Georges St-Pierre retained his UFC welterweight belt with a controversial split decision victory over Johny Hendricks on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
St-Pierre’s face told the story of the battering he took from the heavy-handed Hendricks, who gave the champion the toughest and most punishing night in the Octagon. After a close fight, the judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, and 47-48 in favor of the champion. Dana White was not impressed with the decision.
“Yeah, I’m blown away that Georges St-Pierre won that fight. And listen, I’m a promoter. He’s the biggest pay-per-view star on the planet for me. And I still don’t think he won that fight. I want what’s fair and that wasn’t fair,” said the UFC President.
White slammed the Nevada State Athletic Commission and expressed fear at bringing fights back in the future after the performance of the judges on the night.
St-Pierre was quite emotional after the fight and told fans that he would have to step away from fighting to deal with some personal issues. He would not divulge the nature of his problems to the media, but repeated several times that he would be taking some time away to deal with things.
Hendricks was understandably upset in the initial aftermath of the decision, but he told press afterwards that he felt he clearly won the fight and that his ultimate goal was the welterweight belt. He also showed that he has not lost his sense of humor when he tweeted this:
GSP’s mood seemed a lot brighter when he tweeted this message to his followers on Monday:
Check out the fight higlights:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Vv53mcXLtxc
Check out the post fight interview in the Octagon between Joe Rogan and GSP after the decision was announced:
