History will be made on April 13 when The Ultimate Fighting Championship presents UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Billed by Dana White as “the greatest combat sports card ever assembled”, the milestone event will feature 12 current and former UFC champions or interim champions and seven pound-for-pound ranked fighters. It’s no wonder it’s widely expected to become one of the promotion’s highest grossing events ever.
One man who knows a thing or two about making history is Georges St-Pierre, a UFC Hall of Famer who defended his Welterweight Championship at UFC 100 and later headlined massive events in Montreal, Toronto, and New York. We sat down with the BET99.com ambassador to hear his thoughts on the latest UFC odds and some of the biggest storylines of the event, beginning with the perceived pressure of appearing on a stacked card.
“It has a different feel, but every fight is bigger than the last one,” he explained. “It doesn't matter the stadium. It's about the stakes. There is more at stake, especially when you're successful, and you need to be able to deal with this mentally. It’s going to get worse and worse and worse in terms of stress and for some athletes it helps them shine better, but some of them fold.”
That pressure can be even more intense for fighters Like Kayla Harrison, who is making her promotional debut after dominating the Professional Fighters League. GSP has watched her career from afar and believes her success will be predicated on her mental preparation.
“Everything is bigger in UFC because that's the number one organization and is the most prestigious one,” he said. “A lot of guys have a problem adapting to this because the pressure makes them fold. I don't know if it's going to be the case, but she needs to make sure that she prepares herself and visualizes herself walking in there. This is something that not every athlete likes to do.”
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One athlete who has never had trouble handling pressure is Jamahal Hill, who will be going toe to toe with Alex Pereira in the main event. However, Hill faces a different kind of challenge as he’s been away from the UFC for nearly 15 months after rupturing his Achilles tendon. St-Pierre acknowledged that ring rust is real but can be overcome.
“It just has to do with his preparation,” he said. “He needs to be willing to get out of his comfort zone to prepare himself the best he can. And if he does so, the outcome will take care of itself.”
GSP has thought about this fight extensively, but admitted he still isn’t sure who will win. “This fight is an enigma,” he said. “I’m very interested because I believe if the fight stays standing up and it looks like a kickboxing match, I think it favors Pereira, because that's what he has done all his life. However, if the fight is a mixture of clenching, grappling, and everything, I think it will favor Hill. There are a lot of x-factors in that fight, but that’s what makes it interesting.”
One X-factor, in particular, is Pereira’s left lead hook, which has proven to be something of an unstoppable weapon. “The way he throws it is very deceiving and he uses a lot of tricks to touch his opponent with it,” he explained. “And when he touches his opponent with it, it's often a knockout; it's a fatal blow.”
Another match that intrigues St-Pierre is the lightweight showdown between 34-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Charles Oliveira and 27-year-old Armenian sensation Arman Tsarukyan. GSP sees the fight coming down to experience vs. momentum.
“You can't buy experience. The only way to get it, it's being in there and of course in that regard it favors Oliveira,” he said. “But Armen is a special breed. He's very good everywhere, and he's got a style that I remember. I saw his first fight with Islam Makhachev, and he gave him a lot of trouble. I think he's got a lot better since then and he’s very motivated and very hungry and I think he's got that momentum on his side for this one.”
| Underdog* | Fight class | Favorite* |
|---|---|---|
| Holy Holm +350 |
Women's Bantamweight | Kayla Harrison -450 |
| Cody Brundage +900 |
Middleweight | Bo Nickal -1,600 |
| Charles Oliveira +180 |
Lightweight | Arman Tsarukyan -220 |
| Max Holloway +150 |
Lightweight | Justin Gaethje -175 |
| Yan Xiaonan +375 |
Women's Strawweight Co-Main |
Zhang Weili -475 |
| Jamahal Hill +110 |
Light Heavyweight Main Event |
Alex Pereira -130 |
Speaking of momentum, Max Holloway is riding a two-win streak ahead of his fight with Justin Gaethje for the BMF title. However, he’ll look a little different when he enters the octagon after going up to 155 lbs. GSP also went up a weight class in his career and understands the inherent challenges of switching divisions.
“Well, if you cut too much weight, it's not good,” he said. “If you go up in weight and you're fighting a much bigger guy, it's not good either, because physics is a real thing. Gaethje against Holloway is going to be interesting because they're both guys that like to go into war. I know Holloway is very big for his weight class, but now he's fighting in a heavier weight class. I think if you look at the UFC odds, it might favor Gaethje because of the momentum and the weight.”
UFC 300 is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 13. Visit Covers ahead of this milestone event for full coverage of every marquee match. Looking for more exclusive GSP content? See who made St-Pierre's personal Mount RUSHmore of MMA fighters and read about the time he nearly fought Floyd Mayweather Jr.
*Odds as of April 9 at 12:00 p.m. ET on BET99.com, not available in Ontario.
