St-Pierre wins middleweight title on octagon return

Canadian mixed martial artist Georges St-Pierre completed a stunning comeback to the sport at Madison Square Garden, beating Michael Bisping by submission to claim the middleweight title after a four-year absence from the octagon.

The 36-year-old choked reigning champion Bisping into unconsciousness at the end of the third round to claim the belt after a thrilling back-and-forth battle on a night when three UFC titles changed hands.

Fighting for the first time in a heavier weight class, former welterweight champ St-Pierre, who walked away from the sport in his prime in 2013, had the better of the early exchanges, rocking the Briton several times.

But Bisping's toughness and superb stamina started to tell in the second as St-Pierre started to slow down, and even when he was taken down to the mat, St-Pierre couldn't manage to keep the 38-year-old there.

Instead, Bisping landed a few heavy blows of his own, forcing St-Pierre onto the back foot towards the end of the round.

At the end of the third round St-Pierre sent Bisping crashing to the canvas, and he followed up with a series of brutal elbows before taking the Englishman's back and applying a rear naked choke hold to finish the fight.

Rather than concede defeat, Bisping lost consciousness before referee John McCarthy stepped in to stop the fight.

"I don't have a word in my mouth right now. It's a dream come true guys, thank you for the support," an elated St-Pierre told TV commentator Joe Rogan in the octagon as he thanked the fans.

"He hurt me very hard. A few times I got stunned, I tried to hide it, I wouldn't like to do that fight again," he added.

Earlier in the evening, challenger Rose Namajunas pulled off a stunning victory to wrest the women's strawweight crown from Joanna Jedrzejczyk, felling the Pole with a thundering left hand to finish the fight by knockout 3:03 into the first round.

The men's bantamweight title bout threw up another instant classic as TJ Dillashaw floored Cody Garbrandt halfway through the second to win by knockout and reclaim the belt he lost to Dominick Cruz in January 2016.

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Anderson Silva compared to Lance Armstrong

The trainer of former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre criticized Brazilian legend Anderson Silva after it was revealed that "The Spider" tested positive for anabolic steroids.

"It's horrible for the sport," said Firas Zahabi, St-Pierre's outspoken trainer, as quoted by MMA Fighting.

Zahabi even compared Silva's situation to that of disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and admitted in 2013 that he had used performance enhancing drugs.

"Lance Armstrong has not helped the sport of cycling," said Zahabi. "A lot of people were inspired by his story, and afterwards, we find out that it's a lie."

"Here, we're going through something similar in our sport," he added.

Zahabi believes that in light of Silva's failed drug test, the Brazilian fighter's achievements have to be reconsidered.

"Georges is the best pound-for-pound fighter. We have to drop Silva," he declared.

"If he really cheated, we can't set this example for the youth. It's ridiculous. Is Lance Armstrong considered the best cyclist of all time? No. A few years ago, the answer would have been different," he added.

Silva is widely considered as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, and for a long time reigned on top of the UFC's middleweight division. He still holds the record for the longest winning streak in the UFC (16) and successive title defenses (10).

He has also denied using performance-enhancing drugs. It was the first time that Silva had failed a drug test in his career.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

St-Pierre retains UFC title in controversial decision

MANILA, Philippines – Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) superstar Georges St-Pierre retained his welterweight championship after notching a controversial split decision victory over top contender Johny Hendricks Saturday in Las Vegas (Sunday in Manila).

St-Pierre took down Hendricks early in the first round but it was one of the few highlights of the round for St-Pierre, as Hendricks pressured him the rest of the way and landed the harder blows. The champion was bleeding by the second round as Hendricks’ powerful left hand began to find its mark.

His effort in the first two rounds may have tired Hendricks, however, as St-Pierre controlled the third round, landing shots with both hands. They split the championship rounds, with Hendricks scoring more in the fourth while St-Pierre seemingly clinched the fifth.

St-Pierre clearly sustained more damage than Hendricks, as the challenger’s face was nearly unmarked while St-Pierre bled profusely.

The judges, however, saw the bout in St-Pierre’s favor, 48-47, 48-47, and 47-48.

It was the 12th consecutive win for the 32-year-old St-Pierre, who hiked his MMA record to 25-2 after the victory.

“This was my toughest fight,” St-Pierre said, adding that he needs to take a vacation from the sport. “I have a bunch of stuff in my life happening. I need to hang up my gloves… I have to go away for a little bit.”

Hendricks, meanwhile, collapsed to the mat after hearing the decision and said he believes he should have won.

“I thought I clearly won the fight… I just earned the belt but it was taken away from me,” he said.

In the co-main event, former light-heavyweight champion “Suga” Rashad Evans made short work of Chael Sonnen, beating the former middleweight contender in the very first round.

Evans landed vicious ground and pound against Sonnen, who was belly-down on the canvas. Sonnen tapped out at the 4:05 mark.

“It’s been a long time since I finished a fight in the first round,” said Evans. “I know how tough Chael is, and what he is capable of, so I expected the fight could go the full rounds.”

“He hit me so hard in there,” Sonnen admitted. “I couldn’t believe the amount of power he was able to generate.”

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Silva still a genius in GSP's eyes

MANILA, Philippines – Despite losing his crown to Chris Weidman, Anderson Silva is still a “genius” in the eyes of his MMA pound-for-pound rival, Georges St-Pierre.

St-Pierre said Silva’s showboating tactics may have backfired against Weidman but it was effective against the rest of his opponents.

"Anderson Silva is a genius. He wants you to think that you don't even belong in the ring with him, because he's too good for you. That's what he wants his opponent to think. He's a genius," he said.

St-Pierre said that even during the Weidman fight, Silva created an illusion that he’s winning the bout.

He added that Silva was nearly successful against his challenger despite failing to land damaging strikes on Weidman.

"Look at that fight with Weidman. He did a lot of crazy things, but he didn't land one significant strike on Chris Weidman. He landed some good leg kicks, but he didn't a land significant strike that really hurt Weidman. But because of this game, he made it look like he was dominating the fight. It's an illusion that he creates, which is very smart, because he can get into his opponent's mind.”

Unfortunately for Silva, his mind games didn’t work against the up and coming middleweight.

Weidman caught Silva with a left hook to the jaw while the latter was sticking out his chin.

“At one point I was afraid that he (Weidman) was starting to believe the hype, but he stayed focused and he did well. Obviously, Anderson, he got caught. But I still believe that Anderson Silva is the best in the world. That's what I believe."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com