THE SPORTSMAN AND THE MAN WITH THE PLAN Part II

[Richard J. Hobin Jr.]

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I want to preface all of this praise I'm about to heap on George St-Pierre or GSP (as we in the MMA know like to denote him), that I am a huge BJ Penn fan. If you know nothing about BJ Penn head to YOUTUBE and have at it. You will not be disappointed in my opinion with the highlights you will encounter. However, I am not a fan of trash talking and BJ did a lot of that on the hype show that the SPIKE network showed weeks before the UFC 94 event featuring the these two, the best fighters in their respective weight classes. The fight between GSP and BJ wasn't the mega slug-fest that it was hyped up to be. It was, however, a dominating performance by perhaps the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter of his generation. I say perhaps because I and many others will concur that the previously mentioned Fedor Emelianenko is probably the best in the world. Between GSP and Fedor their is a lot of wiggle room on who of the two is the best but GSP is the one making it close. Again, one of the best parts of the fight was the way GSP reacted to his victory. He was gracious to the blabber-mouthed Penn saying he was very tough and that George's camp had a great game plan and it was executed completely for their victory. He had no harsh words or hyped-up chest pounding about himself. GSP wears suits and certainly has cross-over appeal non-MMA fans. He was voted Canada's Athlete of the Year and nobody in the game works harder and is more dedicated. GSP has a great camp and the next guy to call to for as a mentor and master in his own right is Greg Jackson. Greg Jackson's camp has two world MMA UFC champions in two different weight classes and his team is gunning for more. Their camp is noteworthy because of the open group mentality to the team's fights. If GSP has a fight coming up, Greg Jackson camp comes to help. It is a brotherhood of spirit that good dojo's and martial art schools seem to have.

Greg Jackson and his team figured that they needed to wear down BJ's shoulders because of his fantastic hand speed and built a game plan to do so. It was a marvelous display of student, teacher, and warrior brothers working together to achieve a goal. Greg Jackson is quietly recognized by many to be one of the best in the business. His style is always respectful and his tone is matter-of-fact with a wry smile. He's a realist in my opinion and brings forth the truth of an MMA encounter at this high level. He helped Rashad Evans (Current UFC Light heavyweight) figure out the most feared striker in the game Chuck Liddell and ko'd him. I only mention Chuck Liddell because he's my favorite fighter and a warrior in his own right, but he needs an entire blog entry to himself. These men GSP and Greg Jackson are masters at their craft. What makes this all so compelling to me is that is still based on the martial art axiom. Stagnation brings death and growth brings life. They are both still growing. GSP has improved every fight since losing his belt at the beginning of 2007 to sentimental favorite Matt Serra. When will he peak? Greg Jackson continues to be the man with the plan. Each game plan seems to bring on another win for his fighters. They've got some good creative energy going there in New Mexico, where Jackson has his training facility. It all feels like they are on the warrior's path.....