5 times when a UFC champion used a surprising gameplan to win a fight
The UFC’s champions are undoubtedly the best fighters on the planet in their respective weight classes, and so it stands to reason that they often surprise the fans when they’re in action.
Over the years we’ve seen numerous UFC champions unleash a surprising gameplan on their opponents to defeat them, often showing off skills that nobody really knew they had.
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Will we see Israel Adesanya, for instance, unleash his inner wrestler to defeat Robert Whittaker in their middleweight title rematch next weekend? It’d be surprising, but to be honest, we’ve seen stranger things happen in the octagon.
With that in mind, here are five times that a UFC champion used a surprising gameplan to beat their opponent.
#5. Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Hughes – UFC 79
While he became largely renowned for his wrestling game during his later years, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was actually a fighting chameleon of sorts.
The Canadian developed his skills in each area so well that he was essentially able to dominate his opponents in all facets of the game, meaning that he would often surprise the fans with some of his gameplans.
One example of St-Pierre being able to shift his style in order to surprise an opponent came in his third meeting with legendary former welterweight kingpin Matt Hughes at UFC 79, with the interim welterweight title on the line.
St-Pierre had only taken the bout on late notice following the withdrawal of Matt Serra, but he was still heavily favored given he’d wiped the floor with Hughes just over a year prior.
That fight saw 'Rush' stuff Hughes’ takedown attempts and pick him apart standing, leading to a second round head kick knockout, and many fans expected him to repeat the same gameplan in this clash.
For his part, Hughes evidently expected this too – and switched his stance to southpaw, reportedly in order to make it easier for him to lunge in for takedowns.
However, St-Pierre decided to nullify that by switching his plan entirely. Instead of striking with Hughes, he decided to wrestle with him – and took him down in the opening moments of the fight.
Hughes – who had rarely been taken down due to his powerful wrestling – looked like a fish out of water on his back, and from there, St-Pierre was able to dominate him en route to a second round submission win via armbar.
Dec29.2007
Georges St-Pierre completes his trilogy with Matt Hughes,
when he finishes him with an armbar at UFC 79 https://t.co/2dyosHNLl6
The victory not only gave St-Pierre the overall win in his trilogy with Hughes, but the fact that he’d beaten him on the ground after destroying him standing left no doubt as to who the division’s new king was.