Georges St-Pierre believes he'll finish Carlos Condit at UFC 137

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

With the UFC giving fans a short two-week respite from major events after a string of four straight Saturday cards, anticipation is beginning to rebuild for this month's UFC 137 event, headlined by Georges St-Pierre's title defense against Carlos Condit.

In a new pre-fight interview for UFC.com, St-Pierre discussed the fight with Condit and what he feels about the matchup.

"In the rankings, I do believe Carlos Condit was the number one contender," St-Pierre said. "In the eyes of everyone in the UFC Carlos Condit deserved the shot. I believe Carlos [poses] no problem to me that I haven't seen."

The longtime Welterweight Champion is out to defend his belt for the seventh straight time in the fight, but while he has supreme confidence in himself, he respects what Condit brings into the cage.

"I'm going to have to deal with a guy who has knockout power, very technical striker and a great ground game as well," he said. "Unpredictable fighter. I've seen a lot of improvement in Carlos' game but I believe I'm a more improved fighter than he is. I have a game plan to take care of Carlos and I will execute it."

The two have some training ties to one another, both working with Greg Jackson at times in their recent careers, but they're not full on training partners, and St-Pierre says there's not a friendship there to strain in this bout. It's all about business on Oct. 29.

"He's not my friend and I don't put any emotion in but I do believe I will have the key to victory. I do believe I will be able to knock him out or submit him. I will remain the Welterweight Champion."

Penick's Analysis: I'm honestly as excited for this match-up now as I was initially for St-Pierre vs. Diaz. Condit provides a great challenge to St-Pierre both on the ground and on the feet, and though his wrestling is a weak point and St-Pierre can put him on his back, Condit's sweeps are fantastic and he's dangerous on the ground himself. Much like I felt would be the case with Diaz, this is the type of fight where St-Pierre is going to be tested in all areas, and won't be able to utilize one dominant skill set to control the fight, and I think that's when he fights at his best. I'm hoping Condit can bring out the best in the champion, and if he does that could very well mean St-Pierre's first stoppage win since January of 2009.

[Georges St-Pierre art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_10856.shtml

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