Mixed Martial Arts
St. Pierre Goes a Long Way To Gear for Fight With Fitch
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In preparation for tonight's welterweight title fight against Jon Fitch at Ultimate Fighting Championship 87 in Minneapolis, 170-pound champion Georges St. Pierre trained at Gracie Barra Academy in Rio de Janiero, the largest Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in the world.
St. Pierre (16-2 overall, 10-2 UFC), widely regarded as one of the most talented UFC fighters regardless of weight class, knows that despite his jiu-jitsu acumen (he earned a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from Renzo Gracie in 2006), training with the best will only help him against Fitch, a fighter renowned for working harder in the gym than just about anyone in the fight game today.
"Jon Fitch is the best overall fighter I have faced," St. Pierre said. But despite the complimentary nod toward the welterweight division's No. 1 contender, St. Pierre, 27, feels he is the superior fighter in all aspects over the former Purdue University wrestler, who himself earned a black belt in Guerrilla jiu-jitsu from renowned teacher Dave Camarillo.
"That [belief] not only comes from my athleticism, but from my mixed martial arts background, my trainers, my training partners," St. Pierre said. "That's what I believe, but there is only one way to find out, and we'll find out Saturday night."
The 30-year-old Fitch (19-2, 8-0), co-owner of the longest unbeaten streak (eight) in modern UFC history, is well aware that St. Pierre put Matt Serra to the ground in the first five seconds of their UFC 83 title fight in April (St. Pierre's previous bout, a second-round TKO).
Tonight's card is UFC's first event in the Twin Cities region, and it will be interesting to note where the fan allegiances lie: The hugely popular St. Pierre is from neighboring Canada; Fitch is a Midwesterner who was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Ind.
St. Pierre is a chiseled, muscular fighter who dominates on the ground, but Fitch said his confidence in his own abilities is high. It wasn't always that way.
"If you don't have confidence in yourself, you're always going to be a failure. I struggled with my early wrestling career at Purdue because I lacked it," Fitch said. "But when I started fighting I put myself on the same playing field as my opponent and my confidence went through the roof."
-- Dave Yanovitz
