170 lbs.: UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre (18-2) vs. Thiago Alves (16-3)
Fight Odds: GSP -290 / +230 Alves Odds at Bodog.com
Fight Prediction: I don’t see Alves being any exception. St. Pierre is too quick and explosive for Alves, or anyone else, to prevent him from getting a fight to the ground. Once the fight hits the mat, it will be all St. Pierre, who will punish Alves with top control and ground and pound en route to a violent TKO victory.
The semi-Main Event is a Welterweight title match between champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and top contender Thiago “Pitbull” Alves. St. Pierre has been a dominant force, destroying challengers and cementing himself as a strong P4P #1 contender. Alves has also been on a tear recently, scoring a string of upsets and earning himself the top contender’s spot.
Thiago Alves has the kind of striking that keeps his opponents up at night. His punches, kicks, and especially knees from the clinch are utterly devastating, as Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes, and a host of other top Welterweights can no doubt attest. Recently, though, the biggest story has been the ridiculous progress his takedown defense has made. He thwarted nearly all of Matt Hughes’ takedown attempts, and completely dominated top wrestler Josh Koscheck, stuffing his shots and making it look really easy. That is going to help tremendously against St. Pierre, who easily has the best wrestling in the division. If Alves can manage to keep this fight standing, he has a lot more than a puncher’s chance.
St. Pierre has extremely underrated standup, but is probably still the less skilled fighter in the standup. He more than makes up for it, though, with athleticism, wrestling, submissions, strength, and cardio. While Alves has the edge standing, St. Pierre has the advantage in pretty much every single other category, including top-level fight experience. Alves’ takedown defense has become formidable, but every single time anyone felt like an opponent could handle St. Pierre’s wrestling, they were proven emphatically wrong.
