Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves are finally starting to do some press for UFC 100, and St. Pierre spoke at length about some of his training partners today in an interview at Punch Drunk Gamer:
PDG: Are you using the same trainers/team for this fight?
GSP: I always bring someone in but its most of the same people with me. I did bring a couple of guys out from Paris, some Muay Thai specialists. I also have many guys who came in town recently – John Danaher from New York came for my jiu-jitsu – he showed me some amazing stuff that I will be able to use. I also work with Jean-Charles Skarbowsky, who’s a legend in Muay Thai who spent most of his life in Thailand. He came with two of his top students, and he showed me a bunch of stuff in Muay Thai that I’ll also be able to use during my fight. And the fact that he came with two of his top students – it give me a good idea of what a world-class Muay Thai fighter is and it’s gonna help me gauge the speed and the power of a real Muay Thai guy.
As usual, St. Pierre spared no expense bringing in high-end talent that will present more challenges in camp than his opponent is likely to present on fight night. I have seen a lot of tape of Jean-Charles Skarbowsky, and the guy is simply an incredible fighter. Thiago Alves is a very good Thai Boxer, but not anywhere near the level Skarbowsky was once at and probably nowhere near the level his top students are at. This isn’t to say St. Pierre will outstrike Alves, but it’s important because it makes it more unlikely that Alves will do anything to shock St. Pierre.
Reach is the most under appreciated factor in this fight. St. Pierre has a nice jab and a snap left high kick that he uses to keep guys out of reach, and Thiago’s reach is particularly short. His usual offensive combinations are very effective in the pocket, but the classic right-left followed by right leg kick combination is a lot harder to pull off when your opponent is always circling away.
It wouldn’t shock me if St. Pierre beats Thiago standing in this fight. However, I doubt that will be his game plan, because standing is the only place Thiago can win this fight. I suspect the strategy is to only be at two distances: far enough to stay out of Thiago’s reach or in deep for a shot. I expect St. Pierre to circle to Thiago’s right while keeping a distance in order to stay away from his left hook and left knee, and to force Thiago to extend himself to try to land that leg kick. I think St. Pierre will use striking at a distance early in each round to lure Alves into charging forward and opening himself up for a takedown.
I’m sure Thiago is training with great wrestlers for this fight. The problem is that it’s nearly impossible to find a wrestler that can replicate the way St. Pierre mixes wrestling with striking almost seamlessly. Once this hits the ground, Alves is in serious trouble. I think St. Pierre takes this via TKO in the third round.
We’re a week out and the line is narrowing. Will St. Pierre quiet the critics once and for all? Or will he go down in a heap and have to restart another journey back to the top?