UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on August 9 has main event.
Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (16-2) will put his 170-pound strap on the line against top contender Jon Fitch (17-2), setting the stage for what should be an exciting showdown in the “North Star State.”
St. Pierre recently reclaimed the belt, defeating Matt Serra at UFC 83: “Serra vs. St. Pierre 2″ via second round technical knockout in front of a hometown crowd in Montreal, Canada, last month.
“Rush” — who is widely considered the top pound-for-pound mixed martial artist on the planet — has a ridiculous hit list inside the Octagon. He has been in against the best in the world such as Matt Hughes (three times), BJ Penn, Sean Sherk, Josh Koscheck and Jason Miller, among others, and has been successful.
His opponent, too, has had his share of success within the eight-sided cage. In fact, Fitch is undefeated in eight attempts, tying him with Royce Gracie for the most all-time consecutive UFC wins.
Fitch outlasted Chris Wilson at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” back in March, earning a unanimous decision nod from the judges. He boasts wins over Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves and Brock Larson, among others, during a three-year stretch for the promotion.
It should be interesting to see how this fight unfolds — St. Pierre has made a point recently to beat his opponents at their strengths. And Fitch has a strong wrestling background.
Or will St. Pierre take the bait that Fitch served up recently, saying St. Pierre is now afraid to get knocked out after the loss to Serra in their first encounter.
I can already here the hype machine warming up with the sound byte.
The title bout between St. Pierre and Fitch will join the co-feature of the evening — a heavyweight clash between Brock Lesnar and a soon to be named opponent — recent Hall of Fame inductee, Mark Coleman, has been scratched from the bout because of an injury.
In other action, a lightweight eliminator match between Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta has been booked for the pay-per-view (PPV) to determine the top seed in the 155-pound division.
Stay tuned for more details.
138 Comments »
Lets Get It On!!!
Can someone please start tracking GSP’s personal life, because after Fitch pulls the biggest upset of ‘08 I don’t want to hear a bunch of guys on this site talking about how GSP’s best bottle of wine went bad, or his dog had a bad case of the shits…
Fitch will bring 110% heart and will make for a great fight!
LMFAO!!!!
Agreed - no f’n excuses when Fitch pulls the upset. I know that very few people think he has a shot, but he’s got an intangeable way of going about his business. NO EXCUSES!
I’m so sick of GSP’s excuses when he loses. He always has some bullshit reason. Does he think that none of the other fighters has anything going on in their lives? But they don’t blame it on outside influences when they lose. Everyone says he is such an awesome fighter but he couldn’t even defend his belt against a chump like Matt Serra (which by the way I pray they give Matt Hughes his shot at Serr). I’m picking Jon Fitch to shock the world and I think he is gonna make a lot of bloggers eat their words.
Called it.
WAR FITCH.
I know you can’t be serious…Fitch has about less chance of winning than Serra did…
I’ll take Florian….and Brock, there not gonna match him up against anyone worthy….I’m waiting to see who GSP will take on next. It wont be Penn cause Sherk is gonna dismantle him this weekend. But in all honesty Fitch really has no shot at beating him, 8-0 which I will say is very impressive…But other than Diego ( which i think diego won) who has he beat ? Hughes ? Kos ? Serra ? Davis ? NO !
LOL he bet Alves. What fight were you watching when he fought Diego. He handled him pretty easily in my opinion. I think GSP will handle him as he handled Sherk who is a strong wrestler about the caliber of Fitch.
I think that Fitch is GSP’s next highlight finish, but I do agree that Fitch CLEARLY won the fight against dirty sanchez. Was that a split decision?? I remember it being pretty one-sided.
Does Fitch have an advantage in any aspect of this fight? I dont think so.
Not really.
None!
this fight will last exactly 1 minute 34 seconds…and then we will finally get to see BJ become the ww champion sometime around the new years show!!
amen to that it.
I really love the BJ vs George match up. I will pray for it every night till it happens.
And St. Pierre Silva is almost as good. Either one of those has the potential to be the greatest fight of all time
I don’t know why everyone thinks champions should start jumping divisions. Would watching those fights be cool? Yeah. But if it aint broke, don’t fix it. I don’t see it happening. Lord knows TUF puts a belt on hold for 9-10 months each year. Can you imagine the holdup if 1 guy held two belts?
GSP will most likely win this fight but it will not be over quickly. Funny how so many people are hating on Fitch, but I see Fitch as GSP’s stiffest competition out of anyone currently fighting in the UFC’s Welterweight division….This will be the most competitive GSP fight that we have seen him in since he fought BJ Penn. I think GSP will hold on to the title but it wont be over in a round or 2, I bet anything on that!.. I can see GSP winning in the 4th round or via decision.
Easy fight to bet on IMO, but it will be a very competitive and exciting fight to watch that will probably last over 20 minutes.
My wager will be GSP/OVERS and I wont change my mind about that.
As a matter of fact, I will probably bet the OVERS straight as well because neither fighter can beat the other in less then 12 minutes and 30 seconds…This fight will be a WAR and will give us fans our money’s worth for sure!
Fitch wont make it out of the second. Bank on it.
John, you said the same thing about GSP’s last 2 fights Hughes and Serra , that they would be close fights. They were so one sided that Hughes and Serra looked like amatures and they didn’t even belong in the UFC. Fitch is good, but GSP is on another level now. Hughes and Fitch would be a good fight, but GSP will roll through Fitch within 2 rounds. Don’t make that bet.
to who ever thinks st pierre has a chance with silvea has to be smoken something good and i want some cause that seems to me to be just another victim of silva.
cause yeah st pierre is good but if the same silva that fought DANGEROUS DAN HENDERSON i would expect PIERRE to get knocked out for a record breaking time of 6 seconds
I think you could possibly make the argument that Fitch is relatively unflappable. I don’t know if that would be enough to slow down the speeding GSP train, but it may be worth considering as St. Pierre has yet to successfully defend his title.
What’s to consider? The one time he attempted to defend it, he was going through the worst time of his life and he lost to Serra, big deal. Did you miss his last 3 fights? That loss made him into the animal he is now. Mark my word, he will run through Fitch like he did Hughes and Serra.
This just turned into a very good card! St. Pierre vs. Fitch and Florian vs. Huerta are two really good fights. Anything else is just icing on the cake. And Brock vs. Coleman is a really big cherry on top.
make that Brock vs. Carwin… I hope
Whoa when did Coleman get hurt? I guess the McCully vs. Lesnar fight will more than likely happen.
Not a bad card at all! Ken vs Roger is solid, if not great match up and Fitch is a good 1 contender. I can deal with out Coleman vs Lesner. As long as I get 2 solid match ups with implications, I’m satisfid with my pay per views.
GSP will OWN his ass so F*cken bad I almost don’t want to watch.
Hey Mania… You guys gonna throw up some fight rankings or just leave those to sherdog?
Sherdog’s LW rankings are a jok.
Yeah Mania you should have your own fighter rankings! Do it now.
Thats an awesome card Fitch will definately give St pierre a run for his money. Ya fitch looked horrible in his last fight but he will perform different against GSP. Huerta is gonna get outclassed by Florian very good fight though
If i was Coleman, I would have hired a friend to hit me with a bat. What was he thinking having his comeback fight be against a younger, faster, stronger, wrestler? He should just focus on making my camping stove work better.
LMFAO! that was classic
Hey mania… You guys gonna throw up some rankings or leave those to the “other guys”?
I am so going to get this though…on the pay per view.
i knew something more was gonna get added just not wich one.
Very interesting fight Fitch will give GSP a run for his money for sure. He looked awful his last fight but this time he’ll be prepared. Huerta and Florian awesome fight
The only advantage Fitch has is that he’s the underdog, so less pressure.
That’s not an advantage, GSP thrives on pressure.
ok how does pierre thrive on pressure yeah he had a bad time of the year when he lost to serra in their first fight but the pressure there shuold have made him better in your mind i don’t understand and for some reason all you pierre lovers seem to only pass on the fact that PIERRE makes the most excuses out of anyone i have seen fight even the women in elite XC don’t make excuses case in point
1.when he fought hughs the first time he said i lost the fight befor it started cause i was fighting someone i look up to BULLSH*&
2.when he fought BJ PENN he said he was poked in the eye with a punch thats why PENN dominated him in the first round BULLSHYTE if you watch the match in slow play it was a knuckle not a finger just another excuse
3.when he fought serra the first time he was having problems in his life and he supposedley took the fight lightley now thats funny complain more when you get the shyte knocked out of you
people who think he may lose this fight may be right cause he hasn’t shown anything to say he will be able to defend the title again cause fitch has nothing to lose and pierre has everything to loseso i think this fight is going to be a good one but i see no way that PIERRE is going to dominate FITCH he may win but either late choke maybe round 4 or 5 or decision but this fight will show how good FITCH is and show alot of holes in PIERRES game
You gotta be kiddin’ me… GSP accepts his losses gracefully, just as Fitch will when he loses this next bout.
colemans’ out the best news i’ve heard today.. its hard to get up for a lesnar v. coleman fight..
Yeah when did Coleman get hurt???? Well Maniacs twist your mind on this how about Brock Lesnar Vs. Andre Arlovski if the UFC signs him… it’s lesnar’s home town so they might do like when they gave Bisping Elvis Sinosic I hope not Brock needs quality opponents how about Kongo???
All I can say is nice! The UFC comes through! Who cares about Coleman anyways. If Carwin lives up to what I have heard about him this weekend they should throw him at Brock. Those 2 are real HW.
If you look at Carwins fights he’s basically a Lesnar. The only reason he’s stopped 8 guys is cause they were chumps. Lesnar would put Carwin on his back and GnP his ass.
Who has Brock fought that makes you so sure he would win?
Possible replacements for Coleman:
Eddie Sanchez
Justin McCully
Gabriel Gonzaga (Not likely but still)
Shane Carwin/Christian Wellisch winner
Let’s hope it’s Carwin. I don’t think they’d take a chance on Gonzaga knocking out another one of their golden boys. Unfortunately, McCully or Sanchez will most likely serve as a sacrificial lamb chop.
Hell with that last post I say GABRIEL GONZAGA VS BROCK LESNAR NOW THATS A FIGHT!
sounds good to me.
how about HERRING V. LESNAR.
Nice.
even better.
i hate lesner so very bad
Balls,
Why?
Everybody hates Lesnar. Even the people that like Lesnar, actually hate him.
lesnar*
I like Fitch but he is going to get out-wrestled and pounded into submission. GSP via TKO in 2.
Best damn news I have heard all day.
This is the suckiest main event ever!!!!Fitch dont even have a chance what a waste ….Man dana you must be desperate now….i sure hope the undercard has something to it!
What?
This is an awesome fight to headline. I know your boy has a beef with Dana, but damn Ortiz, you really are just a blind follower of a washed up has been.
What are you talking about? What other fighter at 170 deserves a title shot more than Fitch? What are you on? lol
Ah this is awesome news. GSP vs Fitch finally, sweet. And i think Herring would be best to face Lesnar, i mean it could put him off being a contender if he loses, no one wants to see Nog Vs. Herring 4. They should give Gonzaga someone really easy, easier than Lesnar. They don’t want him losing 3 in a row, that usually means your gone if that happens but hey if he loses 3 in a row that’s his own fault right, but i can’t see the ufc wanting to get rid of Gonzaga seeing as they’re isn’t many HW’s right now in the ufc.
If GG fought Lesner it would more likely be 2 loses in a row for Lesnar (His first 2,to boot). Herring would be the perfect opponent for Brock, but GG has way to many ways to win for the UFC to risk their new (WWE fan pleasing) star.
yes! GSP back in action and no way fitch is taking that belt!
Awesome. Shaping up to be a good card.
THANK GOD!!!!!!!!
GSP. Easy fight, easy money. Just like I said the last 3 GSP fights. A walk in the park, a slice of pie. There’s a slight breeze, the birds are chirping, just a very simple walk in the park.
Just like you said in his last 3 fights. I guarantee you said that about his last 4 fights, and you’re shootin 75%. Not gonna be a walk in the park, but he should come out victorious.
yeah you’re right hahahaha. I did say that 4 fights ago. But I honestly think he is head and shoulders above everyone alse at WW.
this will be gsp’s toughest fight since b.j., but i cant see fitch winning this one. how good can he fight off his back(where he will be) is the big question.
Good point.
maybe the fight of the year,winner fights jake sheilds ,cuz after his xc bill is done, hes comin
Didnt he sign an extention last month?
That’s what I heard. Four more fights, I think.
GSP vs Fitch is gonna be a heck of a fight. Jon Fitch can (but wont in my opinion) beat GSP. Thing is, GSP is not gonna be losing that belt this time around. He’s gonna be on a mission to wreck the welterweight division and set up the mega-fight between Anderson Silva and himself.
Also, I’m pretty impressed that the UFC is possibly creating the best card of the year outside of Vegas. Along with GSP vs Fitch, you’ve got a huge fight in Lesnar vs Coleman, and Florian vs Huerta is a huge fight setting up the next showdown for the winner of Penn vs Sherk.
Also, everyone who just said that BJ Penn was gonna be reclaiming the welterweight title, you’re delusional. BJ Penn has beaten two top fighters: Matt Hughes, who he later lost to, and Gomi, who Sherdog still ranks as the top lightweight fighter in the world.
Sherdog isn’t the end all be all of MMA coverage (MMAMania is, correct?) but according to their independent rankings, Penn isn’t listed in the top 10 welterweights, and he’s #4 in lightweights, which is his division.
BJ Penn is a good fighter. Great Skills. Great ability. Absolutely 0 heart. He’ll never be a great fighter, only a good fighter, because he has no heart. Once the bell sounds for round 3 of any fight, you’re gonna see BJ give up. And Saturday night, if BJ doesn’t finish Sherk in the first 2 rounds, you’re gonna see it again.
wow you know yourstuff about mma huh cause against the cardio machine you were dear wrong penn didn’t gas he looked the same at the end of round 3 after he knocked the shit out of sherk as he did befor the fight and for your information that makes him #1 light weight and the reason he isn’t in the top 10 ww is cause he isn’t considered a ww but he can handle almost all if not all the ww division when he trains for it and he does have heart how do you explain him during hughs -penn 2 he was getting pounded in the face in a reverse iron cross and he never gave up now GSP if he were in that situation he would tap quick and easy
The UFC paid Colman to retire and the “pitbull” will be fighting Brock…Mark my golden words!
too soon. herring or gonzaga 1rst, then a.a. this is assuming arlovski is still alive! what gives?
I realy hope you are right
Fitch has earned it.
He will get better from fighting GSP.
I don’t think anyone will outclass George standing or on the ground right now, so I see things going way of tko (strikes) Deep into the 3rd round.
I think Fitch could potentially beat George, but like GSP himself had to do, Fitch hasn’t really had any UFC bumps yet. I think if he does lose to the champ, he will really tighten up his game and pose a real threat in a rematch
scenario.
Then again, He’s good enough to be #1 and it’s always just a fight. Everyones capable at this level.
All the trigger happy moaners that were bitching about this being a low quality event have just been shut up. Love em or hate em UFC delivers more quality fight nights more regularly than anyone else and we should be grateful. I think they will also add another high quality bout or two just to flex their muscles in light of the new ‘competition’.
right on!
Yeah, who else is giving us good fights almost every month.
jon fitch is good but hes only fought one top ten guy and that was diego sanchez, which he bearly won by decision,
GSP ALL THE WAY!!!
Didn’t Thiago Alves just stop Karo? Fitch destroyed Alves.
F GSP. i hope Jon RNC this fairy and pops his head off. for some reason before i even clicked on the headline i knew there was gonna be extreme amounts of GSP nutsuckers.GOD i love hating GSP!!! GO FITCH
I know what ya mean. I love to hate Liddell. lol
lol
I don’t know why you love hating GSP. All that has come of this hatered, is you have looked like a tool, constantly saying he is overrated and being WRONG on all the guys you said would beat him. You’re just in for another dissapointment when GSP OWNS Fitch. You would be MUCH better off to hate him SILENTLY, because you have been nothing but WRONG, when you talk about GSP.
Relax Gord, Everyone on this site has a successful fighter they can’t stand for some reason or another. Sometimes it’s just fun to root against somebody. Makes it interesting. Me? It’s Bisping. Don’t even hate the guy, just a lot of his fans. lol
No doubt, everyone is entitled to their opinions and it wouldn’t be much fun debating if everyone shared the same ones, but to say “GSP is overrated” and “who has he fought” is just PLAIN DUMB and if you say DUMB things on this forum you will be called on it,sorry.
now bispig is one of the most over rated fighter UFC has he clearley lost to the deaf matt hamill and didn’t do to bad against rashad but he did lose in my eyes and he complained so after that he got scared of being cut from the UFC so he went to the middle weight division wich if he gets a championship fight after awhile he will lose to SILVA and go down in weight but i bet he loses in middle weight befor that ever has a chance to happen
WOW!! What a tool! You have no clue how stupid you sound do you?
Fitch will be the new champ in August. hate to tell you guys, but he a more durable fighter and a better wrestler imo. And Coleman being out is even better news, lets see a real fight, Carwin or Arlovski or Kongo.
It doesn’t matter if he is a better wrestler, because Hughes, Sherk, Kos, Trigg where all better wrestlers,(SUPPOSEDLY)LOL. What makes Fitch more durable? How much more durable can you get than RAPING the only 2 guys that beat you. If something isn’t durable, it breaks down, wears out prematurely or can’t go the distance.LOL This is exactly what GSP does to his opponents, he makes THEM nondurable.