GSP dominated headlines this week. However, this time it wasn’t to talk about another dominating victory, or his place in the pound-for-pound rankings – it was about the torn ACL muscle that is going to sideline him for the next ten months.The biggest immediate fall-out from this is that it puts the brakes on his headlining championship bout with Nick Diaz. I however think the more important question is: where does this leave the Welterweight division as a whole for the next ten months?
Personally, I think GSP on sidelines for this period of time makes for an interesting year in the WW division. Firstly, because it will give us a glimpse into the future – a future with no dominant champion in the division. I think when you remove GSP from the picture in the WW division as it currently stands you’re all of the sudden looking at a division that’s very similar to the LHW or HW division; lots of equally matched fighters all vying for their chance at the strap. You could see the interim belt change hands more than once; albeit very unlikely that Diaz or Condit would fight anyone else after winning the title.
This period will also give the division a chance to build up some contender names again. The current consensus is that GSP has cleaned out the division, and that there aren’t really any fighters who can hold a candle to him. Now we can watch an interim title match between Diaz and Condit on the edge of our seats – because, it’s no longer an irrelevant fight, it’s determining the future division champ. We could start to see some new stars emerge.
The last most significant implication is what the future holds for St. Pierre. The injury he has sustained is significant, and it may be hard for him to rebound from it. Shogun had both his knees rebuilt, and he is only now starting to again look like the fighter who dominated the LHW division all those years ago. GSP is a superb athlete, likely the best in the sport, and I am sure he will take his time coming back (a la Crosby) – but, will he maintain his dominance? Only time will tell.
A future without GSP? A future without the GSP that we know today? All difficult things for us to accept. Even if it does happen, life will move on and so will we – and we may even see the next P4P top fighter emerge.
… and that is the last word.
