UFC 100 Preview: Georges St-Pierre vs. Thiago Alves

Georges St. Pierre (18-2, 12-2 UFC) vs. Thiago Alves (22-4, 9-2 UFC)

How will Georges St. Pierre  deal with the dynamic striking of Thiago Alves?

Will Alves be able to stuff takedowns from one of the best wrestlers in the sport?

Is taking this fight to the ground going to be GSP's game plan in the first place?

The truth about this fight is that we're all so eagerly anticipating it because none of these questions can be answered with complete confidence, as St. Pierre has never faced a striker on the level of American Top Team's "Pitbull," while Alves can't be sure of what the most well-rounded and complete fighter on the planet is going to do.

We won't know until Saturday night and that is what makes it so exciting.

Conventional Wisdom

The key match up will be St. Pierre's takedowns versus Alves sprawl. Many feel that St. Pierre will employ the same strategy he used against B.J. Penn to avoid Alves' Muay Thai. Alves has never had a great Jiu-Jitsu game so the last place he will want to end up is on his back.

If this proves true we could be facing a great detente, with Alves afraid to close in or throw kicks, out of fear of takedowns, while St. Pierre backs away out of fear of Alves' strikes. 

WKR Analysis

Some time ago, I proclaimed Thiago Alves the toughest challenge of Georges St. Pierre's career and I stick by that decision. However, that doesn't mean I have any greater insight into the fight than anyone else.

While Alves showed solid takedown defense against Matt Hughes, the problem St. Pierre presents is that he can switch things up on you better than anyone else. If you're expecting a takedown, he'll kick you in the head or hit you with a Superman punch. If you're expecting striking, he'll take you to the ground and as we've seen in the past, there isn't really much anyone has been able to do to stop him from imposing his will as of late.

From the other side of things, Alves is sure to fire leg kick after leg kick, looking to take the power and drive out of St-Pierre while mixing in various other strikes. While he certainly has to have some abilities on the ground coming from the camp he does, Alves is outclassed on the ground and will look to keep this standing.

Fun Fact

GSP started taking karate at age seven to defend himself against a school yard bully. I wonder what that bully is up to these days and if he has any interest in a rematch?

UFC 100 coverage