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Banks on Strength for Hughes Upset By Loretta Hunt 
Georges St. Pierre is fairly certain he will shock the world tonight. Facing former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes from the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the 7-0 French Canadian will have to overcome a wealth of experience in his bid for the currently vacant 170-pound title. Illinois wrestler Hughes pillaged a weight division for two years before losing his crown last January to BJ Penn, leaving a trail of bodies behind him in the likes of Carlos Newton, Hayato Sakarai, and Frank Trigg. Simple numbers might have dissuaded others to decline a meeting with the body slamming juggernaut; but not St. Pierre, who was offered a stab at the belt following his aggressive, energized stand-up exhibition on Jay Hieron at UFC 48. His stock on the rise, yet still only in the beginning stages of a potentially fortuitous career, some may argue things are simply going too fast for the affable 23-year-old. St. Pierre doesn't think so. "First of all, I have nothing to lose and I am pretty sure I'm going to beat him, you know?" St. Pierre confidently beams. "I think I have all the skills to beat him. Every [one] of his fights, he was the strongest guy. Me, I'm very strong physically. I don't want to say I'm stronger than him. I don't know if I'm stronger than him, but one thing's for sure; he's not going to overpower me. He's not going to have a huge strength difference between me and him. I think that is the thing that will make the difference." Strength is an attribute St. Pierre has been blessed with all his life, a gift that helped him become a stand-out in school sports and then in martial arts. The Canadian's uncanny muscle has garnered pointed fingers from his MMA peers, especially from a certain former opponent that hinted St. Pierre might be getting an extra boost from steroids. "What can I do?" St. Pierre answers to the very serious accusations he has flat-out denied. "It's not the first time someone has said that to me. Even some of my sparring partners [said] ‘Hey Georges, what do you take to be that strong?' But, I think they don't believe what I say, but they're going to see. I am going to be tested [when I fight] Matt Hughes. I can't wait to piss in the bottle."
Noting the milder climate in America has led him to even sharper performances here than in his homeland, St. Pierre says he's prepared himself for anything. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt under Brazilian Top Team's Fabio Holanda, St. Pierre says he will be ready should he find himself in his back. Those looking for a knockout to match the one he demonstrated on opponent Hieron a few months ago may or may not get their wish this evening, but St. Pierre admits his striking confidence has greatly improved since he began taping his knuckle area, a ritual denied him in the confines of Canada with its varying athletic commissions. "It's funny because I say a day before the Hieron fight I wanted to go for three or four rounds," he says of a KO possibility on the gun-shy Hughes. "When you're looking for the knockout, you don't [win] by knockout. It happen[s] every time. When you go for the big shot, you never gonna knock the guy unless you're lucky." "In my mind, I go there to do five rounds. I don't go there to rush for the first round. If I have the chance, I am going to put him down, take down. We'll see. I'm gong to take the fight like its coming." And the world will be watching. |
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