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UFC 154 takes place Nov. 17 at Montreal’s Bell Centre. The big event heading to Canada also brings with it the highly anticipated return of the welterweight champion George St-Pierre (16-2 UFC) as he is set to step back in the octagon after over a year absence and defend his title against interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit (5-1 UFC). Both guys train out of the same camp and have a great deal of respect for one another.

The last time GSP stepped into the cage was against Jake Shields April 30th, 2011 at UFC 129. GSP is considered by many to be the number 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but will the old GSP show up or a man with so many injuries that he hasn’t fought in forever?

The last time GSP fought, Jose Aldo was fighting Mark Hominick, Randy Couture was getting “Segal” kicked in the face by Lyoto Machida, guys like Ben Henderson ( current lightweight champ) were making their debuts and Nate Diaz was still fighting at welterweight.

GSP has been on the shelf so long trying to recuperate, but has he? The thing you do know, is that Carlos Condit is healthy. The last time he fought was February 4th, 2012 at UFC 143 in a unanimous decision win over former top contender Nick Diaz. So he’s definitely ready for a 5 round war. Anyone who knows GSP, knows that the fight will more than likely go to a decision.

The last time GSP finished anybody it was a corner stoppage against BJ Penn in 2009 at UFC 94 in what is still considered a controversial call.  In between rounds one and two, as well as round three,one of St-Pierre’s cornermen, Phil Nurse, was seen applying petroleum jelly (brand name Vaseline) on the shoulder and the back of St-Pierre by members of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

Vaseline is used to aid cuts in boxing as well as MMA, but applying it to parts of the body other than the face is illegal because of the element of grappling in the sport. A fighter that is “slippery” as a result of the vaseline will have an added advantage, because friction and grip are compromised. UFC President Dana White addressed the issue during a radio appearance in Boston, Massachusetts. He indicated that he did not believe the vaseline influenced the outcome of the fight, but still expected Nurse to be punished.

I honestly don’t know how people think that GSP is the number 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world when he wasn’t able to finish Dan Hardy after having him in multiple submission holds or other fighters who were lacking wrestling skills such as Thiago Alves.

Or how he can break Josh Koscheck‘s orbital bone in the first round and not get the finish? I give GSP credit where credit is do, but that’s like giving Jon Fitch props for laying on guys. Guys like Anderson Silva finish fights, even if there is 30 seconds left in the round and they have been losing the whole time. True champs finish their fights and GSP has went to a decision in his last four.

Either way, fans will tune in to see the return of “one of the best fighters” in the world. But will we be in for a rude awaking when Condit knocks GSP out in the second round? GSP will always have a legacy of being known as one of the top welterweights in the sport, but I believe that the torch will be passed at UFC 154 when Condit becomes the new undisputed welterweight champion.

GSP has been out so long that big names like Rory MacDonald, Condit, Diaz and others have captured the spotlight. GSP will have to earn this back in my opinion and won’t succeed as far as I’m concerned.

The UFC’s traditional pre-event show returns next month with the debut of “Countdown to UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit” on FUEL TV.  The show debuts Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT). Stop back at mma-freak.com for round by round analysis and updates as the fight card progresses.

Watch the extended preview of UFC 154 in the video below.


Video Courtesy of the UFC..

The full UFC 154 card now includes: MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Georges St-Pierre vs. interim champ Carlos Condit (welterweight-title unification)
  • Johny Hendricks vs. Martin Kampmann
  • Tom Lawlor vs. Francis Carmont
  • Constantinos Philippou vs. Nick Ring
  • Mark Hominick vs. Pablo Garza

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Patrick Cote vs. Alessio Sakara
  • Cyrille Diabate vs. Chad Griggs
  • John Makdessi vs. Sam Stout
  • Mark Bocek vs. Rafael dos Anjos

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Antonio Carvalho vs. Rodrigo Damm
  • Azamat Gashimov vs. Ivan Menjivar
  • Darren Elkins vs. Steven Siler
  • Besam Yousef vs. Matt Riddle