It was a match-up that had been building momentum during the 12th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and finally came to a head at UFC 124 – Montreal-native Georges St-Pierre defeated Josh Koscheck to the delight of his hometown fans at the Bell Centre Saturday night.
After five gruelling rounds and continuous chants of “GSP, GSP” (or “F*CK YOU KOSCHECK!”), St-Pierre was unanimously chosen as the winner. It was his second time beating Koscheck, and the victory helped the popular Canadian fighter defend his welterweight title.
“I know Josh Koscheck – he likes to throw his punches in a circular motion,” St-Pierre said at a post-fight press conference. “My game plan was to stay on the outside. If I stayed in the pocket with him and started throwing circular punches, it would have been like taking a coin and flipping it to see who lands first. I saw his eye was closed and I tried with hooks to finish [him] but he’s very tough.”
Even though it was an incredible match-up, St-Pierre had said earlier in the week that he wanted to defeat Koscheck with a knockout, and when asked about this post-fight he was quick to admit that this win wasn’t necessarily his best. “It was a good fight, very entertaining, but I wanted to finish him. That was my goal and I didn’t reach my goal.”
Of course, with another victory under his (welterweight) belt, questions as to whether St-Pierre will take on Anderson Silva next ran rampant following the match-up. “My job is to give people the fight that they want to see… We’ll see what happens,” UFC president Dana White said.
