UFC 154 Recap and Results: GSP Unifies Titles in Classic Performance, Hendricks Crushes Kampmann
By Chris Leslie on November 18, 2012
UFC 154 took place tonight at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Tonight’s card was headlined by a UFC welterweight title unification bout between champion Georges St-Pierre and interim champion Carlos Condit. In the end, St-Pierre became the undisputed welterweight in a fantastic fight with Condit. In the night’s co-main event, Johny Hendricks landed a “Knockout of the Year” candidate over Martin Kampmann.
In other action, fighters Francis Carmont, Rafael dos Anjos, and Pablo Garza were all victorious. Make sure to check out our full UFC 154 coverage.
St-Pierre Defeats Condit in a Fantastic Fight
UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre clearly felt the eighteen-month layoff but showed why he was the champion by overcoming adversity in a fantastic fight with interim champion Carlos Condit. This was a bout where the score did not reflect the action, as both men left all they had in the Octagon.
The “Natural Born Killer” would put GSP in one of the most harrowing positions of career in the third round after landing a gorgeous head kick that sent the Quebecois fighter reeling to the mat. Condit would swarm and try to finish the fight there but GSP showed his heart and overcame the moment to not only recover, but take control of the round late.
In the end, it was GSP’s wrestling and perseverance that made the difference and allowed him to unify the titles.
Hendricks Destroys Kampmann, Requests Title Fight
Former Oklahoma State wrestler Johny Hendricks needed only forty-six seconds to destroy Martin Kampmann. Hendricks set up the coup de grace with a right before a devastating left hook sent Kampmann toes up to the canvas. After the fight, Hendricks requested the title shot that had been previously mentioned before the fight.
Lawlor Drops Close Fight to Carmont
It was close, and it was ugly, but Francis Carmont edged Tom Lawlor via split decision in his hometown. Lawlor pressed the action but struggled with the kicks and takedown defense of Carmont. Lawlor would land two guillotine chokes but Carmont remained patient and worked his way out each time before landing big strikes to close out the first two rounds. While it could be deemed controversial, the reality here is that the fight was too close to call.
Dos Anjos Dominates Bocek
Rafael dos Anjos was absolutely dominating tonight when he faced Mark Bocek. Bocek believed he could control the fight on the ground but dos Anjos overwhelmed him in all aspects of the fight tonight. The bout was probably the best fight of the Brazilian’s career as he improves his current win-streak to three.
Garza Survives Early Danger and Controls Hominick
The free fall for Mark Hominick continued this evening in front of a supportive crowd as he dropped a unanimous decision loss to Pablo Garza. Hominick started strong in the first round by flooring Garza with a hard body shot. Hominick tried to finish but Garza managed to escape and then clip Hominick with a shot of his own. It was all down hill after that for Hominick as Garza took him down.
Main Card (PPV)
- Welterweight Title Unification Fight: Georges St-Pierre (c) def. Carlos Condit (IC) via unanimous decision (49-46,50-45,50-45)
- Johny Hendricks def. Martin Kampmann via knockout (punch) at 0:46 of Round 1
- Francis Carmont def. Tom Lawlor via split decision (29-28,28-29,29-28)
Constantinos Philippou vs. Nick Ring- Rafael dos Anjos def. Mark Bocek via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,30-27)
- Pablo Garza def. Mark Hominick via unanimous decision (29-27,30-26,29-28)
Preliminary Card (FX)
- Patrick Cote def. Alessio Sakara via DQ (strikes to the back of the head) at 1:26 of Round 1
- Cyrille Diabate def. Chad Griggs via submission at 2:24 of Round 1
- John Makdessi def. Sam Stout via unanimous decision (30-27,29-28,30-27)
- Antonio Carvalho def. Rodrigo Damm via split decision (29-28,28-29,29-28)
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
- Matt Riddle def. John Maguire via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,29-28)
- Ivan Menjivar def. Azamat Gashimov via submission (armbar) at 2:44 of Round 1
- Darren Elkins def. Steven Siler via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,30-27)
I just hope no one complains about GSP not finishing Condit. They are both so good and well rounded, that this fight was destined to go to a decision. The action was so entertaining, that I enjoyed every minute of it and hoped it would last all 5 rounds. That was simply an incredible fight – definitely the best since Rua/Hendo. If the GSP/Silva super-fight happens, the result will likely be the same. Silva is better on the feet, but he has no answer for St.Pierre’s grappling and athleticism on the ground. Unless Silva were able to stop all take-downs, GSP wins that fight 10/10 times.
GSP is very BAD! He got beaten up by Carlos Condit. His face was destroyed and he needed ice during all the post fight press conference. At any rate nobody cares for him in Montreal he is a REAL JOKE! He should spend his time learning English after his future LOSS. He is a FAKE winner with no punching power and he is never able to finish his opponents, What a comedian and Anderson Silva will END little GSP’s career.
Trolls all across the internet are in awe of your comment.
i agree that gsp has no finishing power. he is too afraid to mix it.
a fighter like fedor always gave his best while gsp is just too cautios.
he might be a nice guy but i prefer fighters whohave more heart.
but to be fair, i would do the same thing: nobody normal likes getting hit.
John Thompson nick Diaz fan club president is just mad because there are no more twilight movies to watch
What a great main event. GSP proved why he is the best welterweight ever. But it also proved why the “super fight” with Anderson silva CAN NOT happen. It makes zero sense. Both divisions would be put on hold and there is a good chance George’s will get his ass kicked. I say no and keep the champions defending their titles
I was very nervous for GSP before this one but his knee held up, he got through the ring rust…real trouble and Condit. Just BS in my humble opinion for him to HAVE to change gears to fight a much larger, highly skilled Silva to placate the bloodthirsty masses. I would hope most of you agree that for this to happen adequate time should be given to GSP to make changes…but still those changes will mess his routine up…i just don’t like the matchup for promotional reasons only…it is not a fair matchup
What an amazing GSP is really really back! Condit did a decent job, but I really think he should have stayed in the center and went toe to toe with GSP more, nearly every takedown GSP got was the result of Condit backing up getting too close to the cage and failing to stop the single, when Condit stayed in the center he did more damage and got back to his feet quicker. But once again amazing fight, and hopefully we are that much closer to seeing the super fight. Silva has an advantage in stand up and I think he would perform better of his back than the rest of GSP’s opponents.
GSP Vs Hendricks
Diaz Vs Kampman
Condut Vs Rory McDonald after he tears through BJ
I agree a super fight with Silva is lame; do not put 2 divisions and fighter’s livelihood on hold.
A match between the two greatest MMA fighters of our generation is quantified as “lame”….ok. If that fight is lame to you I have no idea how you can watch any fight and be entertained in the slightest.
Also…Put their livelihood on hold? You don’t think that millions of dollars for each fighter is going to help their livelihood at all? If anything it will skyrocket both fighters’ livelihood, and that of their families, to the moon.
I do always hate to see a division put on hold, but the top two contenders of each division could fight each other and get a main event (maybe not PPV) and get a decent payday while they wait for Silva and Pierre to dazzle the world with the first modern day super fight.
When something as rare as the skill of St. Pierre and the skill of Anderson Silva even exists, it should be counted as a blessing to fans who were alive to see these guys in action in their prime. To get to see two guys of this caliber actually fight each other may well be a once in a lifetime, if not even rarer event.
To shove all that aside, dismiss their greatness and the possibility of the most historically significant fight in the history of MMA, because it might hold a division up for a few months, or because GSP fans are terrified their boy will lose, is rather short sighted imo. It strikes me that to some of you people GSP and Silva are just regular champions and UFC belt holders, like the fact that they are the greatest fighters of a generation escapes you.
Bask in it, and as a diehard GSP fan I can say that I’m not shaking with fear that he will lose to Silva. I think it’s about an evenly matched fight and that GSP will win because he can own Silva on the ground. If GSP did lose he can use his multimillion dollar payday to console him and go back to welterweight and own that division for a few more years. His legacy will hardly be tarnished as he’s still the best welterweight ever and will remain so for many years to come.
Awesome post. I agree with every word.
Why is GSP bad because he got hit by the best fighter in his class?? To become a champ you need to be able to beat the champ (Jon Jones, JDS) – to be the greatest fighter in the world you need to be able to handle a beat down and still come out on top (GSP, Silva).
Probably the best GSP fight I’ve ever seen, huge props to Georges for coming back from such a devastating injury / surgery and beating an in his prime, focused Condit. It really was phenomenal to watch. I’ve criticized Georges in the past (especially his previous few fights), but damn if he hasn’t made me a fan again, you can’t help but feel happy for the guy. Dude truly is a phenomenal talent, he showed tones of guts and heart to get back up after Carlos dropped him with that vicious head kick and finishing that round strong (kuddos to Condit for landing that out of nowhere).
It will be interesting to see how the WW division plays out in 2013, lots of killer match-ups possible in the near future, especially if Rory beats Penn, Diaz returning (and possible rematch with Condit), Hendricks getting his shot (hopefully), Fitch vs. Maia, etc.
I am with the rest of the crowd here who think the GSP/Silva “superfight” is a terrible idea at this point in time, let Sliva go back up to 205 (where has fought comfortably and successfully numerous times) and cement his legacy there with a LHW title fight against Jones. Holding two belts simultaneously would to more for The Sipders legacy than potentially beating an undersized GSP.
I was actually really eager to hear what you had to say about this fight. I still hear a lot of people talking about how he didn’t get a finish, but man, he was so much more aggressive in this fight.
Also, I got nervous in that 3rd round, and I’m just glad that he didn’t give up like he did against Serra. That was a sneaky kick that he didn’t see coming, and while it put him on his butt, he worked through it and turned the round around.
It really was an amazing fight. Good on Condit for coming closer than anyone else in a LONG time. But I don’t think he takes the Diaz rematch if it happens. I dont think Nick will be as content to NOT run him down this time around.
It was an exciting title fight, Both GSP and Condit really impressed me. Hendricks has huge power but I think it will be another koscheck-gsp fight. I have more interest in Diaz-GSP than seeing spider-gsp which if you remove yourself as a fan or hater, you would have to admit would be one sided in favour of silva.