Georges St. Pierre is quickly losing favor with MMA fans.
Saturday’s UFC 129 bout with Jake Shields brought St. Pierre brought another decision victory for the welterweight champion, which was his fourth straight decision win.
St. Pierre has not won by stoppage since Jan. 31, 2009 when B.J. Penn failed to answer the bell for the fifth round.
Fans are growing tired of St. Pierre’s decision wins and his lack of “killer instinct,” and want to see him be more aggressive and finish his opponents like he did on his first run to the UFC title.
Now with 22 career wins, St. Pierre has had 9 decision victories and 13 wins by knockout or submission.
With that in mind, here are some of the other top fighters in MMA that have a few too many decisions to their credit.
Jon Fitch (23-3-1, 13 Decision victories) – Fitch has pretty much become the measuring stick of this category. He is one of the best in the world, but he just can’t seem to finish fights. Fitch is now on a run of 9-straight fights that have went to the judges. His last finish came back in June of 2007.
Randy Couture (19-11, 8 Decision victories) – Though a Hall of Famer and a legend, finishing opponents wasn’t necessarily Couture’s forte either. Actually, some of “The Natural’s” biggest wins were decisions including his victories over Tito Ortiz and Tim Sylvia.
Dominick Cruz (17-1, 9 Decision victories) – Cruz is the UFC Bantamweight Champion and he has one of the hardest styles for opponents to figure out. Yet, Cruz has just one stoppage in his last seven fights, and that came from a broken hand to Brian Bowles. Despite the lack of finishes in a wild division that produces a lot of action, Cruz is not often criticized for his inability to end fights.
Frankie Edgar (13-1-1, 8 Decision victories) – Edgar is the UFC Lightweight Champion but he is often praised for his talents because he is the one lightweight that dominated B.J. Penn. Edgar has a lot of energy and an interesting style, but it hasn’t produced a lot of stoppages. Edgar’s last submission or TKO came in January of 2009.
Gray Maynard (10-0-1, 8 Decision victories) – Maynard was very close to winning the lightweight title but he couldn’t finish Edgar. In his UFC career, he has just one finish, which came back in September of 2007. Maynard is on a run of eight-straight fights that have gone to the judges. Like Fitch, Maynard may not be flashy, but he is effective.
Lyoto Machida (17-2, 9 Decision victories) – Everyone is pretty high on Machida for his crane kick of Couture last Saturday, but we forget that Machida was disliked for many years while climbing up the UFC ladder. Machida once had a string of five decision victories in six fights, but his knockout wins over the years have given him a bit of a pass. It is clear that Machida likes to finish and can finish, but he needs a game opponent to get the finish.
Forrest Griffin (18-6, 8 Decision victories) – Griffin is a fan favorite because of his personality and willingness to have a good scrap. However, Griffin is not much of a finisher. In fact, five of his last six wins have been by decision. If there is a stoppage in a Griffin fight, it probably isn’t going his way, as his last three losses have come by knockout.
I know everyone loves a good finish and loves what someone like Jon Jones and Anderson Silva can do, but the point to this article is that all of these guys on this list are clearly talented. Their inability to earn a finish is as much an indication of their level of opponents as it is to their talents.
When you get to the level these guys have, getting a finish becomes even more difficult. That is what makes what Jones, Silva, and even Jose Aldo do that much more impressive.
