The Return of GSP: A tactical breakdown of Bisping vs St. Pierre
You may have have an opinion on who the greatest fighter of all time is, but if you were to compile a list of the top 5 fighters to ever step in the cage, your list would undoubtedly be incomplete with out the name Georges St. Pierre. Georges first entered the octagon at UFC 46. In a sport that was growing and evolving at an unprecedented rate, he not only kept up, he led the way. He competed in what was arguably the most competitive division of that time, and amassed the third most UFC title defenses in history. After compiling wins over the greatest fighters of the era, and clearing out his division Georges eked out a controversial decision win over Johnny Hendrix for his final title defense. He suddenly announced his retirement and several years passed as GSP faded from the limelight. It looked like we had seen the last of St. Pierre. Until, it seems, a worthy opponent presented himself.
While Georges was champ, Michael Bisping was winning fights but generally being overlooked by the UFC brass. He was held up by two facts; he lacked the highlight finishes that the UFC desired, and at one point he was possibly the most hated fighter on the UFC roster due to his attitude and generally nasty disposition. Fortunately for “The Count”, however, he started sitting down on his punches a little more, and Conor McGregor ushered in the era of “he who talks the most shit gets the best fights”. Then, just like that, Bisping became a UFC company favorite, and when GSP came looking for a fight he was the only name on the list.
The two are set to fight on November 4th at Madison Square garden for the UFC middle-weight title. While some say the size of Bisping will be too much for Georges, others still remember the days when Georges was unbeatable and believe he'll pick up right where he left off. Both fighters present a problem for the other to solve, and both fighters have the upper hand in certain areas of the game. But in the chess match that is fighting, it often comes down to who can bring the fight in to their area of strength, and how each fighters strengths matches up with the other's. As the saying goes; styles make fights.
The Tactics, Techniques, and Habits of Michael Bisping
Bisping's style comes down to good solid basics. He shows up in shape, he maintains good ring position through out the fight, and keeps good body position in order to take advantage of his opponents mistakes. After cardio, the main staple of Bispings style is ring position. When a fighter's back is to the cage his options are limited. His lack of a retreat option can make them punch with a little less calm, and a little more desperation. Holding the center of the cage and putting his opponents back to the cage allows a fighter to dictate the action. When the opponent swings you simple back up, but when you swing he can't back up. Pretty simple, yet wildly effective. Bisping constantly uses pressure to keep his opponents back to the fence.
The second staple of Michael's game is the combined use of feints and jabs. Both of these tools allow him to make the "opponent show their hand", so to speak. If an opponent is looking to counter him, he'll feint or he'll jab with out really committing to a shot. His opponents will then look to counter but since Michael hasn't really committed his weight to his initial punch, he's still in position to simply move out of the way briefly and come back in with a counter of his own. This is one of the main reasons he has done so well against counter-strikers.
All of these things Mike has going for him. The question is, however, are they the things he needs to beat GSP, or does GSP have to the tools to nullify Bisping's strengths.
One more thing to observe about the habits of Michael Bisping is that while he does maintain position 90 percent of the time, he will sometimes get over excited and run forward with a flurry. While this may only be 10 percent of the time, it is still habit that could be exploited. This will tie in later when we get to the strengths of GSP.
The GSP Rundown
Interestingly enough, Georges' game is also one that is centered around the jab and ring position. However, he uses these tools differently than Michael. Georges doesn't necessarily always pressure his opponent to the cage (sometimes he does), but he does not allow himself to be backed to the cage either. When his opponents pressure forward he will move back just enough to get out of range, but not enough to be backed to the wall, using his jab to stop the forward movement of his opponent. If he does get his back to the cage, he will generally find an exit out the side and circle himself back to the center.
When it comes to the jab Georges applies the tool for two purposes, both of which vary from what Michael Bisping uses his jab for. Typically, Bisping will use a non-committal, flicking jab to bait his opponents in to countering. Where as Georges applies a hard and stiff jab that will break your orbital bone if you take too many (Just ask Josh Koscheck).
He uses this jab to stop the forward momentum of his opponents, as we said before, and also to force opponents to cover up or react defensively. Too many jabs from GSP will certainly inflict damage, so opponents are forced to defend. When their hands come up to do so, he either throws the right hand around them or shoots underneath them for a take down.
There is one more aspect of Georges' game that we must consider, and that is what Firas Zahabi calls "reactive take downs". This is something that Georges is particularly great at. He will jab, and jab, and jab some more, staying safe until his opponent decides to lash out. As soon as his opponent really commits to a combination he will shoot just as they throw their weight in to a punch or kick and he'll score a perfectly timed take down.
This will come in to play greatly as we now examine how the styles and strengths of these fighters match up,
The Breakdown
Firstly, lets look at cage control. Bisping generally will bully his opponents to the fence and trap them there, as we have said before. We also stated before, however, that Georges generally hasn't found himself trapped there in the past because he doesn't back up very far with out jabbing to stop his opponent. Either that or he simply circles out. Bisping is generally the one applying the forward pressure in his fights and when we've seen him be the one being forced back, he hasn't shown himself to be very adept at escaping back to the center.
It is likely that even if Georges doesn't completely dominate the cage position, he probably won't completely loose it either, and we'll likely see a fight fought out in the center of the cage.
Secondly, we can look at the jab. Now, we now that Bisping uses his jab to make his opponent want to swing back hard with a counter. However, we also know that when Georges does counter he generally backs up slightly, and throws a jab from a good position. He doesn't over commit to counters or leave himself open in the process.
Nice and safe is generally (to the displeasure of many fans) the way that GSP rolls, and it is in this manner that he could use his own jab to nullify the use of Bisping's. If Georges simply stays safe with his counter jabs and keeps circling himself back to the center of the cage all he has to do is wait for that 10 % that we talked about earlier; the tendency of Bisping to get over excited and run forward. When that time comes Georges will have his chance to do what he does best: take his opponents to the mat, and win by decision.
It is the fight game, however, and anything could happen. We'll have to tune in on Saturday night and see how this plays out! If we've seen anything to be true in this sport, it is that any man can win on any given night.
If you liked this break down please click the button below to follow us on Facebook, or share it with your friends!
Until next time.
While Georges was champ, Michael Bisping was winning fights but generally being overlooked by the UFC brass. He was held up by two facts; he lacked the highlight finishes that the UFC desired, and at one point he was possibly the most hated fighter on the UFC roster due to his attitude and generally nasty disposition. Fortunately for “The Count”, however, he started sitting down on his punches a little more, and Conor McGregor ushered in the era of “he who talks the most shit gets the best fights”. Then, just like that, Bisping became a UFC company favorite, and when GSP came looking for a fight he was the only name on the list.
The two are set to fight on November 4th at Madison Square garden for the UFC middle-weight title. While some say the size of Bisping will be too much for Georges, others still remember the days when Georges was unbeatable and believe he'll pick up right where he left off. Both fighters present a problem for the other to solve, and both fighters have the upper hand in certain areas of the game. But in the chess match that is fighting, it often comes down to who can bring the fight in to their area of strength, and how each fighters strengths matches up with the other's. As the saying goes; styles make fights.
The Tactics, Techniques, and Habits of Michael Bisping
Bisping's style comes down to good solid basics. He shows up in shape, he maintains good ring position through out the fight, and keeps good body position in order to take advantage of his opponents mistakes. After cardio, the main staple of Bispings style is ring position. When a fighter's back is to the cage his options are limited. His lack of a retreat option can make them punch with a little less calm, and a little more desperation. Holding the center of the cage and putting his opponents back to the cage allows a fighter to dictate the action. When the opponent swings you simple back up, but when you swing he can't back up. Pretty simple, yet wildly effective. Bisping constantly uses pressure to keep his opponents back to the fence.
The second staple of Michael's game is the combined use of feints and jabs. Both of these tools allow him to make the "opponent show their hand", so to speak. If an opponent is looking to counter him, he'll feint or he'll jab with out really committing to a shot. His opponents will then look to counter but since Michael hasn't really committed his weight to his initial punch, he's still in position to simply move out of the way briefly and come back in with a counter of his own. This is one of the main reasons he has done so well against counter-strikers.
All of these things Mike has going for him. The question is, however, are they the things he needs to beat GSP, or does GSP have to the tools to nullify Bisping's strengths.
One more thing to observe about the habits of Michael Bisping is that while he does maintain position 90 percent of the time, he will sometimes get over excited and run forward with a flurry. While this may only be 10 percent of the time, it is still habit that could be exploited. This will tie in later when we get to the strengths of GSP.
The GSP Rundown
Interestingly enough, Georges' game is also one that is centered around the jab and ring position. However, he uses these tools differently than Michael. Georges doesn't necessarily always pressure his opponent to the cage (sometimes he does), but he does not allow himself to be backed to the cage either. When his opponents pressure forward he will move back just enough to get out of range, but not enough to be backed to the wall, using his jab to stop the forward movement of his opponent. If he does get his back to the cage, he will generally find an exit out the side and circle himself back to the center.
When it comes to the jab Georges applies the tool for two purposes, both of which vary from what Michael Bisping uses his jab for. Typically, Bisping will use a non-committal, flicking jab to bait his opponents in to countering. Where as Georges applies a hard and stiff jab that will break your orbital bone if you take too many (Just ask Josh Koscheck).
He uses this jab to stop the forward momentum of his opponents, as we said before, and also to force opponents to cover up or react defensively. Too many jabs from GSP will certainly inflict damage, so opponents are forced to defend. When their hands come up to do so, he either throws the right hand around them or shoots underneath them for a take down.
There is one more aspect of Georges' game that we must consider, and that is what Firas Zahabi calls "reactive take downs". This is something that Georges is particularly great at. He will jab, and jab, and jab some more, staying safe until his opponent decides to lash out. As soon as his opponent really commits to a combination he will shoot just as they throw their weight in to a punch or kick and he'll score a perfectly timed take down.
This will come in to play greatly as we now examine how the styles and strengths of these fighters match up,
The Breakdown
Firstly, lets look at cage control. Bisping generally will bully his opponents to the fence and trap them there, as we have said before. We also stated before, however, that Georges generally hasn't found himself trapped there in the past because he doesn't back up very far with out jabbing to stop his opponent. Either that or he simply circles out. Bisping is generally the one applying the forward pressure in his fights and when we've seen him be the one being forced back, he hasn't shown himself to be very adept at escaping back to the center.
It is likely that even if Georges doesn't completely dominate the cage position, he probably won't completely loose it either, and we'll likely see a fight fought out in the center of the cage.
Secondly, we can look at the jab. Now, we now that Bisping uses his jab to make his opponent want to swing back hard with a counter. However, we also know that when Georges does counter he generally backs up slightly, and throws a jab from a good position. He doesn't over commit to counters or leave himself open in the process.
Nice and safe is generally (to the displeasure of many fans) the way that GSP rolls, and it is in this manner that he could use his own jab to nullify the use of Bisping's. If Georges simply stays safe with his counter jabs and keeps circling himself back to the center of the cage all he has to do is wait for that 10 % that we talked about earlier; the tendency of Bisping to get over excited and run forward. When that time comes Georges will have his chance to do what he does best: take his opponents to the mat, and win by decision.
It is the fight game, however, and anything could happen. We'll have to tune in on Saturday night and see how this plays out! If we've seen anything to be true in this sport, it is that any man can win on any given night.
If you liked this break down please click the button below to follow us on Facebook, or share it with your friends!
Until next time.
Comments
Post a Comment