The swelling on GSP's left eye doesn't show the damage inside which blurred his vision as early as the 2nd Rd.
Written by
Jude Thaddeus L. Bautista
Georges Rush St. Pierre successfully defended his UFC welterweight title, April 30, 2011 Saturday night at Toronto’s Rogers Centre in front of a 55,000 strong Canadian crowd. The unanimous decision win however, was marred by an injury he sustained from challenger Jake Shields. GSP’s left eye suffered a swelling. In between rounds, he repeatedly told trainer Greg Jackson that he could not see out of it.
GSP retained his title but was injured directly in his left eye.
During the post fight interview with commentator Joe Rogan, he admitted, “By the second round I could no longer see out of my left eye. My vision was blurry something might be scratched inside. His striking was better than expected. I’m sorry to all the fans because I didn’t get the KO.”
Mark Hominick's hematoma was so large Rogan described it as 'another head'
His countrymen were hungry for a victory after two other Canadians, Mark Hominick and Mark Bocek suffered defeats in earlier fights. Mark ‘The Machine’ Hominick made a stirring come back with a take down and ground and pound of Jose Aldo after suffering a huge hematoma on his forehead. But Hominick was way behind in the score cards and did not get the stoppage he needed to win. Aldo retained his Featherweight belt with the decision.
In spite of the cuts and hematoma Hominick was still able to take Aldo down.
The first round was dominated by GSP with jabs and kicks. St. Pierre even employed the spinning back kick to surprise his opponent. He easily stuffed the takedown attempts by Shields who is known as one of the best Jiu Jitsu fighters in the UFC. Late in the third round after scoring on more jabs, GSP scored a takedown in the last 20 seconds. Shields was able to throw five consecutive punches off his back on the left eye.
GSP's powerful head kick scores on Shields.
By the fourth round GSP scored on a head kick but was unable to put shields away. Rogan said that, “GSP is outclassing Shields on the feet but is not able to do much damage.” Shields’ trainers egged him on, sensing something was wrong with the champion. Although Shields came out more aggressive both in the 4th and 5th round he was not able to take advantage of GSP slowing down. Shields was never able to win a round in the eyes of the judges.
This is one of Shields' right hooks that may have injured GSP's left eye.
Back in September 2010, St. Pierre visited Manila as part of a promotional tour for the UFC. He was surprised at the thousands of fans that greeted him. Even local actor Dennis Trillo was one of many fans who showed up to witness a live practice session. It was several months before the GSP vs Koscheck fight. Click on link for article and pics of the Manila visit.
St. Pierre took advantage of his brief stay in the Philippines by visiting the training camp of 8 Division World Boxing Champion Manny Pacquiao. The Filipino Boxing Icon was set to acquire the vacant WBC Junior Middleweight belt against Antonio Margarito. The visit may have been more than casual as the MMA champ was able to personally consult with Pacquiao’s famous trainer: Freddie Roach. None of the sportswriter’s here or abroad had any inkling that GSP would use Roach’s training as a secret weapon against Koscheck. Or that he would even seriously train with Roach.
A product of Freddie Roach's training on GSP are the accurate jabs that destroyed Koscheck's right eye. Click on pic to compare the damage on Margarito's face.
Josh Koscheck was an NCAA wrestling champ and had very strong takedowns and ground game. GSP was athletic and skilled enough to defend the powerful takedowns by Koscheck. The stand up game or striking was the realm where the champion would have to find his offense. He improved it with a very quick, powerful and accurate jab. So much so that Koscheck’s face suffered severe swelling in the right eye. There was no knock out or stoppage but Koscheck was so dominated by GSP’s accurate punching that the win was overwhelming. An examination of the face of Antonio Margarito and Josh Koscheck would show very similar damage in the same areas. The Roach signature was written on both fighters’ faces. Click on this link for details of Pacquiao Margarito fight. The jab and cross were also successfully utilized by GSP on Shields. If not for the left eye injury, GSP may have possibly earned a stoppage.
Moving Up in Weight Class is Difficult
After earning the unanimous decision victory win against Jake Shields, Joe Rogan asked GSP about moving up in weight class to challenge UFC Middleweight champ Anderson Silva. He said he could not make a decision yet at that time and had a lot of other things to consider. During his Manila visit he was also asked the same question but was clearer with his answer. He said that, “Moving up in weight is very difficult on the body and is not a simple thing to do.” It was more definite to fans and observers that it wasn’t in his immediate plans to move up in weight class. As a GSP fan myself I understand how challenging it is for fighters to move up, I agree with him completely.
Assuming you get to the weight free of fat and maintaining your speed, quickness and strength, you have to contend with bigger fighters. Anderson Silva is without a doubt, taller and stronger than GSP. There’s no shame in GSP staying as a welterweight, if that is his decision.
A clean GSP face during a cellphone interview by a Sports writer a week before UFC 129
It just makes the achievements of our own champion Manny Pacquiao even more remarkable. Pacquiao has moved up in weight a total of eight times. Margarito was definitely taller and stronger and yet Pacquiao completely dominated the fight. Margarito needed to have his orbital bone (around the eyes) repaired due to the countless punches he received. Oscar Dela Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton were all taller and heavier than Pacquiao and they all became his victims. The odds are stacked against ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley vs Pacquiao on May 8th, 2011 but will still be an exciting fight.
If St. Pierre’s eye injury is severe enough to permanently bother his vision, it may be cause for him to retire. Let’s hope that he recovers and still goes on to have more exciting fights and defend his title again at least several more times. If he retires the UFC will lose its most athletically gifted and gallant champion.
Text and Photos by Jude Bautista