UFC 154: Four Things You Need To Know Coming Out Of Fight Night

Four things we learned from UFC 154

By James Walker

UFC 154 from Montreal, Canada is in the books. It was a big night for the welterweight division, as we saw a historic comeback and a quick knockout to determine the No. 1 contender.

Here are four things we learned from the event:

No. 4: Hominick is on thin ice

Things have gone downhill fast for Mark Hominick. He was a former No. 1 contender just a year and a half ago and fought featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Since then Hominick has suffered four straight losses, including Saturday’s unanimous decision defeat against Pablo Garzo.

“The Machine” failed to get on track in front of his fellow countrymen in Canada. Garza used his height and length advantage to get the win.

The UFC rarely keeps fighters on its roster with four straight losses. That leaves Hominick’s future with the company in question.

No. 3: Hendricks is the clear No. 1 contender

Johny Hendricks has done all he can to earn a title shot. He is 14-1 overall and had a brutal knockout victory over Martin Kampmann to become the No. 1 contender at welterweight.

This was expected to be a war. But Hendricks, with his tremendous, one-punch knockout power ended the fight in just 46 seconds - using his dynamite left hand, similar to what he did with former contender Jon Fitch.

Hendricks is going to be tough to beat. He has a great wrestling pedigree and is the hardest hitter in the welterweight division. He begged for a title shot afterwards but may have to play the waiting game or take another fight to start 2013. The UFC has bigger plans for the champ GSP that we will get to later.

No. 2: St-Pierre can overcome adversity

Part of welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s genius is he’s made it look easy for most of the career. St. Pierre hasn’t suffered a loss in more than five years and rarely has a tough fight.

But Saturday night was different for the champ. He entered the Octagon needing to overcome a major knee injury and the toughest challenger of his career.

Interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit was motivated and dangerous. He fought hard the entire five rounds and nearly finished St. Pierre with a crushing high kick in the third round. Georges overcame Condit's flurry inside the Octagon by surviving that round and controlling the rest of the fight.

St. Pierre’s right knee was not an issue, and that’s good news for future fights. 75 or 80 percent of GSP would not have won Saturday night, as Condit was game and in his prime.

No. 1: The St-Pierre-Silva superfight must happen

There is no way around it: The UFC must make this superfight between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre. This would be an epic event for mixed martial arts and a fight that would continue the advancement of the sport into the mainstream conscious.

The window is open, but it won’t be open forever. Silva, 37, only has a few (if that) fights left in his Hall of Fame career. St. Pierre, 31, proved that his knee is healthy again and he’s still skilled and explosive. But you never know when unpredictable injuries could strike again.

It would be a travesty if the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the world do not face off in 2013. This current negotiating window is very important. It’s perhaps the only time you can get St. Pierre and Silva in the same Octagon during their Hall of Fame careers.

The fans want the fight. UFC president Dana White wants the fight, and so does Silva.

St. Pierre was non-committal Saturday night, but was still clearing the cobwebs after getting kicked in the head by Carlos Condit. That’s understandable. But once he returns from vacation and realizes this is a rare opportunity, he shouldn’t turn away from it.

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