Alves vs St Pierre: The Breakdown

Short and sweet, Georges St Pierre will dominate Thiago Alves.

Georges is just too good at this point to go down to a fighter like Alves. And that is not an indictment on Thiago Alves as much as it is a credit to how good GSP has become. Throw in the Greg Jackson game planning and I can say with a certain amount of confidence that Georges will not be beaten for some time. Many fans and pundits alike still hold the Matt Serra loss against him, but in my opinion, the streak he has gone on since has more than absolved him of any doubts. He absolutely overwhelmed his closest competion in Jon Fitch, and laid an "ultimate" beatdown on a guy that was widely considered by fans, "experts," and other fighters to be the best fighter in the world in BJ Penn. Anderson Silva stated as much prior to the Penn/St Pierre fight.

In terms of styles, I just don't see how Alves can beat St Pierre outside of landing a Matt Serra-like shot. Alves' most effective offense, the leg kick, will turn into the bane of his existence in this fight as St Pierre will use it to take him down. On the feet, there will not be as big of a striking disparity as many think there will be, and in my oh so not quite humble opinion, Thiago has a suspect chin. As good as Alves is at getting back to his feet and defending the takedown, St Pierre is just on another level in terms of takedown ability and top control. If GSP gets in top position, it may be a long night, or short for that matter, for Thiago Alves. Georges is just too fast, explosive, and most importantly, skilled, to get merked by anything Alves has to offer. The prediction........St Pierre, 2nd round TKO!

-R