I had a chance to listen to yesterday’s Hughes-St. Pierre UFC Press Conference. The kid sounds good. Mentally, he’s all the way back. He actually seems re-energized. He’s aware the fight was put together on short notice, but he’s ready, and I think he’s got big plans for next year. In short, he’s refreshed, reinvigorated, and confident.
“He†is not Matt Hughes, who sounded pleasant, but dejected and falsely confident. He wanted that Serra match and I think he needed it (and the title if he won) as a springboard to get up for the St. Pierre rubber match. Sadly, I think he knows he’s not ready for the jump from Serra to GSP.
“He†is also not George St. Pierre, who sounds like the pound for pound best fighter in the world after defeating Koscheck in August. St. Pierre sounded aware of the challenges of taking this fight and I think it motivates him.
The “he†referred to in the opening is Dana White, who seems to finally be finding that home run trot again after being derailed by the Couture resignation and HBO let down.
White is fortunate this turnabout has played to his favor. I get the feeling listening to him that it’s also playing to his strengths. He’s not going to lose a buy for the end of the year show even with the mainstream build up via TUF for Matt Serra and Matt Hughes. He’s actually gaining a better fight and a few more hardcores who will remember to set their cell phone alarms to the date. The truth is, for all their successes over the last almost 3 years; the UFC is always playing a game of retention and addition. They want to retain distracted fans and their $40-$50 dollars each month, and this fight has a better chance of doing that when all is said and done. The audience should be bigger just given the time of the year the event is taking place. Through respect they should earn a few more fans the way they seem to add a few more sanctioning State athletic bodies each year. It’s another night when people will go home saying, “you know, that’s the third or fourth time we had fun at the bar watching UFCâ€, and maybe this time it means extra money for UFC.
Though White says he was on “suicide watch†for the first five hours after Serra had to back out, he’s probably doing cart wheels now. GSP has a good shot at winning, and if the fight goes anything like the last, he’s going to win an exciting match that leaves him open for a return soon after. That means if White’s luck has changed, he can get Serra back for a Spring fling with GSP in Montreal, Canada. And getting that set is probably even bigger to the future then this fight, because if UFC can get a victorious GSP after Hughes and Serra, a unified title, and a success up North, St. Pierre will be able to print Dana White Loonies and Toonies (Canadian currency).
I’d be relaxed and happy if I was White too. All this - and I hear the guy’s negotiating with CBS. White will surely be checking sites for illusive accolades the day after that deal gets finalized. Who doesn’t want to be the guy that says, “I lost us HBO, but I got the sport network TV!â€
E-mail John Philapavage at johnnyp@mmaopinion.com
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