Georges St. Pierre Defeats Dan Hardy

Before the fight officially started, Dan Hardy did a whole lot of smiling. After round 2, his smile had vanished. On the other hand, Georges St. Pierre maintained an icy stare from the moment he left the locker room till the end of the fifth round. Unlike Dan, he truly was confident and didn’t need to smile. He knew his victory was inevitable.

Still, you have to give credit for the master manipulators behind the Prime Time special that aired over the past few weeks. They gave Georges his toughest challenge to date. Hardy proved he was the superior trash talker, in no small part due to the editors. Did we really need to see Hardy and co. commentate the first part of the show? At a Hooter’s no less? I guess we needed to be reminded of how cool they are.

Oh – and I have to get that GQ GSP calendar they were mocking. But I digress.

The fight happened the way you’d expect it to (if your head wasn’t spinning from all the Hardy propaganda) – Georges completely outclassed Dan. GSP wisely took it to the ground where Hardy looked completely inept. Granted, everyone gets dominated by Georges there. To Hardy’s credit, he had enough skill to avoid getting submitted. But boy was it close.

At one point, Georges had a sick arm bar. It looked like Dan’s arm was going to get permanently bent backwards. Later, St. Pierre sunk in a kimura that was equally disgusting to watch. Those two moments caused several of the judges to score 10-8 rounds, a rarity when little “damage” has been caused.

After the match, GSP was ridiculously hard on himself. It was perplexing to watch because I was pleased at how well he did. It goes to show you what high standards Georges has for himself. Yes, he defended his title by decision, but that’s old news to him. He COULD have finished it (or in his mind, should have) twice.

So, how does the greatest fighter in the world improve? By looking at the mistakes he made, no matter how trivial…or silly it is to call them mistakes. Then, he makes it his goal to make sure they never happen again.

Personally, I think he’s earned the right to enjoy his victory…but it doesn’t matter what I think.

Oh and Dan - it’s called a Gi, not puh-jamas! (That’s why you’re not considered a true martial artist.)

Next Fight: Jared Hamman vs. Rodney Wallace

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