ST. PIERRE, "I WILL WIN OR I WILL GO TO THE HOSPITAL"
When Georges St. Pierre travels to the Bell Centre in Montreal on April 19 to battle Matt Serra for the UFC welterweight title, he won’t have to venture far, as the fight is taking place in his hometown.
He won’t have to look very far for his most adamant supporters; they will surely be in attendance.
He won’t have to dig very deep for the motivation to fight the man who beat him for the title almost exactly one year ago.
He will now battle for his shot at redemption and a second reign as the 170-pound king of the MMA world.
With the rematch between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra just days away, the current interim welterweight champion, who stated he will not bring the belt with him to the fight with Serra, is focused on the task at hand and excited about fighting for the title in front of his hometown fans.
“It pumped me up so much, I can’t believe it,” St. Pierre said about the fight taking place in Montreal. “It’s a dream come true. It’s a great opportunity for me to shine in front of my people by winning the world title, and that’s the guy I’ve wanted to fight for a long time, too, because he beat me. I can’t wait, it’s going to be fun.”
Working with St. Pierre for this fight are a familiar cast of training partners including Denis Kang, Nate Marquardt, Rashad Evans and, of course, lead trainer Greg Jackson, who will formulate the game plan that is expected to beat Serra.
“I’ve been working for my game plan against Serra. Like I said, in (this) fight people will see some stuff that I’ve never shown before,” St. Pierre stated in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “Some stuff people have never seen in MMA. So it’s going to be interesting. Don’t blink because the fight can finish very early, or it can go to the distance, but don’t blink.”
Going into the fight, current welterweight champion Matt Serra hasn’t been short on words for the last fighter he defeated, but the Canadian isn’t fazed by the verbal assault.
“I don’t mind. He can talk as much as he wants. He can say whatever he wants. It’s not going to change the fact that I’m going to come and hit as hard as I can on him,” St. Pierre commented. “If I win this fight by decision, I’m not going to be satisfied. I’m going to go for the finish. That’s what I want, I want to end the fight, to take him out.”
In a recent promotion with the UFC, St. Pierre was quoted as saying that Serra “crossed the line” without much explanation as to why.
“(The UFC was) talking to me about the fact that he called me a ‘Frenchy’ and he said the ‘F-word’ Frenchy, and said ‘go back to your red wine and hockey games,’” explained St. Pierre. “And when I think about that, I said a champion should not talk like that because now it’s getting personal when you say those things. I think a champion should show by example and not talk like that and he crossed the line by saying that.”
Being as talented as he is, St. Pierre often gets verbal jabs thrown at him from other fighters. Recently, No. 1 contender Jon Fitch jumped on board during the UFC 82 post-fight press conference stating that he felt St. Pierre was afraid of getting knocked out.
St. Pierre also had a message for Fitch.
“We’ll see what is he going to say after my next fight with Serra if I’m afraid to get knocked out. Maybe he’s going to change his mind,” he commented. “Tell him to wait one more fight before saying stuff like that and maybe after that he’s going to change his mind.”
After his last fight with Serra, many fans and critics questioned his state of mind going into the bout, but St. Pierre promises he is more mentally prepared for this match-up than any fight before it.
“The confidence of a fighter comes from how he prepares himself for the fight,” he said. “I’ve been training so hard and I trained myself to fight an army, with fresh guys all the time on me, with the best training partners, so one guy will never break me. There are two ways this night is going to finish for me, I will win or I will go to the hospital.”
The chance for St. Pierre to prove himself is just days away and he will take a second shot at Matt Serra on April 19 in Montreal.
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6082&zoneid=13
When Georges St. Pierre travels to the Bell Centre in Montreal on April 19 to battle Matt Serra for the UFC welterweight title, he won’t have to venture far, as the fight is taking place in his hometown.
He won’t have to look very far for his most adamant supporters; they will surely be in attendance.
He won’t have to dig very deep for the motivation to fight the man who beat him for the title almost exactly one year ago.
He will now battle for his shot at redemption and a second reign as the 170-pound king of the MMA world.
With the rematch between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra just days away, the current interim welterweight champion, who stated he will not bring the belt with him to the fight with Serra, is focused on the task at hand and excited about fighting for the title in front of his hometown fans.
“It pumped me up so much, I can’t believe it,” St. Pierre said about the fight taking place in Montreal. “It’s a dream come true. It’s a great opportunity for me to shine in front of my people by winning the world title, and that’s the guy I’ve wanted to fight for a long time, too, because he beat me. I can’t wait, it’s going to be fun.”
Working with St. Pierre for this fight are a familiar cast of training partners including Denis Kang, Nate Marquardt, Rashad Evans and, of course, lead trainer Greg Jackson, who will formulate the game plan that is expected to beat Serra.
“I’ve been working for my game plan against Serra. Like I said, in (this) fight people will see some stuff that I’ve never shown before,” St. Pierre stated in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “Some stuff people have never seen in MMA. So it’s going to be interesting. Don’t blink because the fight can finish very early, or it can go to the distance, but don’t blink.”
Going into the fight, current welterweight champion Matt Serra hasn’t been short on words for the last fighter he defeated, but the Canadian isn’t fazed by the verbal assault.
“I don’t mind. He can talk as much as he wants. He can say whatever he wants. It’s not going to change the fact that I’m going to come and hit as hard as I can on him,” St. Pierre commented. “If I win this fight by decision, I’m not going to be satisfied. I’m going to go for the finish. That’s what I want, I want to end the fight, to take him out.”
In a recent promotion with the UFC, St. Pierre was quoted as saying that Serra “crossed the line” without much explanation as to why.
“(The UFC was) talking to me about the fact that he called me a ‘Frenchy’ and he said the ‘F-word’ Frenchy, and said ‘go back to your red wine and hockey games,’” explained St. Pierre. “And when I think about that, I said a champion should not talk like that because now it’s getting personal when you say those things. I think a champion should show by example and not talk like that and he crossed the line by saying that.”
Being as talented as he is, St. Pierre often gets verbal jabs thrown at him from other fighters. Recently, No. 1 contender Jon Fitch jumped on board during the UFC 82 post-fight press conference stating that he felt St. Pierre was afraid of getting knocked out.
St. Pierre also had a message for Fitch.
“We’ll see what is he going to say after my next fight with Serra if I’m afraid to get knocked out. Maybe he’s going to change his mind,” he commented. “Tell him to wait one more fight before saying stuff like that and maybe after that he’s going to change his mind.”
After his last fight with Serra, many fans and critics questioned his state of mind going into the bout, but St. Pierre promises he is more mentally prepared for this match-up than any fight before it.
“The confidence of a fighter comes from how he prepares himself for the fight,” he said. “I’ve been training so hard and I trained myself to fight an army, with fresh guys all the time on me, with the best training partners, so one guy will never break me. There are two ways this night is going to finish for me, I will win or I will go to the hospital.”
The chance for St. Pierre to prove himself is just days away and he will take a second shot at Matt Serra on April 19 in Montreal.
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6082&zoneid=13
