UFC 87: St-Pierre Turns Back Fitch as Lesnar Finds His Footing
On August 9, 2008, Georges St-Pierre retained the welterweight championship against Jon Fitch at UFC 87: Seek and Destroy. The five-round unanimous decision headlined the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Brock Lesnar also defeated Heath Herring by unanimous decision.
St-Pierre defends; Lesnar wins over three rounds
Fitch lasted the full championship distance, but St-Pierre took the verdict and kept his belt. Lesnar’s heavyweight contest lasted three rounds, ending with all three judges favoring him against Herring. The two leading bouts made decisions the central theme of the main attractions.
Kenny Florian also won unanimously, defeating Roger Huerta at lightweight. Jon Jones defeated Andre Gusmao by unanimous decision, while Tamdan McCrory and Chris Wilson received unanimous verdicts against Luke Cummo and Steve Bruno, respectively. Six of the ten fights ultimately required the scorecards.
Emerson ends his fight in twelve seconds
Robert Emerson supplied the opposite extreme, knocking out Manny Gamburyan with punches just twelve seconds into their first round. Demian Maia needed much longer to find his finish, submitting Jason MacDonald with a rear-naked choke at 2:44 of round three.
Cheick Kongo stopped Dan Evensen with punches at 4:55 of round one. Ben Saunders submitted Ryan Thomas with an armbar at 2:28 of round two, completing the four stoppages on the card.
The results gave Seek and Destroy an unusual spread: a twelve-second knockout, a late submission and several full-distance contests. St-Pierre’s championship defense anchored the show, with Lesnar’s heavyweight victory adding another prominent result.
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UFC 87, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Fitch, Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones, MMA history
