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« | Home | »

St. Pierre wins bloodbath bout in return to action at UFC 154

By Zach Arnold | November 17, 2012

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Event: UFC 154 (11/17 Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
TV: FX/PPV

Undercard

Main card

Cung Le puts Rich Franklin down for the count – UFC Macau

Event: UFC Macau (11/10 CotaiArena at The Venetian)
TV: Fuel TV

Undercard

Main card

Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 47 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

47 Responses to “St. Pierre wins bloodbath bout in return to action at UFC 154”

  1. 45 Huddle says:

    Solid for a FuelTV level card.

    The PPV is a 2 fight show. It is a shame too because the next PPV has like 7 or 8 quality fights. They need to find a way to spread it out more….

    • The Judge says:

      Agreed on the PPV, but those 2 fights are rock-solid and while I wouldn’t pay to watch any of the other 3 fights, I won’t mind sitting through any of them.
      The FUEL main event is god-awful. Both of those guys should have retired. This is UFC at its worst, promoting names and knockout artists, rather than presenting a genuine match-up of two top contenders in the division.

  2. 45 Huddle says:

    http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/10/21/3533720/ufc-dana-white-illogical-delusional-over-light-heavyweight-title-picture

    This article is spot on. To penalize fighters for not wanting to take a fight while out of shape is pathetic.

    The UFC is really starting to become unravelled. The Sonnen/Jones matchmaking has pissed off their fanbase.

    Typically one big event isn’t going to be the downfall of an organization. But the UFC has already seen huge ratings declines and is now doing some stupid stuff to try and get back to their old numbers. It reeks of desperation.

    Most of the UFC problems are self induced. They thought they could expand without any consquences. They have now hurt their company in ways that it will now take 2 to 3 years minimum to repair…. If it even happens at all.

    As a fan, I know my interest has decreased drastically.

    • Megatherium says:

      Well, whatever it is, there seems to be less than half as much of it around as there was two or three years ago and I don’t get the sense that it’s a reversible condition.

      At least not by doubling down.

  3. Steve4192 says:

    “The Sonnen/Jones matchmaking has pissed off their fanbase”

    It’s pissed off the one-percenters who populate internet forums and news sites. The 99% dude-bro crowd who just tune in for PPVs and to see someone ‘just bleed’ love the matchup.

    • The Judge says:

      Yeah, but they would also love GSP vs Roy Nelson. The 99 percent would probably not even realize they are in different weight classes.
      You are absolutely right in what you say, but 45 is correct in that UFC is starting to have problems. Self-induced problems that are affecting the 99 percent.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        And is it really the 99% anymore? Many of those fans are gone. The hardcore fanbase makes up a much bigger percentage of fight fans these days. Heck the UFC has a hard time breaking 500,000 buys now. The TUF ratings are in the tank.

        All of this drama that White has created has killed his fanbase.

        And the biggest problem is that the thibgs Zuffa did that hurt viewership…. they are doubling down on it with stuff like Jones/Sonnen.

        At the end of the day…. the belts need to matter. And when they give unwarranted title shots and only have 12 title fights in a year…. there business will continue to go down.

        • The Judge says:

          The term “hardcore fanbase” actually iis not always used to mean the same. If you mean, people like me and you, who go to the boards, who are aware that Chael is in a different weight class and won only one fight recently in UFC, who know that he trash-talked (and it wasn’t even good trash talk) his way to a title shot, that Henderson is getting screwed over, that there are other fighters in light heavyweight division more worthy of a title shot. Those fans?
          Well, they might be upset at Jones-Sonnen and they might compose a larger percentage of the fan base than they did two years ago, but they are still a fractionally small percentage of the 590,000. Plus, ironically they are the ones who will probably continue to follow the sport anyway. The majority of the 100K-200K buys UFC is guaranteed for every PPV are buying it for the names and to see someone bleed. And their drop in the numbers has little to do with content, aside from a few obvious lessons as far as lighter weights and non-title shot main events.
          The fanbase is not dead.
          However, interestingly, one of the recent cards that did not have a major star attraction and yet did well in the buyrates, has been Dos Santos-Mir card in May–that one was packed with top level competitors, most of which did not have big name recognition of Jones/Silva/GSP.
          So maybe the fanbase is smarter than we think.

        • Steve4192 says:

          I agree with the Judge on the vagaries of the ‘hardcore fanbase’.

          To some, it is defined by dedication and seeking out knowledge and discussion of the sport. Those are the one-percenters I am talking about. Those are the guys who voraciously read MMA related content on the internet, track fighters performances in the UFC, and are know who the up-and-comers are outside the UFC.

          To others, it is defined by loyalty, their willingness to step up and pay for MMA programming and to continue to do so even when the cards aren’t all that great. Those are the fans who Zuffa defines as their ‘hardcore fanbase’ and who they are most concerned about.

  4. The Judge says:

    Yeah, I think the point is, no matter how you define hardcore fanbase, UFC did not piss off a significant portion of its audience with the Jones-Sonnen match-up.

  5. david m says:

    I’m looking forward to seeing GSP v Condit. I am going to cheer for the cheating, greasing Frenchman for the first time in my life (apart from when he fought Fitch, of course), just so we can finally see GSP v Diaz, and see GSP get his ass beat.

    Poor Condit–he is a great fighter, but has the charisma of a chair.

    As far as Chael v JJ is concerned, Chael is straight up $$, and so is JJ. UFC knows JJ will win, which will elevate JJ further as a ppv draw. Chael will put asses in seats/bars/ppv-buying homes, as he did against Anderson.

    As hardcore fans, we recognize the absurdity of the matchup, but so what? The UFC needs to draw ratings for TUF, and they want a strong ppv buy. If you don’t like the event, don’t watch it. I will actually watch TUF this coming season for the first time since the Kimbo season.

  6. The Gaijin says:

    Congrats to my U.S. friends! While B.O. isn’t Jesus nor can he fix everything ill with a Midas touch, I’m confident the right decision was made and the next four years will prove it.

    While it’s unfortunate a billionaire who paid ZERO taxes in the last ten years and has benefitted from political and business connections his entire life could not come in and stick it to all theses “takers” and “entitlement seekers” who “want stuff” … I think history will reflect well upon this result.

    • BuddyRowe says:

      LOL look at this guy who doesn’t think the Dems and Repubs work for the same people.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        Not everything in life is a conspiracy….

        The Republican Party is going to have to change. They only care about white rich voters. Their rallies are sad how white they are….

        • edub says:

          It was staggering the differences in the crowds for each candidate’s after speeches. One was as diverse as possible. All races seemingly mixed together. One was completely white.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          The Dems look like everyday America. The Repubs look like the country club. Both have serious issues with spending…. but the Dems are easily the lesser of the two evils.

        • The Gaijin says:

          They will be a long-run loser if they continue down the path they’ve been on the last 10 years…they’ll be the party of the angry white minority that no young voter will identify with and will not forge ties with as “their party”. They really need a catalyst to turn them back to what they were or could be – a party that stands for conservative fiscal policies and controlling the size of government – none of this serving a very small slice of the uber-rich, uber-elite and religious right, but I fear they’ll just try to go further right and blame moderates like Mitt (what he really truly was), Christie and Jeb Bush.

          And that will be bad for American politics, because having only one viable party is never a good thing.

          The spending thing needs to be addressed in a bad way, but it’s funny because for all the Bill O’Reilly and Karl Rove bluster – I believe it’s been shown that Republican states and the “average Republican supporter” are the biggest users of government programs and spending. And fix that G-D tax code.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          The way I like to describe Obama is this way….

          He is half as good as his devoted supporters say he is. And he is 1/10th as bad as FOX News says he is….

        • Steve4192 says:

          It’s not a conspiracy, it’s the truth.

          Both political parties are nothing more than puppets for special interest groups. Courageous politicians who are willing to buck the system never are allowed to rise to the top (of either party) and get nominated for the presidency, so we get a never ending cycle of guys who talk about ‘changing Washington’ but have no intention of actually doing it. Guys who truly value change are viciously beaten down at every turn until they either give up or learn to toe the party line. That is true for both republicans and democrats.

    • edub says:

      Agreed with both Gaij and 45.

    • Steve4192 says:

      Meh.

      Truth be told, they are both awful. Obama is just less awful. It’s like having to choose between eating a shit sandwich and a big bowl full of shit. At least with the shit sandwich, you get a little bread.

      • Megatherium says:

        Given a clear choice between two wars and no new wars I will happily take the latter and run. This is the ‘they’re all the same’ nonsense that people were spouting back in 2000 when so many people proceeded to waste their votes on Ralph Nader when the Republicans were fielding a bat-shit loony far right candidate.

        From outside the American media bubble the difference between candidates always seems stark. The political spectrum in America is set so far to the right of the rest of the world the Americans have trouble differentiating between mainstream and extreme, I guess.

  7. 45 Huddle says:

    I really like the way Zuffa is booking their cards so far in 2013.

  8. 45 Huddle says:

    According to TMZ….

    Ronda Rousey is now UFC Champion. Strikeforces last card is in Jan.

    Oh and that Jan card has Melendez, Marquardt, Cormier, and Rockhold. What a way to go. Probably happening because they all need to fight ASAP….

    Glad SF is going. Consolidate the talent.

    • RST says:

      Hmmm, replied to wrong post.

      Actually @ bluerosekiller

      “…or was there a point last year when Dana & the boys actually gave
      some consideration to keeping the deal with Showtime going?”

      I’m no master of industry, but in my laymans opinion Zuffa mostly bought it just for the guarentee of getting it out of the way.

      The worst case scenario would be dragging their feet until it collapses and raiding the assetts.

      And the best case scenario would have been that showtime would recognize UFC’s experience and expertise in the particular field over showtimes program directors and agree to hand over control to Zuffa for both of their benifits.

      But I’ve heard that there are politics involved in boardrooms.
      Which just as often involve a higher up decision maker preferring to burn or scuttle a property then hand over any of THEIR own power.

      But dont forget that dana and zuffa act exactly the same way to the people that THEY have power over.

      Showtime will survive without hosting a rogue Zuffa and strikeforce the same way zuffa will survive without any fighter who dares to put their own interests before or make their own decisions without zuffa’s approval.

  9. bluerosekiller says:

    Regarding Strikeforce, was this totally inevitable or was there a point last year when Dana & the boys actually gave
    some consideration to keeping the deal with Showtime going?
    I thought that for a little while, back when it looked like Dana was going to be consulting for them that Strikeforce might last for another year or two. But then, when Showtime rebuffed him, he just seemed pretty disgusted with Strikeforce & the end was obviously dead.
    Now me, I used to be a huge Strikeforce fan before Zuffa purchased them & I still remained one, but I knew it would never survive beyond the Showtime contract.
    And now, after the card cancellations & all the uncertainty, I’m just relieved it’s over.
    While I’ll miss the benefit of having more fights for my dollar with my Showtime subscription ( which is primarily for their boxing & Strikeforce while it lasted ), I much prefer having all the top fighters under one roof where now, a lot of excellent matches can be made.
    It’ll be very interesting to see what Jacare can do in the Octagon for instance & maybe we’ll get an All Services match up between the Marine hero Brian Stann & the Army Ranger in Tim Kennedy. Plus many more.

    • Steve4192 says:

      I liken it to their pursuit of a network TV deal, where from 2006-2011 they consistently turned down offers from the broadcast networks because they didn’t like the terms. Would they have liked to be on network TV prior to 2012? Of course they would have. But they weren’t willing to do it until someone stepped up and met THEIR terms.

      Strikeforce on Showtime was a similar deal. I think Zuffa would have been thrilled if they could have made Strikeforce work ON THEIR TERMS. Once Showtime made it clear they had no intention meeting Zuffa’s terms, Zuffa lost interest and started working on an exit strategy.

  10. 45 Huddle says:

    What a great title fight. You could tell GSP was not himself even walking down to the octagon. He was trying to shake it out.

    Even without ring rust, I do not think he should ever fight Silva. There are weight classes for a reason, and 15 pounds from Welter to Middle is a huge difference.

    Besides, I would love to see GSP vs. Hendricks. The Welterweight Division really has a lot to offer right now.

    • RST says:

      “Even without ring rust, I do not think he should ever fight Silva.”

      I dont think they should either, and it should be shmilva’s (and dana’s) shame if they ever do.

      But that GSP last night looked DYNAMITE!

      It seems very unlikely that he would beat shmilva standing, but then he doesn’t have to.

      sonnen put enough hands in shmilvas face to get the take down,
      and thats all GSP has to do.

      sonnen did indeed show the bluprint to get rid of that shmoe,
      but GSP doesn’t have sonnens submission deficiencies.

      Also, silvas reach, height and size will be an advantage in the standup,
      but I’d imagine less so when on the matt wrestling or GNP.

      Being the more compact and stockier bulldog might actually be the advantage there.

  11. The Judge says:

    Ugh. Worst undercard in UFC history and that’s saying something. Sucked both as far as quality of fighters and quality of fights. Thank of you, Johnny Hendricks for saving me from 3 more rounds of Martin “Questionable Decision” Kampmann. Condit played 5 more rounds of trying not to lose, doing little to no damage with his offense, even though he tried. Given how much I like GSP more and think he is a better fighter, I was hoping for a much more overwhelming victory.

  12. Megatherium says:

    Fairly uneventful event, the only two ppv worthy fights excepted. Picked all twelve winners but got screwed by the Sakara back-of-the-head DQ without a warning. Oh well, 11/12 ain’t bad.

    A good night for me.

  13. david m says:

    That was mma at an incredibly high level. GSP showed some different moves than we are used to seeing from him. He threw his 1-2 combos more, threw some front kicks, threw his rear roundhouse kick (instead of his switch foot roundhouse kick), and showed a lot willingness to mix it up. His takedowns looked fast and explosive, and he showed wonderful ground control.

    As for Condit, he lost nothing with the lost. He showed slick striking, good sweeps, tons of heart, good hands, dangerous kicks and combos, and an ability to regain guard every time GSP got to half-guard. I can’t wait to see Diaz vs GSP!

  14. david m says:

    I would just like to state for the record that I legitimately fell asleep during the Tom Lawlor fight, and that this undercard was indeed horrid. UFC becomes more and more like boxing with each passing year, as the ppv quality becomes more and more diluted. UFC on Fox 6 is a far better card than 154.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      I wouldn’t say the UFC is becoming exactly like boxing.

      In less then 2 months we have the following fights on free over the air TV….

      LW Title: Henderson vs. Diaz
      Fly Title: Johnson vs. Dodson
      Shogun vs. Gustaffson
      MacDonald vs. Penn
      Jackson vs. Teixeira
      Cerrone vs. Pettis

      When is the last time boxing put that much quality fighting in an entire year on free tv in the states?

      • david m says:

        dude, you know what I meant; in fact, I even specified exactly what I meant so there would be no room for misinterpretation (but trolling is not part of misinterpretation).

      • RST says:

        “Shogun vs. Gustaffson”

        Will be a good fight like hendo/Shogun.
        And more wasteful squandering of what shogun has to offer by joel’s trash matchmaking, like Hendo/Shogun. I’ll watch it, but I wish that I didn’t have to.
        At least not right now for good reason.

        “MacDonald vs. Penn”

        Sounds like fun.
        But how great of a fight it will be depends on which Penn shows up.

        “Jackson vs. Teixeira”

        This looks better on paper then it will be IMO.
        jackson doesn’t seem particularly keen on fighting Texiera.
        And the jackson that WANTS to fight and the jackson that doesn’t are VERY different.

        But ultimately very watchable just to see Texiera trounce jackson IMO.

  15. RST says:

    Meh card, great title fight.

    I thought Condit looked pretty good, but GSP looked great.

    Refreshed.
    (Sometimes you really do need to take a break.)

    There’s no way in heck Diaz would have been able to handle GSP’s wrestling either.
    (I dont think Diaz would handle Koschecks.)

    He would have gotten beaten up even worse if he fought that GSP last night.

    I wish Hendricks wasn’t slathered in ecko gear,
    (thats usually a deal breaker for me),
    but man that guy is fun to watch.

    Let alone the epic beard and bionic left hand, but the way he cant stop grinning about it like a pyromaniac with a can of gas is spooky and awesome.

    I’d have to catch up on the rest of his fights to decide whether he seems rounded enough to handle GSP,
    I assume that his wrestling would be up to par,
    but I’ll betcha even more then most guys that gSP REALLY doesn’t want to get touched with left hand.

    He might remember that serra fight (if he’s still conscious) and start getting shy again.

    I wonder if Hendricks could be the first guy to KO Diaz?

    That would be more impressive then having a UFC belt.

    • The Gaijin says:

      For all of his crippling power and great wrestling, I think Hendricks TD defence is actually not up to par with how good GSP’s TD game really is…so I think we’ll see him get taken down and pummelled from GSP’s guard. No way GSP is going to stand with a southie with power that crippling and I don’t think Johnny has the TDD to keep it standing.

  16. 45 Huddle says:

    White was asked if the FOX card would see an increase in the ratings.

    His answer was that it does not matter as much as people think because they are in a long term deal with FOX.

    And then he said…. they might soon be in an even longer deal. Very interesting.

    • Steve4192 says:

      If I had to guess, I’d say they might be negotiating a new deal to move from Fuel to FOX Sports 1.

      While FOX can’t be thrilled with the UFC’s ratings on FOX/FX, they have been a huge boon to Fuel. FOX might envision the UFC as one of the anchors of their new sports network and want to lock them up for a longer period. Obviously, the UFC would be interested because it gets them off the wasteland that is Fuel and onto a much more widely available platform.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        Could be right. Could also see a weekly show in the future….

        Fuel’s increase in viewership probably means the deal turned a profit for the first year….

        White does make a good point. That ratings do not mean much when you are in a long term deal. Heck MLB saw no increase in ratings and got a huge pay increase from ESPN. The market is good for these leagues.

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