Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in.
Georges St-Pierre officially tipped the scales at 170 pounds at the UFC 158 weigh-ins last month. Except, he didn't really. Or, at least, St-Pierre doesn't think he did.
The UFC welterweight champion mostly stayed silent on the controversy surrounding the Quebec athletic commission and its peculiar, last-second, "off the record" round-down rule. But that silence ended on Thursday, when St-Pierre revealed to the Associated Press (via La Presse) that he believes he weighed in at 170.4 pounds -- .4 pounds over the legal limit for championship bouts.
Here a rough translation of the report (via Bloody Elbow):
"They came to us just before the weigh-ins and even I was surprised. They told us they were going to be rounding (down to the nearest pound). I was as surprised as Nick Diaz," St. Pierre said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press.
...
GSP said he was not sure of his exact weight, but he believes that it amounted to 170.4 pounds. The Quebec Board then rounded his weight down to 170 pounds, the limit for the March 16 bout.
Before we get any further, let's quickly cover a few things. 1.) Keep in mind that St-Pierre weighed in wearing shorts. 2.) Diaz's team is probably about to have a field day with this. 3.) The fact that St-Pierre was "as surprised as Nick Diaz," if true, only throws the onus even more so on the Quebec commission. That's as egregious a breach of protocol as you could ask for.
Now, let the floodgates open.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
St-Pierre says he weighed 170.4. UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre told the Associated Press (via French-Canadian outlet La Presse) that he believes he tipped the scales at 170.4 pounds -- 0.4 pounds over the legal limit -- at UFC 158's official weigh ins.
McDaniel freed by the haters. The Ultimate Fighter 17's Bubba McDaniel knows you hate him, and he's okay with it -- because he's going to change your mind.
McGregor campaigns for UFC 159. Less than a week after his stunning debut, Irish phenom Conor McGregor embarked on an all-caps Twitter campaign to secure the vacant spot opposite TUF 15 lightweight Al Iaquinta. Ultimately Iaquinta withdrew from the contest with a leg injury.
Kay talks Bellator. Spike TV President Kevin Kay reflected on Bellator's eighth season, what went right, what could be changed, and future opportunities to improve the product.
Cro Cop vs. Manhoef in works. Get the EMT ready because Road FC CEO Moon Jung Hong recently told Cor MMA that he is close to booking Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Melvin Manhoef for his upcoming event, Road FC 12.
MEDIA STEW
"She knows that we have a good rivalry and I think it will make for good publicity, good TV. I think everybody would love to see that, and I think it's perfect." -- Miesha Tate, responding to the fact that Ronda Rousey is pulling for her to win on Saturday.
Yesterday Cat Zingano kicked a poor fellow in the leg. Today? She's eating cockroaches.
I don't even need to say anything. This is awesome.
Shane Carwin sighting! And yeah, that "warm-up" is supposedly 425 pounds.
Pat Barry is a national treasure.
CONOR WANTED IN
@danawhite I WOULD LOVE TO TAKE THIS!!! Let me know @seanshelby @joesilva @lorenzofertitta
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 11, 2013
@mmajunkiejohn @aliaquinta I WOULD BE HAPPY TO STEP IN HERE @danawhite @seanshelby @lorenzofertitta LET ME KNOW!!!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 11, 2013
April 27th New Jersey!!! 155lbs versus a TUF finalist!!! WHO WANTS TO SEE IT?
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 11, 2013
SO DID THIS GUY
I want to fill in that fight at #UFC159 @danawhite @ufc I don't even have to fly in. I live by the arena. Give the fans what they want! @tmz
— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) April 11, 2013
@ufc @danawhite @seanshelby I'm a 9-0 155er whos exciting & ready to go! Lets smash barriers & let me smash faces #Newell4UFC159
— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) April 11, 2013
@ufc @danawhite @seanshelby @lorenzofertitta Putting me in at UFC 159should be a no brainer. Forget the politics & take the best fighters.
— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) April 11, 2013
SHOWTIME UP NORTH
At Tristar gym with @firas_zahabi instagram.com/p/X19IDyojKC/
— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) April 8, 2013
THAT EXPLAINS THAT
So I wanted to wait til the match ups were released. I was set to fight Clint Hester Sat on the TUF finale. But... fb.me/2hvpX6U9W
— Zak Cummings (@ZakCummings) April 10, 2013
To clear things up. I was set to fight @clinthester on the #TUF Finale & due to an accidental incident I tore my hamstring and cannot fight
— Zak Cummings (@ZakCummings) April 10, 2013
ROUGH DAY
Pothole 2 Kyle 0 instagram.com/p/XxvrvxJ55y/
— Kyle Noke (@KyleNoke) April 6, 2013
GOOD CALL
Work week finished! About to start bio shock infinite.
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) April 6, 2013
CLASSY AS F***
Put em up!! #handlebar #mustache #combover #1920 #oldschool #toughness #starbucks #blueeye #instantenergy instagram.com/p/X2osexEhKz/
— Eddie Wineland(@EddieWineland) April 8, 2013
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Thursday, April 11, 2013):
- UFC 162: Shane Del Rosario (11-2) vs. Dave Herman (21-5)
- UFC on FOX 8: Danny Castillo (15-5) vs. Bobby Green (20-5)
- UFC on FOX 8: Tarec Saffiedine (14-3) vs. Robbie Lawler (20-9)
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today's Fanpost of the Day comes to us from Jonscrazylife, who wants to know: Whose The Best Fighter Outside Of The UFC? Pat Curran or Michael Chandler. A DR. Jack Breakdown
Since the
foldingselling of Strikeforce to the UFC, it has become painfully obvious that the best fighter outside of the UFC resides in Bellator.The only question is whether it's Lightweight champion Michael Chandler or Featherweight kingpin Pat Curran.Since no one wants to talk to me about esoteric second tier MMA champion comparisons in real life (and it's late and I might be half in the bag) I'm going to break it down Dr Jack (and unfortunately Bill Simmons) style.
Let's jump right in!!!!!!
Striking: This one is obvious as Pat Curran is one of the better strikers in all of MMA. But I would argue that Chandler's stand up is underrated.
Power: Michael Chandler hits pretty fricking hard, as evidenced by when he dropped Eddie Alvarez multiple times before finishing him with the RNC, and during his Lightweight Tourney run where he dropped quite a few guys. He also blasted out an old, aged and over the hill Akirho Gono in 56 seconds as well, for whatever that is worth. Curran while an amazingly technical striker doesn't have the same power in his hands, as Chandler. He makes up for it by throwing everything and the kitchen sink at opponents.
Talk about mixing it up. Pat Curran will hit you with super high level boxing, knockout head kicks (don't trust me ask Marlon Sandro) and vicious knees. He's also great at switching it up. He was getting outboxed by Marlon Sandro before stealing his soul with that head kick. He fought an entire 5 round title fight against Patricio Friere as a boxing match. And he brutalized Joe Warren with uppercuts, and knees to snatch the Featherweight title in one of the worst beatings I've ever seen someone take, no thanks to referee Jeff Malot. While it's close, Curran's ability to knock opponents out with punches, kicks and knees gives him the advantage over Chandler who is mostly a boxer. It is worth noting however that in 11 fights Chandler has 3 KO/TKOs while Curran only has 5 through 23 fights.
Advantage: Curran.
Defense: Here's where "Paddy Mike" is going to start pulling away.
Much, much more after the jump...
Found something you'd like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me on Twitter @shaunalshatti and we'll include it in Monday's column.