Being the what the rest of the world would call a dumb American, I assumed that Montreal was much farther away from the United States than what Google maps just showed me. The predominently French Canadian city, on the eastern side of Canada, is less than 50 miles away from the upstate New York and Vermont borders. So while the Montreal crowd will obviously be predominantly Canadian, I wouldn’t be surprised to find a few outspoken Serra supporters mixed in the crowd and ready to support their fighter…and fight against the hometown crowd. It’s New York versus Montreal at UFC 83.

Canada is known for beer, cold weather, and hockey - and the fights that come with the sport. And for the first time, the UFC will be bringing the fighting to Canada in another sport which is quickly gaining mainstream attention by the Canadian press these days. It’s a move that many hardcore fans have been talking about ever since Georges St. Pierre made Matt Hughes verbally tap out during UFC 79. It’s also a move that will make the UFC a lot of money through the nearly-instant gate sellout along with the potential Pay-Per-View numbers which may rival some of the UFC’s other big PPV events if both Canadians and U.S. fans decide to watch the event live on television. And after Matt Serra decided to call out St. Pierre as “Frenchy” last May, you just might see the most eclectic UFC crowd on television ever.

But there’s more than hometown crowds, beer, and PPV numbers when it comes down to fighting. Let’s take a look at the televised matchups, including two of the five middleweight bouts, for UFC 83. (Note to UFC: Just hold a middleweight tournament and left the winner fight Anderson Silva.)

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Got a few extra bucks to spend this weekend? Bodog and BetUS are both showing odds for UFC 83 that just might make you want to drop a few bucks on Matt Serra, Travis Lutter, or even Mark Bocek.

After watching Matt Serra dismantle Georges St. Pierre during UFC 69 last April along with St. Pierre’s domination of Matt Hughes, this fight could easily go either way. Bodog is showing lines of -500 for St. Pierre and +300 for Serra while BetUS has Serra up at +350. You could make $350 for every $100 if Serra pulls off another “upset.” It’s only an upset if Serra wins because it’s one of those fights where many are thinking St. Pierre will come away with the victory, but there’s some uncertainty. Remember the last time this happened? It was Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson and although a great fight ensued, the upset just wasn’t there. Things may change this time around if Serra doesn’t let the Montreal crowd get to him.

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…and why everyone’s so eager for it to get here.

When the UFC arrives in Canada, they will hear a chant that has become so popular that even some of the New Yorkers there may join in. And while the yell of “G-S-P, G-S-P” (even more familiar to me than “U-S-A”) may be punctuated by the occasional “eh” it won’t diminish the fact that the man they are screaming for is an icon, not just for Canadian MMA, but for everyone.

There’s something about Georges St. Pierre that people love. Maybe it’s his struggle to speak coherent English, maybe it’s getting to watch him develop on the world stage, maybe it’s just that great combination of exciting performances in the cage and amiable modesty outside of it. Frankly, even though I don’t know why, I like the guy.

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There was a very positive response to my pieces on Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson, so I figured that leading up to the fight between Serra and St. Pierre I would run a piece covering the greatest welterweight in the world and the greatest underdog the sport has ever seen. I figured that, sense Serra needs a bit more of an explanation, I’d start with him.

Matt Serra is not the most dominant fighter in the world, he is not the most dangerous fighter in the world, and he is not the most feared fighter in the world. If anything, he is the cinderella of MMA, and so many fans seem to be watching the clock like school kids at the brink of summer, waiting for it to strike midnight.

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Jon Fitch has lost his mind. If you are not sure what I am talking about, check out his post fight interview here. If you did miss it or if you are an avid UFC hater, I will break it down for you. The first sentence says it - Jon Fitch has lost his mind! First of all he says that he has earned his way to a title shot. Yes, he has won an impressive 8 in a row, bet easy fella. You are cruising for a bruising with this crazy talk. Second, he talks about about GSP being afraid to get knocked out. GSP did take one giant blow to his chin and ego, but to say he is afraid to get knocked out is like saying A-Rod is afraid of getting beaned.

On April 7th of last year, St. Pierre fought a huge underdog; a term that has been used often lately. Several times the guy favored to win hasn’t been able to do so and This proved true on that April night. GSP took a shot to the chin that rocked him, eventually leading to a Matt Serra victory. We could all be very rich people if we would have been betting the farm on Serra that night.

Since that fight, GSP has out wrestled the best wrestler in MMA and confirmed his spot at the top as he beat an aging Matt Hughes. GSP is for real - not a random fighter that will only have a short rein at the top. He is a legit champion and will be at the top for as long as he fights.

Jon Fitch, I hope you have a game plan. I hope you have seen something on tape, or you have an amazing boxing coach. Currently, Jon Fitch has racked up those 8 wins in a row and in the press conference he says that every win has been against “tough bastards”. I don’t feel that these guys are the toughest competition in the division. Right now the top guys at 170 are GSP, Serra, Matt Hughes, and Josh Koscheck. I feel that Fitch falls at number 5 below them. GSP is the champ, Serra is the top contender, Hughes is a legend, and Koscheck is just out of a fight with GSP and a win at 82. I would like to see Fitch fight Koschek before he gets his date with winner of GSP vs. Serra II, or a Diego Sanchez rematch.

Since joining the UFC Fitch has been on a tear. His most recent win was over Team Quest fighter, Chris Wilson. This turned out to be a tougher fight than many thought it would be. I actually thought Fitch was in trouble at one point, but he kept himself out of trouble and went on to win. Out of every fight that Fitch has fought in the UFC I feel that the toughest opponent has been Diego Sanchez. This is no where near the competition of the ones I mentioned earlier and at the post fight press conference Fitch had some fighting words for GSP. Jon Fitch may in fact be the one to beat GSP. In my opinion I don’t feel that he is. He’s up against a fighter who is on the top of his game and a little pissed off. Good luck with that!

1. Anderson Silva’s two top dream contenders are out. Lindland has signed with a promotion to face nobody because UFC has no interest. He is a top contender they could do SOMETHING with, even if he isn’t a draw. The second is Paulo Filho, who will stay in WEC. He and Silva simply refuse to fight, as they train together and are countrymen. I don’t get this as I’d fight anyone for the right price even if I lived in the same house as them. If you’re a fighter, you fight, right? Guess not.

2. To me UFC should market GSP and Silva as unstoppable and try to get anyone and everyone like the Lindlands in to face him, get knocked out, and try to get rid of them (the Arloski booking pre-CBS deal). If that CBS deal takes off Frank Shamrock will use it to try to spotlight his last name and his mic skills. UFC should lay out a grandstand challenge to combat this.

3. Staunch MMA purist writers (like Josh Gross and TJ Desantis) are missing the boat by failing to gain perspective through constant trial and error by MMA promoting they themselves report on. This block of thinkers/fans/MMA ideologists will never REALLY be true MMA opinion setters because they’ll only appeal to those who want to feel like the intellectual snobs of the MMA fanbase. It’s not that they are dumb, they just don’t WANT to see it as business or promotion. They don’t care to believe people want to see Lesnar and Kimbo. They can’t understand why people wouldn’t care about pretend rankings from a website. They are so called “purists”, and sport and entertainment don’t traditionally mix well in their minds.

I’ve heard them talk about Frank Shamrock. They talked about his legacy and what it is and what it could be. They talk about Frank making crazy claims about being the greatest of all time now and forever. These writers and radio hosts take claims like Shamrocks’ not only at face value, but they take the idea he would say it very seriously. They talk about a fight with Anderson Silva and what it could mean to both.

The truth is that fight will not ever happen because Shamrock isn’t a mark. A mark is generally used as a derogatory term in Pro Wrestling, but it applies to MMA as well. A mark in MMA gets wrapped up in legacy, purist fantasies, and rankings. He takes less money to travel the globe and become some pretend website pound-for-pound unified champ to bask in the glory of blog writer opinions and photographer admirations.

Shamrock, on the other hand, knows he’s got a finite few years to make the most money possible putting together the most marketable fights and promoting them with his mouth. It’s irrelevant if it is the best match nup or settles anything concrete in terms of title or rank. It’s about selling compelling fighters and an intriguing match up to the most people whether they see MMA as a sport, Ultimate Fighting, or a human cock fight. He wants the most money for the least work, though he’ll work quite hard to do it. I applaud him. takes the millions and walk away with your health.

Josh Gross’ idea (I’ll unfairly single him out) of a legacy or his website’s pretend rankings only mean something to less than 100 thousand fickle people with no perspective. Those people aren’t purists. They’re fantasy puppet masters. Frank Shamrock is a businessman.