GSP and the unknown

2011 was a forgettable year for Georges St Pierre. He last defended his title in April of 2011 against former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields. To say that the fight was not a good one would be an understatement. GSP fought very cautiously and with poor technique (winging overhand rights that were missing by a mile) and Shields gave up on his bread and butter (takedowns) in the first round. What we were then treated to was a sloppy kickboxing fest by both fighters, highlighted by either an eye poke or knuckle to the eye that blurred GSP’s vision. The shame is that this was a great fight card from top to bottom and Shields/GSP as a headliner left everyone at the party at my house with a bad taste in their mouth. Granted, everyone can have a bad night and this seems to be the case for both gentleman.

Dana White then decided to bring over Nick Diaz from Strikeforce to challenge GSP. After a crazy turn of events, Diaz faced BJ, Diaz re-gained his title shot, Condit lost his title shot against GSP, GSP tore his ACL and then Diaz/Condit was announced as an interim bout. Confused? You should be. Moving on, GSP will be out of action for a while. There are varying time speculations but most believe he’ll be out for all of 2012. My question is what type of division will GSP be returning to? We’ve already seen Johnny Hendricks with a spectacular knockout of Jon Fitch in 12 seconds, Jake Ellenberger with a fantastic knockout of Jake Shields in the first round and the eventual winner of Condit/Diaz for the interim strap. With due respect to GSP, what type of fighter will he be when he returns? He’ll be coming off major knee surgery, will be looking at roughly a year and a half out of the cage and will (obviously) be a year and a half older. I’m not convinced he’ll have the same explosiveness that he had prior to the surgery and I believe ring rust will play a major role in him struggling. GSP has become a fighter that relies on exploding through takedowns and using his footwork to avoid punches. How big of a factor will surgery on his knee play in him slowing down? Will his age (roughly 32 when he returns) also be a determining factor in his recovery time and success? That being said, if anyone could overcome these obstacles it’s GSP but at what point does Father Time take over and override your mental fortitude?

I think it’d be a shame for any fighter to face what GSP is facing but he is facing dire circumstances in his return. I’m not the biggest fan of GSP but I do hope he is able to return at 100% to defend his title. Nobody wants to see Ellenberger/Hendricks/Condit/Diaz beat a GSP that is not at full strength. Best of luck to GSP in his recovery and I can’t wait for a wide open welterweight division full of nasty fighters in 2012.