Hughes, St. Pierre are back for more

When he walked into the Octagon two years ago for a highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship title bout, Georges St. Pierre stared with respect at his opponent, former welterweight champion Matt Hughes.

Too much respect, St. Pierre says now.

“I don’t like to give excuses, but I didn’t lose that fight to a better fighter. I lost because I was fighting my idol,” St. Pierre said this week after concluding training for a rematch with Hughes tonight.

“I went to that fight trying to survive, not to lose. I was so nervous, so mentally disturbed thinking that he could beat me up badly, I almost just gave him that fight.”

Hughes, 33, from Hillsboro, Iowa, is a popular, two-time UFC champion whose superb wrestling skills and takedown abilities have given him victories in 12 of his last 13 fights -- eight of which have been knockouts or submissions.

Scheduled for five rounds, the Hughes-St. Pierre fight at Arco Arena in Sacramento is a rematch of an October 2004 meeting for the then-vacant welterweight title. Hughes had previously held the belt for more than two years, during which time St. Pierre, 25, first began following UFC action.

In suffering his only loss, St. Pierre (12-1) was defeated by submission with one second left in the first round. St. Pierre, a Canadian, said he was left encouraged by some of his fighting in that bout, but Hughes ultimately forced St. Pierre into an armbar -- pounding his face while positioning his body weight to possibly dislocate St. Pierre’s right arm.

“I was a kid, fighting the guy who was champion when I started my career,” St. Pierre said. “A lot has changed since then. After I watched that fight, I had a mental click. I realized I could have won, and that I’m a world-class fighter. I’ve learned from that loss.”

St. Pierre is 4-0 since, including a March 4 split-decision victory after suffering an eye injury against former welterweight champion B.J. Penn. That made the Hughes rematch the headliner to a pay-per-view event that also includes UFC’s heavyweight championship, which pits 6-foot-8, 262 1/2 -pound champion Tim Sylvia against 5-9, 237 1/2 -pound challenger Jeff Monson.

St. Pierre is relying on being in better physical shape than the older Hughes. He also is considered the better striker, so a stand-up fight increases his chances to wrest the title from Hughes.

Hughes has hired a boxing coach in recent months and said he would feel comfortable boxing St. Pierre. His wrestling roots, however, make several takedown attempts likely.

UFC President Dana White said that while St. Pierre “has walked through everybody in that weight class,” since his loss to Hughes, the fighters have engaged in a recent exchange of harsh words that has emboldened the challenger.

St. Pierre was invited by UFC officials to attend Hughes’ third-round technical knockout victory over Penn in September. Afterward, inside the Octagon, St. Pierre said he “wasn’t impressed” with Hughes’ victory.

On Thursday, Hughes criticized Canadians in an obvious swipe at St. Pierre.

“Well, if you look back at history, I don’t think Canada’s had big wars or anything like that. They’re not a violent country, can we say that? Would you agree?” Hughes was quoted as saying by the Canadian Press.

When a Canadian reporter replied the country had “done its bit,” Hughes continued: “You’ve done your bit. Well, I’m from America and I think we’re fighters, as a country. Look where we’re at, we’re all over. That’s what I was talking about.

“I don’t see you guys venturing out trying to help the world out, we’ll say that.”

St. Pierre called Hughes “disrespectful.”

“He’s trying to intimidate me, but it’s not going to work now,” St. Pierre said. “I’m a man, not a teenager.”