UFC 158 was headlined by a Welterweight Championship fight between Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz. GSP and Diaz have had many issues with one another with both bad mouthing each other through the press and social media. Most believe that Diaz wasn't worthy of the title shot as he had just lost to Condit, but due to the bad blood and GSP wanting the fight the UFC made it happen. This card also featured two other welterweight fights that featured three guys currently in the top 10 of the division. The rest of the card was rather weak as it was a very top-heavy card.
UFC 158 Review:
Main Card on PPV:
Georges St-Pierre defeated Carlos Condit by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45).
Watching GSP is like watching the Klitschko brothers in boxing. They aren't going to have a fight of the year candidate because they stick to using their strengths so much so that they don't really let themselves get in trouble. Instead of really laying it out there they play it safe and continue to win fights that leave people wanting more. GSP is definitely the king at 170, there's no doubting that, whether or not GSP can defeat Anderson Silva at 185 though is to be seen.
There's no doubt in my mind that GSP bettered Diaz in tonight's fight. GSP used what in my opinion is the best wrestling in MMA to never really let Diaz do enough in the fight. Whenever Diaz would land a few successful strikes GSP would get the fight back to the ground and regain control of the fight. I had it 50-45 just like all three of the judges, but it wasn't an all out domination like most 50-45 decisions look.
At this point I'm really done with watching GSP fight. He's not going to finish anybody as his seven of his last eight fights have gone the entire 25 minutes except for his fight against B.J. Penn. The fight with Penn would likely have ended in another GSP win via decision had Penn been able to come out for the fifth round.
GSP has two options right now for his next fight in my opinion. Wait to fight Anderson Silva if he is victorious after the Chris Weidman fight this summer or defend his championship against Johny Hendricks. Hendricks has proven that he is the #1 contender to GSP's belt. I have wanted to see the GSP-Anderson fight for a couple of years now and think this is the best time to do it. If the UFC decides to have GSP defend it against Hendricks and do the superfight at the end of the year or at the Super Bowl card next February I'm okay with the wait as long as the fight finally happens.
As for Diaz, he is talking about possibly going into retirement which I doubt will actually happen. He's a top 10 welterweight and should continue fighting. The fight that makes a lot of sense to me is for him to rematch Robbie Lawler, whom he fought way back at UFC 47 in which he was the victor by knockout. Lawler is a top 10 welterweight after defeating Koscheck, and with a win over Lawler could be close once again to a title shot at GSP.
Up next for St-Pierre: Anderson Silva Superfight/Hendricks
Up next for Diaz: Robbie Lawler Rematch
Johny Hendricks defeated Carlos Condit via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
If Condit would have been able to stop a couple of those takedowns he would have won the fight. Condit's lack of takedown defense hurt him in the GSP fight and has now hurt him against Hendricks. Condit did a hell of a lot more damage in the fight than Hendricks, but Hendricks had control for most of it which was what won him the fight.
Condit was able to use very good kickboxing and Muay Thai on the feet and was definitely the much better striker. Hendricks' wrestling was very impressive and could be on par with that of the current champion. If Hendricks is going to beat GSP he's going to have to work on his stand-up game a lot. He won't be able to take GSP down at will so he will have to stand with him for a good amount of it where GSP currently has the advantage.
Hendricks has to be wondering when he will ever get his title shot. If it is going to happen he will likely have to fight GSP at some point over the summer as all signs are pointing to a GSP-Anderson fight within the next year. If Hendricks has to wait until after the Anderson-GSP fight then he could be looking at more than a year off in between fights which is a lot of time off before fighting for the championship against a guy that has been untouchable as of late. If Hendricks has to wait for his title shot I think he should be smart and stay active. I think a fight between him and Ellenberger makes the most sense. As for Condit, I think he should rematch Rory MacDonald. That was the fight that was originally supposed to happen tonight and I think the rematch would be good for both guys careers.
Up next for Hendricks: St-Pierre/Ellenberger
Up next for Condit: Rory MacDonald Rematch
Welterweight: Jake Ellenberger (29-6) vs. Nate Marquardt (32-12-2)
Jake Ellenberger defeated Nate Marquardt via KO (punches) at 3:00 of round 1.
From the looks of it, it appears Marquardt could be done in the UFC and might be headed towards possible retirement. He didn't look all that good and was dropped pretty easily by Ellenberger. Ellenberger landed a lot more successfully and seemed to have a lot more power than Marquardt. Ellenberger put together a good combination that led to the end of the fight, dropping Marquardt to the mat and then finishing him once he was down there with punches. It was a good stoppage by the referee and good performance by Ellenberger.
As I mentioned earlier I think Ellenberger should fight Hendricks if Hendricks doesn't get the immediate title shot. The fight could be used as a #1 contender fight even though Hendricks is currently the #1 contender. If Hendricks fights GSP right away then I would like to see Ellenberger fight Demian Maia. Both guys are top 10 welterweights that are very close to earning a title shot within the next year. Due to all of the recent cuts in the UFC I wouldn't be surprised if Marquardt was let go after losing in his return to the UFC.
Up next for Ellenberger: Demian Maia/Hendricks
Up next for Marquardt: Probably cut by UFC
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