UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre is no stranger to criticism, in fact, it's quite common to see him described as "boring" after each of his most recent title defenses. The criticism comes from fans, media, and even other fighters. One such fighter is former UFC welterweight champion, and former rival to GSP, Matt Hughes. Matt Hughes gave his opinion on GSP's performance against Josh Koscheck in a recent blog post at Matt-Hughes.com:
Well, I haven’t talked to you guys since the GSP fight so I’m going to say this, even though I’m going to piss a bunch of people off. To me the GSP fight was boring and I’m even going to tell you why I think it was boring: because I believe GSP is on defense. Number one, he doesn’t want to lose the belt and, number two, I think the UFC is paying him too much money and he doesn’t want to lose that either. I don’t know what’s going on in his mind; but he just doesn’t seem like he wants to finish anybody.
In the main event of UFC 124 the champion battered Koscheck for five rounds, breaking his orbital bone and causing his eye to swell completely shut very early in the fight. A big point that is brought up, is that GSP couldn't finish a one eyed man, which is an understandable complaint. If GSP couldn't finish a half blind Josh Koscheck, will he be willing to go after any opponent with enough aggression to score a finish on the feet?
If Georges St. Pierre wants to put on twenty five minute displays of his skill and finesse, I cannot complain, but I believe the champion is becoming frustrated with himself in regards to not being able to finish any of his recent opponents. He has a perfect opportunity to score a finish against Jake Shields at UFC 129 in Toronto, with Jake Shields' stand up leaving much to be desired. What if he cannot finish Shields though? There may be more backlash than ever before if the champion isn't capable of stopping Shields, as his kick boxing is significantly superior in comparison. An exciting finish at such a large event as UFC 129 is shaping up to be could be exactly what Georges St. Pierre needs to further increase his popularity among fans...time will tell if he is willing to go to far enough lengths to secure it though.
Photo via Sherdog.com
