Watercolor Talk: UFC 158: St. Pierre vs. Diaz Edition

After the dust settled following this weekend’s UFC 158 card from the sold out Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, we go back to work Monday morning with a couple of things to discuss amongst fellow fight fans. Be it in person or maybe online, or text and email, they will be the hot topics of the MMA world. Here are some of the key points to let everyone around the office know that you’re thinking what they’re thinking.

Can St. Pierre ever be beat again in the welterweight division?

Yes, it happened twice. Both times in the 1st round and both times to guys named Matt. But ever since Georges “Rush” St. Pierre (24-2) lost to Matt Hughes by armbar submission and Matt Serra by TKO over 5 years ago, it truly seems like the Canadian kingpin bounced back from those losses to not only avenge them but become even more complete and sound in his ring performances. He rarely loses a round, has unified the welterweight titles twice in his career, holds one of the best active championship winning streaks in the UFC and seems to only get better with age. For 5 rounds former UFC Interim 170 lb champion, Carlos Condit, had no answer for St. Pierre’s takedowns and striking this past November at UFC 154 and neither did former Strikeforce Champion, Nick Diaz, in this weekend’s match against Georges. Naysayers can critic that we usually see the same approach by GSP in most of his fights but the results speak for themselves and at the end of the day it’s all about keeping the title and adding another victory to the win column.

Sure, people will say that the greatest threat now is heavy handed wrestler Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks yet, we’ve already seen what a tactical and powerful wrestler can do against St. Pierre. That is get his takedowns stuffed or his eye swollen shut by that crisp GSP jab, just ask Josh Koscheck after his UFC 124 outing with the welterweight champ. Georges St. Pierre has not only proven he is the greatest 170-pound fighter to ever grace the Octagon but his accomplishments will be quite difficult to surpass. If anyone can dethrone the MMA icon it will probably be himself when he chooses to relinquish the throne. Therefore the answer is a resounding “no”, to the question of St. Pierre losing any time soon.

How much longer can Hendricks be kept under the radar?

Johnny Hendricks (15-1) went undefeated in his pro career before losing a decision to Rick Story at the TUF Team St. Pierre vs. Team Koscheck Finale. The minor setback seemingly lit a fire under the Division-1 All American as he went on to string together an impressive 6-fight win streak in the Octagon. Out of those victories; 4 of them were over top-10 ranked fighters and 3 of those wins were over former title contenders in Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch and most recently Carlos Condit at UFC 158, whom he beat via unanimous decision.  Nevertheless, the MMA masses want explosions and that’s what they’ve gotten the last couple of times that Johny stepped into the cage.

As of late, the pride of Oklahoma has developed a reputation for his dynamite-laced hands when he architected two wins by vicious KOs, both in the 1st round and both inside of 1 minute. The first happened at UFC 141 in his destruction of Jon Fitch which took all of (0:12) seconds and then at UFC 154 when he needed (0:46) seconds to annihilate Martin Kampmann. With those performances Hendricks has been clamoring for a title shot during the past year. His actions have spoken and his loyal fan base impatiently waits for him to get his justified chance at glory. So in essence, the answer to the question of “Bigg Rigg” staying underground is a harsh, “no”. The UFC has decided that Hendricks will be the next in line to challenge for the 170-pound crown. All that’s left is for a place and time to be designated for his opportunity to drape himself in UFC gold.

When will “The Juggernaut’s” time finally come?

Out of Jake “The Juggernaut’” Ellenberger ‘s last 8 UFC victories, 5 of them have been by either KO or TKO. Not only has Jake looked stellar in his triumphs but he has done so by taking wins over former title contender, Diego Sanchez and finishing former Strikeforce champions, Jake Shields and Nate Marquardt inside the 1st round of both of those encounters. The latter outcome surfacing at this past weekend’s UFC 158 event where Ellenberger leveled the former welterweight titleholder, Marquardt, with a blistering right hand that sent him toppling to the canvas. As Nate went for a single leg take down attempting to regain his composure, another deadly Ellenberger right hand shot crashed unto his temple, instantly separating Marquardt from his senses just (3:00) into the 1st round.

Ellenberger was originally scheduled to fight Johny Hendricks this past Saturday in Montreal before an injury to a fighter in the co-main event restructured the main card. Now, our imaginations will run wild wondering, what would have happened had these two ruthless assassins met in the Octagon? It’s safe to say that any match involving “The Juggernaut” will mean Jake moving closer to the 170-pound belt. As far as when will Ellenberger’s time come? You can best believe that in the UFC title picture, it’s any minute now.

Do the wins for the welterweights on the UFC 158 main card clarify the upper echelon of the division?

As much as the top ranked guys that won in Canada over the weekend helped shift the UFC deck in their favor, there are some definite threats to each and everyone that night lurking in the shadows. On a 3-fight tear is former title contender and BJJ wizard, Damien Maia who has reinvented himself at 170 lb after dropping down from middleweight. Another combatant that’s back on the winning streak too is Rick “The “Horror” Story. Rick has put together a 2-fight win streak and incidentally his most recent win was a 1st round TKO on the undercard of the UFC 158 show. Rick is the only man to beat Johny Hendricks so Rick will have plenty to say should Hendricks credentials reach championship status.

Rising star, Rory MacDonald, was originally scheduled to fight as the co-main event of UFC 158 but was sidelined to do a neck injury. The recovery time for the young gun will only make him hungrier to get back in action seeing has he has unfinished business waiting for him in the cage. Last but definitely not least, is Strikeforce 170-pound champion, Tarec Saffiedine, The Belgian warlord easily dispatched of then belt holder, Nate Marquardt, at the MMA organization’s final event to pick up the Hexagon win and Strikeforce welterweight crown. Saffiedine has yet to make his UFC debut and you can best believe that a title unification would create great interest amongst fight aficionados and do great PPV numbers.

With various fighters amped and ready to shake things up in an already talent-rich weight class, the answer to the question of there being any clarity in the UFC’s 170-pound division after UFC 158 is a simple and direct, not even close.