Georges St Pierre

UFC Announces Canadian Lineup for 2012; Aldo and GSP in Promotional Plans

The UFC today announced a trio of events on Canadian soil for this year, starting off with the promotion's first-ever event in Calgary, Alberta in July and followed by returns to Montreal and Toronto in September and November respectively.

Jose Aldo's latest featherweight title defense will headline UFC 149 on July 21 at the Scotiabank Saddledome. An opponent for Aldo has yet to be announced. In addition, the UFC will return to Toronto, Ontario for UFC 152 on September 22, but a venue has not yet been chosen for the event.

Longtime UFC welterweight king Georges St. Pierre is also targeting a potential return to action at UFC 154 in his hometown of Montreal, Quebec on November 17 at the Bell Centre, which will hang on the success of his rehab more than anything else.

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Jake Ellenberger: I Don’t Think Carlos Condit Wants a Rematch

He's only days out from an exciting decision win over Diego Sancez, but Jake Ellenberger's crusade for a rematch against current UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit is continuing.

Condit narrowly escaped with a split decision in their first meeting, and Ellenberger is determined for a second crack at the former WEC title holder. Ellenberger says that he doesn't blame Condit and his camp for waiting for a unification bout with Georges St. Pierre, but he also wants them to keep in mind that GSP's recovery could take longer than expected:

“I think the fans do want it, but at the same time, I don’t know if that’s what the UFC wants or not,” Ellenberger told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “I really don’t. If it was up to me, then yeah, we’d probably be fighting in May or June, but I don’t know if that’s what the UFC wants. I think they kind of still put it in Condit’s hands, but I know Carlos. I know his manager, and I know they don’t want that fight. But again, if I put myself in their shoes, I don’t blame them.”

...

“It’s not even necessarily a personal thing,” he said. ”Carlos right now has the belt, and that’s where I want to be. He’s a fantastic fighter and he’s in the position he’s in for a reason. I was hoping I could get another rematch with Condit, but whether he fights again is going to be up to him. … I wouldn’t blame him if he wants to wait. That’s just the reality of it, but in my opinion, I sure hope I get that fight.”

St. Pierre claims that his recovery is well ahead of schedule and he could return to action before his original target date of November. Still, setbacks occur often and without notice. Even though he owns a win over him, Ellenberger is a dangerous fight for Condit. The opening round of their first clash showed that.

If I were Condit, I would sit on the sidelines and wait for GSP, but if a setback occurs and his return is pushed back until late 2012/early 2013, I would then consider a rematch with Ellenberger to prevent ring rust.

GSP Discusses Diaz-Condit, Rehab and Recovery

In a recent interview with Jon Anik on the UFC's "Ultimate Insider" show, welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre gives his thoughts on Carlos Condit's win over Nick Diaz for the interim title. He also discusses his rehab following surgery to repair his torn ACL, how he is feeling and what his recovery is like among other things.

GSP Discusses Injury, Recovery Plan

After today's disappointing news about a torn ACL, surgery and potential recovery time of nearly a year, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre admits that he's going to have to work his way back to the top... literally.

St. Pierre and his doctor, Sebastian Simard, held a conference call with the media today to discuss the details related to the injury and what St. Pierre's plan for recovery is.

According to Simard, the problems all started when St. Pierre originally hurt his knee in preparation for Carlos Condit and was forced to pull out of that bout. Things were fine again after some physical therapy, but bad luck struck again on a different knee during a recent training session.

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GSP Tears ACL, Diaz to Fight Condit for Interim UFC Welterweight Title

In another unfortunate turn of events regarding Georges St. Pierre, the longtime UFC welterweight champion has suffered a torn ACL and will be sidelined for nearly a year.

UFC President Dana White announced the news early Tuesday. Due to St. Pierre's anticipated lengthy layoff, top contender and one-time Strikeforce welterweight title holder Nick Diaz will face former WEC champion Carlos Condit for the interim UFC welterweight belt at UFC 143 on February 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

St. Pierre was slated to face Diaz in a highly-awaited matchup at the event. A previously scheduled bout between St. Pierre and Diaz for this past October was scrapped after Diaz failed to show up to multiple pre-fight media requirements.

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B.J. Penn Talks Stepping Away from MMA, Analyzes GSP-Diaz

In an interview from ProElite's "Big Guns" event in which he attended in support of brother Reagan, former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion B.J. Penn discusses his unanimous decision loss to Nick Diaz on October 27 as well as his retirement announcement after the fight and the anticipated clash between Diaz and Georges St. Pierre next February.

Touch of gloves to HDNet for putting out great clips from "Inside MMA" every week no

More on UFC 137 Shake-up: Condit Releases Statement, Tavares-Jacoby to PPV

It's been a heck of a ride for Carlos Condit thus far and it's not even close to being over yet.

Just hours after learning that his title shot against Georges St. Pierre (thanks Nick Diaz) has been postponed for the near future due to a GSP knee injury, Condit released a statement on the situation through his management team.

The full text is after the jump.

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GSP Hurt, Condit Sidelined, Penn-Diaz Now Main Eventing and I Want to Cry

If you haven't heard already, Georges St. Pierre has suffered a knee injury in training and has been forced to bow out of his seventh title defense against Carlos Condit next weekend. B.J. Penn and Nick Diaz will assume headline status.

Major bummer.

This sucks actually. In my opinion, UFC 137 could have easily turned out to be one of the most entertaining cards of the year, if not the best. Thanks to a stacked undercard, there are still enough intriguing matchups that the event remains a can't-miss, but the growing feeling that Condit may do better than expected would have made things a lot of fun to watch.'

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Round 5 Announces “UFC Titans” Line

Markham, ON  – Round 5 President Damon Lau announces an all-new line of collectible figures, UFC Titans, the latest brand extension of Round 5’s incredibly popular UFC license.

“For the last 3 years, we have had a great time working on our Ultimate Collector Series and the complementary UFC Live and UFC Versus collections. We are incredibly excited to announce our latest project: UFC Titans, says Lau. “As the UFC has grown into a mainstream sport, we wanted to produce a new line that appeals to our current fans as well as the new audiences who are finally recognizing mixed martial arts as the greatest sport on earth.”

The 5-inch UFC Titans figures are one inch shorter than the Ultimate Collector Series but share the same points of articulation at the neck, waist, arms and fists. Fans both new and old will see familiar faces in UFC Titans Series 1, as Round 5 will release figures of Randy Couture, Royce Gracie, Chuck Liddell, BJ Penn, and Georges St-Pierre.

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Quote of the Day: Cesar Gracie Believes GSP Will Fight Diaz Like He Did Penn

“I think he’s going to approach this fight somewhat like the BJ Penn fight. I think he’ll try to fight Nick the same way where he’ll tie up with him, try to keep him up against the cage, do a little dirty boxing and try to get him arm weary, maybe get some takedowns and see how that goes. He’ll probably be cautious from the top position but try to inflict damage depending on how it’s going.”

Cesar Gracie, Nick Diaz's trainer and manager, tells Full Contact Fighter that he thinks Georges St. Pierre is planning on fighting Diaz in a similar fashion to how he defeated B.J. Penn in their UFC 94 meeting in January 2009. Touch of gloves to MMA Mania for the find.