With elite wrestling skills and a sledgehammer for a left hand, Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks represents a real threat to UFC champion Georges St-Pierre. Denver Nuggets Shirts . "Ive never fought anybody like him. But hes never fought anybody like me," St. Pierre told The Canadian Press. "So were both unique. Were going to clash and see whos the best man." For those who have followed the career of the MMA star from Montreal, its a familiar refrain. As is St-Pierres comment that while the No. 1 contender poses a lot of problems, the champion has the solution. "Im ready. Im very well-prepared. Im at my best. Im the best I can be," said St-Pierre. The world will find out Nov. 16 in Las Vegas when St-Pierre (24-2) meets Hendricks (15-1) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It will mark St-Pierres 10th title defence. He lost the first, knocked out by Matt (The Terror) Serra at UFC 69 in April 2007, but reclaimed his championship belt by beating Serra two years later at UFC 83. Since then, he has defeated Jon Fitch, B.J. (The Prodigy) Penn, Thiago (Pitbull) Alves, Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy, Josh Koscheck, Jake Shields, Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit and Nick Diaz. St-Pierre has won 11 straight since that 2009 loss to Serra and currently ranks second in the UFCs pound-for-pound rankings, behind only light-heavyweight champion Jon (Bones) Jones. That record and reputation has made GSP a 2-1 favourite to beat Hendricks, odds more respectful of the challenger than in many of the Canadians previous fights. A southpaw, the 30-year-old Hendricks has won six straight since dropping a decision to Rick (The Horror) Story in December 2010. And three of those wins (T.J.Waldburger, Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann) were emphatic first-round knockouts. A former NCAA champion wrestler at Oklahoma State, Hendricks registered just three takedowns in the five fights after Story. With three of those fights being short, he did not need to dig deep into his arsenal. But last time out, he landed 12 of 15 takedowns in neutralizing the striking game of Condit. According to FightMetric, St-Pierres numbers are much better than Hendricks. The champion is accurate on a UFC-record 76 per cent of his takedowns (compared to 50 per cent for Hendricks) and is successful defending them 86 per cent of the time (63 per cent for Hendricks). St-Pierres significant striking accuracy rate is 55 per cent (50 for Hendricks) while his striking defence rate is 75 per cent (58 for Hendricks). Both men have beaten Josh Koscheck, a fighter who has also has good wrestling and power in his hands. Hendricks won a decision in May 2012 while St-Pierre earned decisions in August 2007 and December 2010. "They are similar but different," said St-Pierre. "He (Hendricks) is a leftie, he has a different style and different game. Its going to be a good fight. I look forward to it." Last time out against Koscheck, St-Pierre literally broke his face with a punishing jab and landed four of nine takedown attempts. St-Pierre landed 110 significant strikes to just 16 for Koscheck. The champion has prepared for Hendricks in his native Montreal. It has gone smoothly although his camp was forced to deny reports that he might be thinking of retirement after the fight. Trainer Firas Zahabi said his comments were misconstrued. Asked about the issue, the 32-year-old St-Pierre said he is planning his next fight rather than his retirement. "I always take it one fight at a time but Im happy with my life right now." He says there will be no shortage of challenges after Hendricks. "There are always going to be challenges," he said. "Im not above the sport. "Everybodys beatable and I always have to keep my head straight and stay humble and train hard." St-Pierre knows from experience. After dethroning future Hall of Famer Matt Hughes at UFC 65 in November 2006, his first title defence followed a truncated training camp marked by distractions that included family illness. He was knocked out by Serra in a shocking upset. St-Pierre has never made the same mistake again. As his training goes, so does his fighting. It has been a rough year for champions with Anderson Silva, Junior dos Santos and Benson Henderson losing their title within the last 12 months. "It makes you remember no matter how great you are, no matter how good youre doing, one mistake and you lose everything," St-Pierre said. He is realistic about the target on his back. "Ive been the target since I became champion because everyone wants what you have," St-Pierre said. "And its OK. "Its hard to become champion, its even harder to stay champion. I like the challenge every time. Im very motivated." Nuggets Jerseys China . At this rate, the Flyers captain is set to be remembered more for a fantastic finish. Wholesale Nuggets Jerseys . - Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift the Revolution to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night that kept New Englands playoff hopes alive.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Even with a winless team coming to Madison Square Garden, there was no chance of the New York Knicks being overconfident.For us, right now, its not like we were playing great, point guard Jose Calderon said.They were good enough to beat Philadelphia.Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points, Amare Stoudemire added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Knicks dropped the 76ers to 0-13 with a 91-83 victory on Saturday night.Calderon made his season debut for the Knicks (4-10), who had lost consecutive games but jumped out to a big early lead and had an easy time against a team that was every bit as bad as its record for most of the game.You dont want to give a team like that no type of edge, no type of confidence, because when you do it can be a dangerous night for you, Anthony said.The 76ers are the first team to drop their first 13 games since the 2009-10 Nets lost 18 straight during the worst start in NBA history. The Sixers are nearing their franchise-worst start of 0-15 in 1972-73, when they finished 9-73 for the worst 82-game mark in league history.They played hard to keep from getting blown out but couldnt overcome three quarters of dismal shooting that had them trailing by as many as 21 points.We all are sticking together, forward Nerlens Noel said. We feel like were getting closer to our first win.Noel had the best night of his young career with season highs of 17 points and 12 rebounds.That was Nerlens best game. So everybody in Philadelphia is seeing what were seeing. Its slow but its coming, coach Brett Brown said.Calderon finished with three points and three assists in 21 minutes. The Spanish veteran strained his right calf during a preseason game on Oct. 20, and the Knicks are hoping he can help the flow of their triangle offence.New York was still without Andrea Bargnani, who was nearing a return from the strained right hamstring that has sidelined himm all season when he strained his right calf in practice Friday. Denver Nuggets Gear. The crowd was announced at 19,812, a sellout, but fans were largely silent during play, as if beating up on the dismal Sixers wasnt worth cheering.Philadelphia did manage to get it to 85-77 with under 2 minutes left, but Anthony made consecutive baskets.___TIP-INS76ers: Philadelphia trailed 25-13 after one. The 76ers had led at the start of the second quarter in three of the previous four games after not doing so once before then. ... Michael Carter-Williams grabbed four rebounds after he was averaging 6.0. His 6.2 rebounds per game last season ranked second among NBA guards.Knicks: New York played at home for the only time in a six-game span. The Knicks return to the Midwest for Thanksgiving week, visiting Houston, Dallas and Oklahoma City. ... Second-year guard Shane Larkin, who had been starting at point guard during Calderons absence, didnt play.NERLENS NIGHTNoel was the No. 6 pick in last years draft but missed the entire season after tearing an ACL during his lone season at Kentucky. His potential is one of the reasons the Sixers are encouraged about their future. I am really starting to feel like my legs are under me now, he said. (After) not playing basketball in so long, I am already starting to feel my timing is a lot better and Im feeling a lot more confident.ELEMENT OF SURPRISESome of the 76ers are young and unknown, even to their opponents. Anthony said he knew most of them, though recent call-up Robert Covington from the NBA D-League was a bit of a mystery. The kid Covington came in at the end, Im looking at the sideline, Im like, Is he a shooter? How should we guard him? Anthony said. Theyre like, Just put a hand up. He came out and hit four 3s in a row. Covingtons 14 points were a career high.UP NEXT76ers: Host Portland on Monday.Knicks: Visit Houston on Monday. ' ' '
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