Georges St-Pierre to Finish Josh Koscheck Again | Thebigtip

Saturday night will see UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre put his belt on the line against top contender Josh Koscheck.

The event (UFC 124) will take place in GSP’s hometown- Quebec, at the sold out Bell Centre. This, coupled with the Canadian’s masterful versatility, should make him a strong favourite on the night.

It will be the second meeting between the two, following their bout in 2007, where GSP was victorious via unanimous decision.

The Canadian has stated that after victory on December 11 that he does not want to face Koscheck in the octagon again and would prefer to test himself against the remaining pool of talent in the welterweight division.

The Canadian will be hard-pressed to find fresh competition within the division having already ploughed through many of the best the welterweight division has to offer.

The 2009 fighter of the year is certain to face a different Koscheck to the one of three years ago. The American has stated that he feels he has improved his game significantly and that he is a smarter, more well-rounded fighter.  There is evidence to back-up these statements after a knockout win over Yoshiyuki Yoshida and a second round submission victory over Anthony Johnson.

If the fight is anything like the build-up, fans should be in for an interesting encounter. Recent filming of season 12 of the ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ where both fighters spent the duration coaching some of the sports up and coming lightweights. Koscheck was persistent in trying to get under his counter-parts skin. Although the Canadian did not react to any of the puerile pranks, the tension was there for all to see.

Koscheck may be guilty at times of doing his best fighting outside the octagon though come Saturday night there will be no hiding for the man who will be the public enemy for the majority of the home crowd.

Many have tipped GSP as a strong favourite for this fight, however, as many will know too well, upsets are a common occurrence in the sport. The fact that both fighters are much improved since the last time they met should make for an interesting encounter.

To many peoples surprise, even Koscheck’s, GSP was able to take down the division 1 NCAA  All American wrestler at ease in their first encounter and was able to keep a steady pace going for all three rounds.

Although GSP will probably have an advantage in the stand-up, Koscheck’s best option of winning the fight would be by attempting to knockout his opponent. I do not believe he has the durability to grind out a decision over five rounds or the technical supremacy to pull off a submission.

The fight is set to have the makings of a grappling match and both fighters will feel that wrestling is the strongest weapon in their arsenal.

A win for GSP will mark his fifth title defence on the trot, a dominance only matched by Anderson Silva in the middleweight division, who has had a staggering seven consecutive title defences (a UFC record) .

A loss for Koscheck could be as demoralising as the first one and at 33 years of age he may feel that this is his best chance of getting his hands on one of the most sort-after belts in the UFC.

Prediction: GSP win via submission in the 2nd round.