St-Pierre got the idea for this book when he found out he was going to need surgery to repair his anterior crucial ligament injury. This book would highlight what is to be the new GSP; an accumulation of three decades of constant hard work, training and learning from everyone and everything around him. This is the foundation for making him the best all-around fighters ever and not just a specialist in one discipline. GSP doesn’t do this alone much like his life up to this point the had help writing this book from Justin Kingsley. The book has personal insight contributed by the closest people to St-Pierre including: his mother, Kristof Midoux, John Danaher, Firas Zahabi and Rodolphe Beaulieu.

St-Pierre takes us through his life from overcoming being a bullied child through his fight with Carlos Condit.

The fight with Condit was his first return to the Octagon after his surgery and recovery which kept him out of the cage for 19 months. While he does not go into all of the fights he has had he talks about some of the more defining moments in what has made him one of the greatest fighters of all time. As for his physical skill set he discusses what may be considered unorthodox training such as gymnastics and fencing techniques have improved his strength and footwork. He also talks about the mental aspects as much as the physical.

Examples include fear, visualization,  and how the people around you can both hinder and help you to achieve your goals. Both the physical and mental perspectives that he discusses are not limited to just fighters but can help in recreational activities such as golf and tennis for example. Along with just being able to be a more fulfilled feeling person by keeping moving and addressing your weaknesses.

The book is broken down into five books and five different periods of GSP’s life.

Each book is titled for its contributor such as Book 1: Mother which primarily focuses on the early Georges through childhood from his and his mothers perspective. Book 2: Mentor is his early days and first martial arts training with Kristoff Midoux. They share their insight on the tough times that they went through together and how that bond has held them deeply indebted to one another to this day.  John Danaher takes over the contributor role in Book 3: Master. Danaher was GSP’s first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coaches and pulls no punches about him not being the most gifted athlete he has had but through hard work and dedication has become one of the most intelligent fighters to date. Book 4: Maven with Firas Zahabi who became his current head coach after he lost his championship to Matt Serra. Zahabi and St-Pierre go into how they continue to adapt his training techniques to keep his skill set, body and mind from becoming stagnant.  The final book is about Georges and his friend for the last dozen years and half of his management team Rodolphe Beaulieu. In Book 5: Conscience the two go into what GSP faces as he goes through training camps and all the things that must happen to keep him focused on the upcoming fight. St-Pierre also goes into how lonely it can be during those periods but it is something he has to accept to accomplish the task at hand.

The Way of the Fight also gives a great understanding to fight fans who may think that a fight is boring because it doesn’t end with a knock out. Fights that go the distance can give better insight into the fighter and how versed a fighter they really are physically and intelligently. It takes a great deal of hard work and planning to be able to dominant a fight by managing risks and keeping their opponent from implementing their strengths and game plan.

The Way of the Fight is being released by HarperCollins Publishers and hits shelves today in hardcover format and contains 240 pages. This is a must read for anyone interested in mixed martial arts, personal growth or are a Georges St-Pierre fan.

You can purchase it from Amazon.com for $19.16.

Jordan “The Young Gun” Mein made it a successful debut in his first fight in the UFC. Mein survived an early takedown from Dan Miller and a deep arm bar attempt in the first two minutes. Mein dropped Miller shortly after they got back to their feet but let Miller get back standing. Mein realized at that point he could land the punches at will. Mein hurt Miller with a pair of lead jabs to the jaw then a right hand over the top. Mein opened up on the body as Miller crumpled. “The Young Gun” followed him to the mat and delivered ground and pound till the ref stepped in and waved off the fight with 18 seconds left in round 1. Mein gets the TKO victory and becomes the first to stop Dan Miller. Miller now moves to 6-6 in the UFC and 1-1 at welterweight. Miller has not put together the same success as his brother Jim has at lightweight but to note has also had his fair share of hardships to keep him from being fully focused on mma.

In a featherweight affair Antonio “Pato” Carvalho took on the red hot Darren “The Damage” Elkins. Elkins has rattled off wins over Steven Siler, Diego Brandao, Tiequan Zhang and Michirio Omigawa since entering the featherweight ranks. Elkins hurt Carvalho with a right to the jaw and you could see Carvalho was pretty much out on his feet. Elkins lands a left and right with the right dropping Carvalho but he quickly was popping up to his feet but Yves Lavigne was already waving off the fight. Elkins gets his second stoppage in the UFC and first since his debut at 3:06 of round 1.

The long time UFC veteran Patrick “The Predator” Cote, who first appeared in the Octagon in 2004, made his first cut down from middleweight to welterweight. His opponent would be another Strikeforce transplant looking to make a successful first trip to the UFC “Vicious” Bobby Voelker. The hometown fighter Cote had the crowd behind him in mass tonight. Cote started off the fight hot and even was effective of his back at the end of round 1 but the second round was a touch more back and forth. As Cote looked good striking out the gate and first have of the round then after Voelker took a barrage he returned the favor and followed up with some big knees and busted open the eye brow and forehead of Cote. The third round Voelker came out like a rock’em sock’em robot and planted his feet and threw the big left and rights. Voelker lands more big shots and knees as Cote comes ducking in. Voelker gets a take down and delivers dominate ground and pound to keep Cote on the ground for most of the final round. It wouldn’t be enough though as Patrick Cote gets the unanimous decision 29-28 on all three of the judges cards. Voelker is definitely one to keep an eye on going forward to see if he can make the needed changes to be a top 170er.

Earlier on Facebook:

TJ Dillashaw defeats Issei Tamura by knockout at :26 of round 2.

Rick Story wins via TKO at 3:05 of round 1 over Quinn Mulhern.

George Roop gets the unanimous decision over Reuben Duran (29-28×2, 30-27)

Diaz had his share of his highlight moments as he had to be escorted back to his corner after round 1 as he acted like he was going to go after Rush and then after the second he threw a punch after very shortly after the horn. Aside from those Diaz was able to land some shots including looking like he stunned the champ with a punch and coming close to winning the third round until he spent the last minute on his back.

St. Pierre wins his 18th inside the Octagon to bring his record to 24-2 in pro fights. His 18th win is also m0numental because he ties the man who preceded him as king of welterweights UFC hall of famer Matt Hughes. Hughes is also one of the two men to hand Rush a defeat. This was also his 9th consecutive title defense since he captured the belt against Hughes in December of 2007.

Hendricks calls out GSP after decision over Condit

Johny “Bigg Rig” Hendricks squeaked out a close unanimous decision as he took two rounds to one over former interim 170 champ Carlos Condit. Hendricks and Condit rightfully took home the fight of the night honors and an extra $50, 000 each. These two men fought for fifteen minutes and rarely do you get to say that anymore. Hendricks was able to secure take down after take down on Condit. 12 of them in all for the four time all American wrestler and two time national champion at Oklahoma State.

Condit never gave up the fight as he continued to come forward and land a finishing knee or punch. Condit also stayed busy elbowing away at Hendricks from his back and trying to secure a submission. Hendricks landed some good shots from the half guard with punches and elbows. These two went back and forth through out but the take downs and ground control were two much and Hendricks jumps to front of the line for next shot at the champion Georges St. Pierre.

Ellenberger makes fairly quick work of Marquardt

It only took three minutes and the landing of the right hand for ”The Juggernaut” to get has hand raised. Ellenberger has now won 8 of his last 10 in the UFC. Jake Ellenberger delivered the right hand to the face of Marquardt and Marquardt quickly went face down. The former Strikeforce welterweight champion quickly tried to latch onto a leg but Ellenberger held down the back of his head and landed more right hands. Marquardt was put to sleep and quickly awoken by another. Ellenberger was also awarded the knockout of the night and $50,000.

Camozzi takes two of three judges scorecards over Ring

Chris Camozzi has now won four straight fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight decision. Nick “Promise” Ring looked sharp early as he played to being the much faster man but he was unable to keep that pace up for the whole fight. Ring quickly got in and out striking Camozzi as his opponent kept coming. Late in the second Ring was fighting with his hands down as he had much of the fight but by now his volume had significantly decreased and his punches didn’t look to have the same pop that they had earlier. Camozzi clearly took the final stanza as Ring managed to survive but was being highly out worked. While I thought Ring had taken the first and Camozzi the third and the second was a toss up but two of the three judges scored it 29-28 while one scored it 29-28 for Ring.

Ricci out classes Fletcher in clear cut victory.

The first fight of the pay per view was a light weight affair as Tri Star gym representative and Canadian Mike Ricci wins the fight by taking every round on the three judges scorecards. This one was one of those cases where it seems like a fighter just doesn’t get going  and seemed to be the case for the Sunderland, England native Colin Fletcher. Ricci got the take downs and really showed he wanted it in the final round and almost got a submission from Fletcher’s back but the fight ended. This was Ricci’s first fight since dropping the unanimous decision to Colton Smith in the TUF 16 season finale.

Since both Condit and St-Pierre have worked with Greg Jackson in the past, this time Jackson is staying neutral this time and not coaching or cornering either man. St-Pierre is still training out of his Tri-Star gym in Canada; while Condit is still at Jackson’s gym but is using Mike Winkeljohn and Chris Luttrell as his primary coaches to get him ready.

GSP is returning from a knee injury that has kept him from competing since his unanimous victory over Jake Shields in April of 2011. In the audio you can tell in his voice that he is truly excited about being back training and getting ready for a fight. Usually fighters get worn out preparing for the fight and are looking forward to the vacation time afterwards. This lay-off for St-Pierre though has fueled him even more and made him realize how much he really does enjoy fighting and being part of the UFC.

One of the most talked about aspects during the media call was the potential pound for pound match up between St-Pierre and Anderson Silva. Silva has made it known that he will be in Montreal to watch the fight and cheer on GSP. Dana White when asked wouldn’t be surprised if we were to see a call out from the Middleweight champ if GSP is able to defeat Condit that night.

Dana also stated that he is looking at Toronto, Dallas Cowboys Stadium, or a soccer stadium in Brazil as potential host venues. While Condit, as a fan, is intrigued by the potential GSP vs Silva fight, he is hoping to ruin some people’s plans for that fight. Dana made it clear that the GSP/Silva fight is a pound for pound fight between the top two that has been in everyone’s books for a while now and that should Condit win he will defend the 170 pound title against whoever is next in line.

St-Pierre had this to say when he was asked about Silva being at the fight and his presence:  “I don’t care about Anderson Silva. He can do whatever he wants. He can go to Florida or stay in Brazil if he wants. I am focusing on Carlos Condit and that’s all that matters to me.”

Condit is not a fighter to be over looked though as he as shown devastating finishing ability like his fight with Dan Hardy and Dong Hyun Kim. In the more recent with Kim he ended the fight with a flying knee and punches in the first round. In his fight with Nick Diaz for the interim title he showed a superb game plan against a very crafty fighter and executed it almost flawlessly for the decision. Out of Condit’s 28 victories, 13 have been come by KO/TKO while 13 others have come by submission even though he has not submitted any one in the UFC yet.

LISTEN TO THE FULL CONFERENCE CALL AUDIO BELOW.

[audio mp3="http://www.wrestling-online.com/audio/UFC154conferencecall.mp3" ]

St. Pierre has been sidelined after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and back in December of last year, he had a successful surgery by Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic whom he also sent out a thank tweet to today.

“I’m now medically cleared to compete in professional mixed martial arts events- Rendez-vous le 17 novembre, @UFC 154, Montreal,” St. Pierre tweeted.

UFC 154 has been scheduled to take place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at the Bell Center. The event will be headlined by the returning champ taking on the current interim champion Carlos Condit.

Condit won the championship in a five round unanimous decision over Nick Diaz. That fight irked some fight fans as Condit appeared to spend a majority of the fight running from Diaz. While Condit did land some good shots when they mixed it up it was clear his game plan was to not let Diaz trap him against the cage, which he was very successful at. Condit elected after the fight with Diaz to wait for St. Pierre to return rather than defend the interim title.

The co-main event will feature Johny Hendricks versus Martin Kampmann in a number one contenders bout to see who will face the winner in the night’s main event between St. Pierre and Condit.

Also on the card is Mark Bocek versus Rafael dos Anjos, Tom Lawlor versus Francis Carmont, Mark Hominick versus Pablo Garza, and Antonio Carvalho versus Rodrigo Damm.