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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
In a press conference this afternoon, Georges St-Pierre and his orthopedic surgeon Dr. Sébastien Simard discussed the injury that has taken him out of UFC 143. Simard revealed that St-Pierre hyperextended his knee in training and completely tore his right ACL, which will require complete reconstruction through surgery.
However, while the injury is absolutely a severe one, Simard believes St-Pierre will make a complete recovery in six-nine months. The dejected Champion then vowed that he will return stronger than ever.
"A few months ago I was on top of the world and I'm now I'm in a downfall," St. Pierre said (comments transcribed by MMANation.com and MMAFighting.com). "But you recognize a champion from how he comes back from things that don't go well. Everybody that says bad things and says bad stuff about me right now, mark my words. I'm going to tell you right now, I'm in a downfall in my life, but in a few months, I'll be back stronger than ever, and I will be champion again. I promise."
St-Pierre had no idea how bad the knee was when it was bothering him in camp, and blamed the injury itself on overcompensating as he recovered from an injury to his left knee - the one that took him out of UFC 137.
"The symptoms of an ACL tear were not there at all. I felt a little discomfort but I went home and had dinner with a friend and the next day I trained. It was only a few weeks later when I still had instability in my knee that I called Sébastien and he suggested we take a picture of it. I thought ACL tear would leave you rolling on the ground. I never thought it would be this bad.
"When we saw the picture, Dr. Simard said, 'You know George you can't fight with a knee like this.' If you fought with it it could be the same thing that happened to Patrick Cote against Anderson Silva... I believe there is only one person to blame and that is myself. This injury is what they call a compensation injury. My other knee was almost 100% healed but I was compensating for it with my right knee when I hurt it."
Penick's Analysis: These are the types of statements he makes publicly, but everyone has to be wondering (see: fearing) that he'll simply never be the same again. With how different Mauricio "Shogun" Rua has looked after several knee surgeries of his own, the prospect of St-Pierre being slowed down significantly by the injury, even after recovery, is a very real one. And with how brutal recovery from injuries like this can be, how much longer does St-Pierre want to continue on? I would hope he's really wanting to get back and be close to 100%, but with all he's accomplished already, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he walked away from the sport early. It's a depressing thought, but it could be the reality of the situation.
[GSP art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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