Georges "RUSH" St.Pierre: May 2008

Ximu comments on GSP in Rio

Since great champions must keep on moving, UFC welterweight title holder Georges Saint-Pierre arrived in Brazil yesterday to refine his game. The Canadian will be making his first title defense, since recovering it from the hands of Matt Serra, against John Fitch, in August.

To continue to put on a show in the octagon, St Pierre’s Jiu-Jitsu instructor in Canada, Bruno Molenga (Gracie Barra) sent his student to Barra da Tijuca on an exchange in the Gracie Barra home base. The champion will stay in Brazil until the 10th of June and until then will practice MMA and do his physical conditioning with the fighter Gustavo Ximu, and complete his Jiu-Jitsu routine at night.

GRACIEMAG.com contacted Ximu, who today took the champion to practice boxing at the Nobre Arte boxing academy and got ready to have a first roll with Saint-Pierre at GB.

“He came to work on his Jiu-Jitsu. He arrived yesterday and I took him to Nobre Arte today. The guy is really humble and good people, besides being a really good fighter. We had only one technical training session led by Claudio Coelho and he liked it a lot. The guys there at the academy couldn’t even believe their eyes, as everyone there is a fan. I was also under the impression he was bigger. Not that he’s small, but he weighs 84kg and on tv he looks bigger. I’m going to take him to practice boxing, wrestling and do physical conditioning with me to keep him active, but the main thing is Jiu-Jitsu,” said Ximu.

GSP Hones his Skills in Brazil

IO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) arrived in Brazil on Tuesday, but not for its beaches. The Quebec native has already begun training with a cast of Gracie Barra black belts in preparation for the upcoming bout with Jon Fitch at UFC 87 "Seek and Destroy" on Aug. 9 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

"I came to train and improve my Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Gracie Barra," St. Pierre said. "The black belts have a unquestionable level (of skill) and I am looking to get a better game for my fight."

While the Canadian stays in Rio de Janeiro to sharpen his ground skills, he has also assumed a full training routine with Gustavo Machado and Aloisio Barros.

"They are two very good fighters and it is important to spar with them to get prepared," Sherdog's No. 1-ranked welterweight said.

St. Pierre isn't limiting his training in Brazil to one style. He also boxed in Nobre Arte, rolled with Gracie Barra Combat Team members and had a wrestling clinic with Adrian Jaoude, the brother of Olympic wrestler and International Fight League veteran Antoine Jaoude.

"His wrestling skills are fantastic," Machado said of St. Pierre.

St. Pierre will leave Rio de Janeiro on June 10.

(Sherdog.com)

GSP vs. Fitch - UFC 87

Georges St. Pierre (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will make his first title defense since reclaiming the welterweight belt when he meets Jon Fitch (16-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) at UFC 87.

The UFC today confirmed the headline bout -- and the loss of a Brock Lesnar (1-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) vs. Mark Coleman (15-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) fight. Coleman, a recently inducted UFC hall-of-famer set to come out of retirement, reportedly suffered a knee injury, and a new opponent for Lesnar will be named shortly.

UFC 87 takes place Aug. 9 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

St. Pierre, who reclaimed his title and avenged a previous loss to Matt Serra back in April at UFC 83, will now meet the division's top contender.

"He's a very, very tough guy," St. Pierre told UFC.com's Thomas Gerbasi. "I'm going to have to train hard and be very well prepared because he may be my toughest fight yet."

Fitch, a former Purdue University wrestler, defeated Chris Wilson in March for his eighth-straight victory in the UFC. No one has matched that streak since UFC hall-of-famer Royce Gracie won eight straight fights from UFC 1 to UFC 3.
After the victory, UFC president Dana White confirmed that Fitch would be next in line for a title shot.

UFC 87 also features a pivotal lightweight bout between contender Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta.

(mmajunkie.com)