Is GSP The G.O.A.T. ??

For many fans the answer is still no because Georges has not finished an opponent for some time now. The fact of the matter is that he is the most well rounded athlete in the sport and decision victories or not, his victories are truly impressive displays of domination over very talented fighters. Anderson Silva, although one of the greatest of all time, has a hole in his game that GSP does not: wrestling.

Both GSP and Anderson have been in boring fights GSP cannot be blamed, as Anderson can, for failure to engage his opponent. Weather that is because of an inability to fight any other way than countering his foe or being overtly defensive is another conversation altogether.

GSP's domination and disfigurement of super-villain Josh Koscheck last night was a as dominant as his win over Kos stablemate Jon Fitch and both Kos and Fitch's faces both show the story of what it is like to go five rounds with a truly superior fighter.

So what then is the reason for GSP's lack of finishes as of late? Is it a safer game-plan employed by the Champion? Is it the fact that fighters challenging GSP are in the fight of their lives and have prepared for him like they have for no other? It has to be a bit of both and for that reason GSP may be the best P4P athlete in the sport, he is not the greatest of all time until he can match the impressive reigns of Anderson at his best or Fedor in his heyday, and he can do that by just finishing a fight on occasion.

What needs to happen now is a fight between the most dominant fighters in the UFC GSP vs Anderson Silva.

Combat Canadiens de Montréal

Chad Dawson (29-0, 17 KO) vs. Jean Pascal (25-1, 16 KO)

Montreal Canada is famous for producing some of the most best fighters in the world. Here is just a few of them, Lucian Bute, Jean Pascal, George St-Pierre, David Lemieux, Adonis Stevenson, and Patrick Cote. It is not surprising that the very diverse city has spawned all these great fighters. However people are surprised to see that the fight fans are even more rabid then their toughest fighters. If you have ever been in the Bell Centre on fight night then you know that the electricity in the air is second to none. Anytime they have a fight of any kind from boxing to mma they sell out the arenas. Montreal's own George St-Pierre is one of the biggest draws that the UFC has. It doesn't matter if it selling a gate, or tuning in on PPV they generate huge numbers. Every foreign fighter that comes to fight in Montreal talks about how awesome the energy in the building, and how great the fans are. American fight fans should learn from our neighbors from the north, and do the same. The reason that Chad Dawson is fighting in Montreal is because he can't generate the crowds, or money in Connecticut, that Pascal can in Canada. They support their fighters to the very end, and they will do that tonight with Jean Pascal. Jean Pascal is facing Chad Dawson his toughest challenge as a professional boxer. The WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal has a stellar record at (25-1, 16KO). The problem is he is going against the best fighter in the light heavyweight division Chad Dawson. Pascal is coming off a good win against Silvio Branco, sandwiched between 2 great wins over the tough Adrian Diaconu. He will be putting his WBC light heavyweight strap up against Dawson's IBO title. He will need to bring his "A" game if he has any chance to win in this one. In order to win he will have to tap into the legendary energy of the Montreal fans that so many fighters have done before him. If you can't make it to the Bell Centre in Montreal Canada, then you must tune in to HBO and watch this great match up. I know that the crowd will be in this fight. If you have never felt, or witnessed the energy you will not want to miss the fight tonight.

Does Dan Hardy Have What It Takes?

Dan Hardy has been nothing but confident in the lead up to his fight with the golden boy of the 170lb division Georges Saint Pierre. Confidence and the fighting mindset is something that comes naturally to a fighter like Hardy and it is one of his best assets. In the "Primetime" series we see Hardy training with the king of the upset Matt Serra as he looks to do the same thing "The Terror" did in his spot against GSP. Hardy has the striking to contend with Georges on the feet and decent takedown defense to boot, but will it be enough to nullify the hands, feet, and superior wrestling of GSP? The oddsmakers are giving bettors a resounding "NO" answer to that question with the betting lines having GSP at -650 and Hardy at +450 at bodog and some Vegas spots having GSP as high as -1300 as of yesterday.

In the lead up to the fight GSP made clear that he has not taken the challenge lightly as most fans and pundits have. He learned a very hard lesson when he took Serra lightly and has not forgotten what Matt "Buster Douglas" Serra taught him. Dan Hardy may have also learned a lesson about GSP's chin in that fight. Hardy is a much more accurate and technical striker than Serra and he also, like Serra, has power to go with it. This is a moot point if GSP decides that he doesn't want to stand with Dan and takes him down. Hardy has an underrated ground game and has a chance of contending with GSP there, however unlikely that scenario may be.

In reality Hardy's best shot is in his bread and butter, his stand up. Hardy is a good fighter and I don't see this as being as uncompetitive as the odds-makers would have us believe. Hardy has a shot at derailing the GSP legacy and he intends to do everything in his power to make that happen. Until Saturday speculation is just that, and we will either see Dan Hardy come into his own as a Champion or we will see GSP continue his reign of dominance at welterweight.

The full fight card for Saturday is below:

MAIN CARD
Champ Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy (for welterweight title)
Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir (for interim heavyweight title)
Jake Ellenberger vs. Ben Saunders
Thiago Alves vs. Jon Fitch
Mark Bocek vs. Jim Miller
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)
Nate Diaz vs. Rory Markham
Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Brown
PRELIMINARY CARD (Un-aired)
Fabricio Camoes vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Jared Hamman vs. Rodney Wallace
Tomasz Drwal vs. Rousimar Palhares
Matthew Riddle vs. Greg Soto

MMA'S TOP 9 OF 2009

(The Prestigious "Dummy" Awards for 2009)

Opinions are like.... everyone has one and they all stink. Here is my take on some of the most exciting and talented fighters to shine in 2009.

9. Jake Shields

Aside from the much maligned performance that he won the Strikeforce Middleweight title with, Shields has been on a tear for some time now. He did however win the contest and became the Middleweight Champion against the tough vet Jason Miller. Before that dud of a fight Shields quickly submitted former Champ Robbie Lawler in an exciting fight, and the Miller fight was his first to go the distance since 2006.

8.  Brock Lesnar

Although he had just one fight this year, it was a dominating beating of the man to hand him his only defeat, Frank Mir. Lesnar also handed MMA fans one of the best post-fight speeches ever in which he proceeded to blast the UFC's biggest sponsor and disrespect his fallen opponent.  With Heavyweight contenders piling up in the UFC, hopefully Brock will be healthy and able to return to the cage ASAP.

7. Nick Diaz

Aside from Diaz's love from marijuana and his hate for the CSAC, Diaz has put on some of his most memorable performances. He completely dominated the legend Frank Shamrock and smashed the heavy handed Scott Smith all outside of his normal fighting weight as he moved up to Middleweight. Next year may be an even better one for Nick Diaz as he is set to compete for the Strikeforce Welterweight title.

6. Jon Jones

Jon "Bones" Jones is the most exciting prospect in the UFC, period. He burst on to the UFC radar after making his debut against the more experienced Andre Gusmao winning a unanimous decision. His competition didn't get any easier, but that fact was seemingly unknown to Bones. He smashed Stephan Bonner via UD, and just recently steamrolled Matt Hamill, but was unfairly disqualified due to an illegal strike way after the fight should have been stopped.

5. Gilbert Melendez

"El Nino" had a rough 2008 having racked up the two lone losses of his career to Mitsuhiro Ishida and Josh Thomson. The latter loss being the most painful because it was at the cos of his Strikeforce Lightweight strap. Melendez re-focused himself and blitzed through  Rodrigo Damm to earn the Interim belt at 155 and avenging his first professional loss to Ishida in dominant fashion. The last fight El Nino had this year was the much anticipated and long delayed re-match with "The Punk" and it turned out to be one of the best fights of the year. Melendez took the fight via UD to reclaim his spot atop the 155lb division in Strikeforce.

4. Dan Henderson

Dan started the year out with a close split decision win over rich Franklin to win the bid to be coach on TUF. "Hendo" had a tough run with a measly 1 fighter from his team on TUF make it to the finals of TUF USA vs UK. Henderson had his revenge however over the brash Micheal Bisping as he landed a hellacious right hand to put "The Count" out for the count. The former champion also signed a landmark deal with Strikeforce making him one of the biggest UFC stars to jump ship to the budding promotion. We look forward to seeing Hendo on CBS against the best middleweights Strikeforce has to offer.

3. Fedor Emelianenko

The Heavyweight fighter is still a fan-boys wet dream despite not signing with the MMA juggernaut the UFC. Fedor started the year off with a highlight reel KO of another former UFC champion in Andrei Arlovski as well as dispatching the formerly unbeaten Brett Rogers. MMA enthusiasts were treated to a trademark Fedor performance free on network television in his Strikeforce debut. Fans and pundits alike still wish for the former Pride FC star to make his long awaited debut in the UFC.

2. Georges Saint Pierre

The Canadian Middleweight king sent BJ Penn packing his bags back to the Lightweight division with a beating the likes of which Penn has never been privy to. GSP cemented his place at the top of his division with a dominating win over muay thai powerhouse Thiago Alves. Georges earned an award for being Canadian Athlete of the year for the second year in a row.

1. Jose Aldo

With some of the most exciting finishes in the WEC, and striking prowess similar to the UFC's Brazilian Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, Aldo proved his worth with stirring wins over top contenders and Champion Mike Brown. "Junior" had four fights in the WEC in 2009 and all ended via KO/TKO as he pushed his way to the top. Aldo won the title from the ATT ace Brown with quick and accurate strikes to take his place atop the WEC's featherweight division. The 145lb firecracker is my pick for fighter of the year in 2009 and looks to have a bright 2010 ahead.

MMA WISH-LIST FOR 2010

(Holy Hell This Guy Likes Violence!)

It is that time again folks; the time that we make resolutions that we never keep, a time to gain excessive weight from holiday meals, and a time to look at bank statements and regret buying all of those gifts. This is my new year's wish list for the sport of MMA. As the old saying goes sh*t in one hand and wish in the other to see which one comes first.

FEDOR TO THE UFC:

I don't care how it happens or if we have to see an M-1 Global stamp all over the UFC broadcast to get it done, but it needs to happen and soon. This one is on every fan's wish-list every year so lets hope that this will be the magical year in which it happens. Fedor's contract with Strikeforce is only for a couple more fights, so it is within the realm of possibility. Who doesn't want to see the Russian bear come over and pound out Brock Lesnar, or face the other behemoth Shane Carwin? A resurgent Frank Mir would be an awsome match to see just how well Mir fares on the ground with Fedor, or if he can take any of Fedor's power shots before getting to the ground. MAKE IT HAPPEN DANA, FEDOR, AND M-1.

A HEALTHY BROCK LESNAR:

A Wordsworth he may not be, but Lesnar is a dominant and fascinating individual. We hope to see him well again and putting other people in the hospital: The way it shoud be. With title challengers chomping at the bit to get to Lesnar, it should be an interesting year should the Champ return to defend his belt.

BJ PENN STAY AT LIGHTWEIGHT:

There is already talk about a third match between Penn and his arch nemesis Georges Saint Pierre after Penn's dominant performances against Ken-Flo and Diego Sanchez. What needs to happen in my opinion is that Penn needs to stay at lightweight and defend his title. He could be the most dangerous person at that weight and reign for as long as he's healthy and able. His legacy is to be at lightweight and to be a long reigning champion. After a few more performances like his last one, then let's see him move up and face some challengers before getting another crack at GSP.

THE UFC ON NETWORK TV:

The door has been potentially opened for this to happen with Comcast's recent purchase of NBC. The fanfare would be immense and give the fans of this sport what the Boxing fans had with ABC's Wide World of Sports back in the day. Now with the ratings giant Kimbo Slice on the roster along with proven draws like Lesnar, GSP, and Penn the sky is the limit.

THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF STRIKEFORCE:

Scott Coker has been on a teat recently with the high profile signings of some of the sports greats like Fedor and Dan Henderson. In the states where UFC=MMA, Strikeforce could be the Mike Tyson of MMA leagues and finally make the UFC open it's doors to Co-Promotion to make the best possible match-ups.

SANCTIONING IN ALL STATES:

While the UFC's team of people have been doing a crack job of getting it done like the recent sanctioning in Boston, and the UFC's first trip to Philly, MMA has still yet to hit NY. Madison square garden is a pinnacle of fight venues in the county and would really mark the sports staying power when it does happen.

These are some of my MMA wishes for the next year in the fight world. For now we will probably get sh*t on our hands before some of these come true, but here's one guy who will keep trying no matter how much fiber I have to eat.