UFC 87 Recap: St. Pierre Defends Title

After his first title defense ended in disaster, the second provided few surprises and no real danger.

Mixed martial arts' top welterweight fighter and the UFC's 170-pound champion Georges St. Pierre defeated the world's clear No. 2 fighter Jon Fitch in dominating fashion. St. Pierre won every frame of the five-round fight en route to a unanimous-decision victory via scores of 50-43, 50-44 and 50-44.

The main-event title fight capped off Saturday's "UFC 87: Seek and Destroy" event, which took place at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

St. Pierre (17-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC), who originally lost his title to Matt Serra in 2007, avenged the loss back in April and posted his first title defense with a dominating performance over Fitch (17-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), whose record eight-fight UFC win streak came to an end.

St. Pierre dropped his opponent midway through the first round, and though he survived, Fitch was never the same. St. Pierre simply outclassed him in every facet of the game.

Although he had a stoppage victory within his grasp at various times, St. Pierre couldn't close out as Fitch continually persevered. And though the loss will no doubt sting, St. Pierre had some encouraging words for the former Purdue wrestler.

"I told him that this loss may be the best thing to happen to him," said St. Pierre, who's long maintained that his loss to Serra, who at the time was an 8-to-1 underdog, forced a redediction to the sport.

In the weeks leading up to Saturday's fight, everyone -- save St. Pierre -- seemed to be looking past Fitch in anticipation of a possible future fight with UFC lightweight champ B.J. Penn. The 155-pound champ has made no secret of his desire to move up a weight class to challenge St. Pierre.

Before he could even finish his post-fight interview, St. Pierre was face-to-face with popular Hawaiian fighter. "Let's do it," Penn said. "Let's put the fight together. Let's get it together." St. Pierre, who won their first meeting in 2006, obliged.

"I'm ready to fight everybody -- everybody who deserves a shot," St. Pierre said. "I know B.J. Penn wants it, and I'm ready to do it. ... I don't want to duck anyone. I'm a proud champion."

With his feet planted and his entire body behind the blow, Brock Lesnar connected on a right hand that sent opponent Heath Herring crashing to the mat just seconds into the night's co-main event. Lesnar, a collegiate wrestling champion who detoured through World Wrestling Entertainment before finding MMA, quickly used his ground skills to control his veteran opponent. In fact, those same skills would keep Lesnar in control of the fight en route to a unanimous-decision victory with a winning score of 30-26 on all three judges' cards.

With Lesnar (2-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) able to take the fight to the mat at will, Herring (28-14 MMA, 2-3 UFC) was unable to mount any real offense and instead spent most of the three-round bout maneuvering for position to avoid punishment. The fight-ending blow never came, but Herring suffered substantial punishment throughout the fight.

After the fight, Lesnar, a clear crowd favorite who fights out of Minnesota, immediately addressed his UFC debut -- a first-round submission loss to former champ Frank Mir in February. Lesnar dominated the first 90 seconds of the fight but was forced to tap out from a kneebar seconds later.

The victory was pivotal one for Lesnar and should earn him the credibility that most fans and even follow fighters have been slow to acknowledge.

"I've just been trying to work on everything every single day to be get better, to be a well-rounded heavyweight fighter and a contender in the UFC," Lesnar said.

Soon after his unanimous-decision victory over one of the UFC's top young stars, Kenny Florian (10-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) nonetheless proclaimed Roger Huerta (20-2-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) a future champion of the UFC's lightweight division.

However, with his first loss inside the cage, Huerta knows his title hopes were delivered a serious setback. Florian, who picked up his fifth consecutive victory since a loss to Sean Sherk for the vacant title in October 2006, simply bested Huerta in all aspects of the fight.

"The Ultimate Fighter" runner-up remained patient and avoided his opponent's wild strikes, and when the opportunity arose, Florian wrestled Huerta to the mat. "I didn't want to get into a brawl with him," Florian said. "I tried to use technique to counter his brawling. ... I've got to give him credit. I thought I'd finish him. He's tough as nails."

In fact, Florian, who's billed himself as "The Finisher" since that loss to Sherk, snapped a four-fight streak of stoppage victories and settled for the first decision win of his entire career. All three judges had it scored 30-27 in his favor.

Although the bout was originally touted as a top contender's bout when it was first announced in May, UFC President Dana White has backed off the promise in recent weeks and said the winner wouldn't necessarily get a shot at the belt. After the victory, Florian admitted that a dominant victory could have made his case.

"I'm not sure (of the title shot)," Florian said. "I hope so. I really wanted to finish him. ... Who knows. We'll see. It's up to the UFC."

In a meeting between cast members from "The Ultimate Fighter 5," Rob Emerson made short work of the show's runner-up. Manny Gamburyan quickly engaged and threw a big, looping punch, and Emerson quickly countered and popped him with a violent right hand to the button.

Gamburyan quickly hit the mat, and after untangling himself from his opponent's legs, Emerson caught him with a short left hook. The blow briefly knocked Gamburyan (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) out cold and earned Emerson (8-6 MMA, 2-0 UFC) the knockout just 12 seconds into the fight.

After surviving an early rear-naked choke, Jason MacDonald looked as though he might be able to match -- or at least survive -- Demian Maia's legendary ground prowess.

However, the success would prove to be short-lived. Maia soon has his opponent fending off a dozen subsequent submission attempts that stretched all the way into the third round. With both fighters fatigued in that final frame, Maia used a reversal to claim the full mount, and he after improving his position battered MacDonald with dozens of unanswered punches and elbows.

Maia (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) then quickly locked in a rear-naked choke that finally forced MacDonald (20-10 MMA, 4-3 UFC) to tap-out at the 2:44 mark. Maia's victory -- his third straight in the UFC -- moves him a step closer to a potential title fight in a division desperately in need of contenders.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Champ Georges St. Pierre def. Jon Fitch via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-44, 50-44)
Brock Lesnar def. Heath Herring via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Rob Emerson def. Manny Gamburyan via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1, 0:12
Kenny Florian def. Roger Huerta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Demian Maia def. Jason MacDonald via submission (rear-naked choke) -- Round 3, 2:44
Tamdan McCrory def. Luke Cummo via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Cheick Kongo def. Dan Evensen via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1, 4:55
Jon Jones def. Andre Gusmao via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Chris Wilson def. Steve Bruno via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ben Saunders def. Ryan Thomas via submission (arm-bar) -- Round 2, 2:28