Flyweight Division between Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez.

The main card started with a lightweight fight between two hungry TUF alumni.  Joe Lauzon and Mac Danzig had a back in forth battle that definitely entertained.  Both men were unable to submit the other, but Lauzon tried a few submissions from his guard.  It was a fight that you could be scored 100% for Lauzon.  Lauzon won by unanimous decision.

The next fight was between Chad Mendes and Nik Lentz.  It was a fight in which Chad Mendes exploded in the first round stunning Lentz early in round one.  Lentz was able to recover and avoid being KO'd in the first round like Mendes' last four opponents.  Though Lentz avoided a KO he did fall victim to repeated takedown after takedown for three rounds.  While watching the fight, it was evident from Mendes' performance that there was something definitely wrong with Chad Mendes and it was later revealed that Mendes had been recovering from a sinus infection and was not 100%.  Mendes earned himself a unanimous decision.

The next bout was truly a fight of top contenders if there ever was one.  It pitted the UFC's #2 and #3 Bantamweights against each other.  Urijah Faber had the home town advantage in Sacramento as he was one of four Alpha Male fighters to grace the Octagon along with team mates Danny Castillo, Chad Mendes and Joseph Benavidez.  He stood across the cage from a very confident and calm Michael McDonald.  Faber was able to out-strike the more decorated striker as well as out-grapple him.  Faber earned a submission victory after rocking McDonald and then sinking in a tight guillotine in the second round.

The next fight had the biggest shocker of all time as Demetrious Johnson defended his UFC title successfully against Joseph Benavidez.  Demetrious Johnson brought the fight straight to Joseph Benavidez and did what most people thought Benavidez would do to him and knocked him out COLD!  The fight ended so suddenly with Benavidez flat on his back within the the first round.

Post Fight Bonuses:
Submission of the Night: Urijah Faber
Knockout of the Night: Demetrious Johnson
Fight of the Night: Danny Castillo and Edson Barbosa

It will be interesting to see who the UFC would have Johnson face next. What are your thoughts?

UFC on Fox 9 Results

Main Card:

Demetrious Johnson def. Joseph Benavidez via KO
Urijah Faber def. Michael McDonald via submission
Chad Mendes def. Nik Lentz via unanimous decision
Joe Lauzon def. Mac Danzig via unanimous decision

Preliminary Card:

Ryan LaFlare def. Court McGee via unanimous decision
Edson Barboza def. Danny Castillo via majority decision
Bobby Green def. Pat Healy via unanimous decision
Zach Makovsky def. Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision
Sam Stout def. Cody McKenzie via unanimous decision
Abel Trujillo def. Roger Bowling via TKO
Alptekin Ozkilic def. Darren Uyenoyama via split decision

GSP's Announcement and it's Effects

Today GSP held a press conference today to announce his future place in the UFC.  Georges "Rush" St-Pierre announced today that he will be stepping down as the UFC's Welterweight Champion and taking some much needed time off from the sport.  He is not retiring and does plan on coming back to the UFC.  With the title being vacated, the UFC has decided to let Johny Hendricks square off with Robbie Lawler to decide the next champion at UFC 171.  The UFC has moved the 205 lb title fight between Jones and Teixeira to UFC 172.  What are your thoughts on the announcements?

Velasquez Out for a While

UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez will be sidelined from action until the late part of 2014 due to injury.  Now Fabricio Werdum is possibly looking at taking on the winner of Josh Barnett and Travis Browne. It appears that the TUF Mexico idea may not come into fruition for quite some time.

TUF 20 Announcement--Plus Carla Esparza!

The UFC has announced its plans for the Ultimate Fighter 20th season.  An all women's cast will be competing in the UFC's newly acquired Women's Strawweight Division.  So far the coaches have not been decided, but the UFC is open to male or female coaches.  Amongst the cast will be Invicta superstars such as Bec Hyatt, Felice Herrig, Alex Chambers, Emily Kagan, Claudia Gadelha, Juilianna Lima, Tecia Torres, Paige Van Zant, Rose Namajunas, Joanne Caldwerood and most importantly the Invicta FC Strawweight Champion, Carla Esparza.

The show will begin taping in May of 2014 and air in September of 2014.  Dana White stated that the move to bring in the Strawweight Division is not a move to try to buy out Invicta FC.  White believes that Invicta FC and the UFC can exist side-by-side and be beneficial to each other.

The Future of GSP to Be Announced this Friday

Georges "Rush" St-Pierre also known as GSP has announced that he will be holding a press conference in Montreal this Friday to fill in everyone on his plans in the UFC.

GSP has been a force to be reckoned since he began his MMA career.  His very first pro fight was against tough MMA veteran Ivan Menjivar back in 2002.  Two years later he made his UFC debut against Judo expert Karo Parysian at UFC 46 in 2004.  He won that fight and then followed up with a TKO victory over Jay Hieron at UFC 48.

After successfully rolling past his first two opponents in the UFC, GSP was granted a title fight at UFC 50 with the reigning bad man at 170 lbs at the time, Matt Hughes.  When we watched that fight we learned that the young man that was challenging for the title was going to be the future of the UFC's welterweight division, but it was not to happen on that night.  St-Pierre was submitted at the 4:59 mark of the first round with an armbar that he tapped to immediately.

After losing to Hughes at UFC 50 he made his return at UFC 52 against Jason "Mayhem" Miller and won a pretty clear cut decision over Miller.  That fight was followed by another challenge that GSP concurred, a match with Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg who was at that time the most recent opponent that Hughes had defended his title against. GSP was able to submit Trigg with the same choke that Hughes had finished him with.  With another successful victory in the books, Sean Sherk was the next man that the UFC put in front of the red-hot rising star from Canada.  GSP was able to finish Sherk in the second round via TKO due to strikes.  Next up for St-Pierre was a hungry Penn who was looking to make a successful return to the UFC since he won the UFC Welterweight title two years earlier.  St-Pierre went on to win a successful split decision victory over Penn.

With a win over BJ Penn GSP was able to gain a second title shot against Matt Hughes in November 2006 at UFC 65.  St-Pierre would go on to take the title from Matt Hughes on that very night as he stunned Hughes in the second round to gain a TKO victory over the the UFC's most dominant Welterweight Champion.

This fight would begin GSP's first UFC title reign.  For St-Pierre the title reign would be he short-lived as he has a hungry challenger waiting to snatch the title up from underneath him.  His first title defense would be against the TUF 4 winner Matt Serra.  Serra caught "Rush" in the first round and went on to earn a TKO victory in the first round.

After that defeat, St-Pierre would have to fight his way back to a title shot with Serra.  He then met TUF 1 alumni, Josh Koscheck. He defeated Koscheck via unanimous decision.  His next test would be his third meeting with Former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes.  He defeated Hughes with the same move that Hughes beat him with in their first bout.

After defeating Hughes by submission in the second round, it was time for GSP to face off with Serra again.  In that fight St-Pierre showed up with a a new found fire in his eyes that led him to TKO Serra with a vicious series of knees to the body that caused the referee to end the fight and GSP to gain his title back.  St-Pierre was scheduled to face Jon Fitch as his first challenger since getting the title back.  St. Pierre went on to earn a decision victory over Fitch earning his first successful title defense.  While St-Pierre was making his mark in the UFC's Welterweight division, former UFC Welterweight Champion, BJ had won the UFC Lightweight Championship.  The UFC put on it's first super fight as St-Pierre was placed against Penn in a fight for the UFC Welterweight title.  GSP went on to win a TKO victory when Penn couldn't answer the bell at the beginning of the fifth round at UFC 94.

After his victory over Penn, the challengers continued to pile up and GSP began to knock them down. Thiago Alves at UFC 100, Dan Hardy at UFC 111, Josh Koscheck at UFC 124, Jake Shields at UFC 129, Carlos Condit and UFC 154 and Nate Diaz at UFC 158.  All of those men suffered the same fate at the hands of Georges "Rush" St-Pierre.  It wasn't until UFC 167 that we would see GSP struggle with an opponent in a fight.  To put it as simple as possible, GSP got beat up.  He even admitted it himself.He went on to win a split decision that many experts have disputed and thought belonged to his challenger, Johnny Hendricks.

After the fight, a flustered St-Pierre stated that he needed to take some time off from the sport to deal with some personal issues.  Since then we have had no confirmation of whether or not he was going to retire or give Hendricks a rematch for the title.  This Friday we will find out if we have seen the las of GSP in the Octagon.

Should UFC Champ Georges St-Pierre retire this Friday?--Rough Spar MMA

Yes - He should go out on top

Yes - He has nothing left in him

No - He still owes Hendricks a rematch

No - He still has many years ahead of him

Other

Please Specify:

Poll Maker