UFC 154: Georges St. Pierre vs. Carlos Condit Head-to-Head

Striking: 55-45 Condit

That’s where Carlos Condit has a clear advantage over Georges St. Pierre. The way Condit was executing striking combinations against Nick Diaz really showed the quality of his stand-up skills. More than anything, Condit’s second to none timing is what truly makes him “The Natural Born Killer” Georges St. Pierre will be facing inside the Octagon. Yes, GSP might have more experience and has a very deep striking arsenal as well. Every single one of his techniques is deadly, but I think NBK’s advantage in that department will be visible from the first seconds of the fight.

Carlos Condit’s Main Technique: NBK will keep it simple but deadly. Watch out for 1-2 combinations followed by a low/mid/high kick.

GSP’s Main Technique: Jab. Jab. Jab. This is how GSP will maintain distance for a perfect takedown.

Fights to watch: Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz (UFC 143), GSP vs. Koscheck (UFC 124)

Wrestling: 75-25 St. Pierre

Wrestling is GSP’s Realm of Terror (Diablo III reference). That’s where he has advantage against every Lightweight, Welterweight, and Middleweight in the UFC. Carlos Condit will find it extremely hard to defend St. Pierre’s takedown, and personally, I think we can expect the replay of GSP’s fight with Dan Hardy. GSP’s knee is a huge X-Factor here. If it’s as good as it was before, we will see Condit fighting off his back most of the time. If not, GSP will be forced to deal with “The Natural Born Killer” on his feet.

Carlos Condit’s Main Technique: Dirty Boxing / Thai Clinch. Those are excellent control techniques that will help Carlos Condit at the fence. That’s where Condit will find himself, if he’s able to defend St. Pierre’s takedown attempt.

GSP’s Main Technique: St. Pierre’s Ground-and-Pound is legendary. Once GSP puts Carlos Condit on his back, he will be looking to unleash fury with powerful, well-timed strikes from the top.

Fights to watch: GSP vs. Thiago Alves (UFC 100), Carlos Condit vs. Dong-Hyun Kim (UFC 132)

BJJ / Grappling: 50-50

This one is pretty equal. I might give a small advantage to Georges St. Pierre. The thing that really gives him an edge is his ability to capitalize on his opponent’s mistakes. If GSP sees an opening to submit Carlos Condit, he will go “for the kill”. But will we see a mistake from Condit? Interim champ has 13 Submission victories on his record, some of them are against high level BJJ black belts, but then again, none of those victories are in the UFC. Condit can definitely pull a trick or two off his sleeve. It’s also important to note that most of NBK’s submission victories are Kimura’s, Triangle Chokes and Armbars. GSP is better watch out.

Carlos Condit’s Main Technique: Triangle Choke and/or Armbar. GSP’s posture on top could leave an opening for an armbar attempt. Condit will have only a handful of those chances during the fight, so he better use them well.

GSP’s Main Technique: It’s hard to predict what GSP can do during the fight, since he’s probably the most well-rounded fighter currently competing in Mixed Martial Arts. I think we might see a French-Canadian Guillotine Choke.

Fights to Watch: GSP vs. Matt Hughes (UFC 79), Condit vs. Prater (WEC 32)