turboturist
24-12-2007, 09:27 PM
ST-PIERRE LOOKING SHARP IN TRAINING
MMAWeekly.com was on location to observe a traditional Friday sparring session at the Tri-Star gym in Montreal, Canada. On hand were Georges St-Pierre, Rashad Evans, Denis Kang, Patrick Cote, Jonathan Goulet, David Loiseau, David Pariseau, Jacob MacDonald, Steve Claveau and more.
Coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Van Arsdale were also there to supervise the proceedings. From an on-lookers vantage point, it seemed clear that Jackson is St-Pierre’s closest advisor these days.
The initial pairings as directed by Coach Jackson included Evans versus St-Pierre and Loiseau versus Kang. The fighters began by working mainly their striking and occasionally shooting in for a takedown attempt. Every five minutes they would take a short rest and find a new partner for the next round.
Of note, not one fighter (including Evans) was able to take down St-Pierre and it definitely wasn’t because of a lack of effort. On the other hand, it looked as though St-Pierre took everyone down almost at will with probably a 95% success ratio.
St-Pierre’s standup also looked crisp. Although he doesn't throw a lot of combinations, the strikes he does throw land clean and often. Perhaps one minor note of criticism is that his feet are not always grounded thus reducing the amount of weight behind his strikes.
There was also some speculation around the gym, although St-Pierre did not confirm this, that he had actually been anticipating the possibility of Serra pulling out of the fight and thus had been going through his regular intensive training rituals for 12 weeks leading up to the fight. This is interesting because his Dec. 29 opponent, Matt Hughes has repeatedly stated that one of the factors he chose to take the fight was that because he felt St-Pierre may not have had sufficient time to prepare. If what St-Pierre’s teammates are saying is true, Hughes may be in for a bit of a surprise.
MMAWeekly.com was on location to observe a traditional Friday sparring session at the Tri-Star gym in Montreal, Canada. On hand were Georges St-Pierre, Rashad Evans, Denis Kang, Patrick Cote, Jonathan Goulet, David Loiseau, David Pariseau, Jacob MacDonald, Steve Claveau and more.
Coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Van Arsdale were also there to supervise the proceedings. From an on-lookers vantage point, it seemed clear that Jackson is St-Pierre’s closest advisor these days.
The initial pairings as directed by Coach Jackson included Evans versus St-Pierre and Loiseau versus Kang. The fighters began by working mainly their striking and occasionally shooting in for a takedown attempt. Every five minutes they would take a short rest and find a new partner for the next round.
Of note, not one fighter (including Evans) was able to take down St-Pierre and it definitely wasn’t because of a lack of effort. On the other hand, it looked as though St-Pierre took everyone down almost at will with probably a 95% success ratio.
St-Pierre’s standup also looked crisp. Although he doesn't throw a lot of combinations, the strikes he does throw land clean and often. Perhaps one minor note of criticism is that his feet are not always grounded thus reducing the amount of weight behind his strikes.
There was also some speculation around the gym, although St-Pierre did not confirm this, that he had actually been anticipating the possibility of Serra pulling out of the fight and thus had been going through his regular intensive training rituals for 12 weeks leading up to the fight. This is interesting because his Dec. 29 opponent, Matt Hughes has repeatedly stated that one of the factors he chose to take the fight was that because he felt St-Pierre may not have had sufficient time to prepare. If what St-Pierre’s teammates are saying is true, Hughes may be in for a bit of a surprise.