And the answer is written: Georges St-Pierre proved he’s still the best in the welterweight business in front of a packed Bell Centre arena in Montreal, Canada, where UFC 154 unfolded this Saturday.
Steven Siler vs. Darren Elkins
In the featherweight division, Darren Elkins controlled the action in the first fight of the night and won by unanimous decision. Elkins played from the top and was able to attack with a vicious guillotine in round 1 and nearly pulled off a rear-naked choked in round 2, but in round three he had to even survive a choke attempt himself before getting things back under control before handing the fight to the judges and winning via decision.
Elkins goes for a guillotine attempt in round 1 during his bout at UFC 154, in Montreal, Canada
Ivan Menjivar vs. Azamat Gashimov
This fight lasted barely more than two minutes. Starting out from his guard, El Salvadorean fighter Menjivar caught Azamat Gashimov with a tight armbar to end the action.
Ivan Menjivar extends Azamat Gashimov’s arm to win at UFC 154
Matt Riddle vs. John Maguire
Keeping the action on the feet for most of the fight, Riddle takes the unanimous decision and despite all the cheering, he apologizes for (a supposed) lack of action.
UFC 154: Matt Riddle excites the crown in between rounds.
Antonio Carvalho vs. Rodrigo Damm
Without any exciting exchanging over the three rounds, Antonio Carvalho takes the fight by split decision. The edge was surely the leg kicks Antonio was able to connect.
Sam Stout vs. John Makdessi
And the “Bull” John Makdessi makes the most of a string of vicious jabs to edge out Stout via unanimous decision.
Cyrille Diabate vs. Chad Griggs
And the Frenchman Cyrille Diabate brought some 2 minutes and 24 seconds of excitement to the Bell Centre, as landed an accurate straight fist and, a few moments later, ended the bout with a tight choke from the back.
Patrick Cote vs. Alessio Sakara
The last fight on the undercard ended in controversy, as Sakara dropped Cote with some powerful elbows but finished the fight with strikes to the back the head and was disqualified, throwing away what seemed to be a quick win.
Mark Hominick vs. Pablo Garza
After imposing damaging ground and pound for the last two rounds, an emotional Pablo Garza took the unanimous decision over Mark Hominick. The even first round was one of the best of the night by that point.
Pablo Garza leans towards Mark Hominick on the way to winning at UFC 154.
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Mark Bocek
In what could be considered his best performance ever, Rafael Dos Anjos dominated Bocek to earn the unanimous decision. The Brazilian stopped all takedown attempts from the skilled opponent and got the best of him in all aspects of the bout: endurance, grappling, takedowns and striking.
Rafael dos Anjos displayed off-the-curve athleticism in his victory over Bocek on UFC 154.
Francis Carmont vs. Tom Lawlor
Although nothing really determinant happened during the match, Tom Lawlor did get most of the takedowns and submission attempts, which wasn’t enough to convince the judges he was the best man in the octagon at that point in the night, and thus Francis Carmont was handed the split decision.
Martin Kampmann vs. Johny Hendricks
Kampmann’s back landed on the canvas heavy like a cement bag a fraction of second after Hendricks’s left fist slammed into the Danish bruiser’s face. Certainly not the fight of the night, as the UFC president had predicted, but it was definitely the KO of the night.
Johny Hendricks’s left hand rears its head again, against Kampmann at UFC 154
Georges St.-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit
“The things we don’t see are the most dangerous things, and I never saw that kick”, said the champion, complimenting Carlos Condit’s on his efforts from the third round. But, atthe end of the day, the Canadian Georges St-Pierre was the one wearing the belt once again after a fifth round was over. He earned the unanimous decision displaying accurate takedowns, great ground and pound, and lots of pressure. To Condit’s credit, he displayed true gameness, a skilled guard, and bright moments, specially the third-round kick and a good punch in the fourth but that all fell short against a champion with a lion’s heart.
GSP is interviewed by Joe Rogan after arguably his toughest fight ever.
UFC 154
Bell Centre, Montreal, Canada
November 17, 2012
Georges Saint-Pierre defeated Carlos Condit via unanimous judges’ decision;
Johny Hendricks knocked out Martin Kampmann at 45 seconds of R1;
Francis Carmont defeated Tom Lawlor via split decision;
Rafael dos Anjos defeated Mark Bocek via unanimous decision;
Pablo Garza defeated Mark Hominick via unanimous decision.
Under card
Patrick Cote defeated Alessio Sakara via disqualification (strikes to back of head) at 1:26 min of R1;
Cyrille Diabate subbed Chad Griggs via rear-naked choke at 2:24 min of R1;
John Makdessi defeated Sam Stout via unanimous decision;
Antonio Carvalho defeated Rodrigo Damm via split decision;
Matthew Riddle defeated John Maguire via unanimous decision;
Ivan Menjivar subbed Azamat Gashimov via armbar at 2:44 min of R1;
Darren Elkins defeated Steven Stiler via unanimous decision.