Redemption for St Pierre at UFC 83

In front of a partisan crowd at UFC 83: Serra vs St Pierre 2 Georges "Rush" St Pierre avenged his loss to Matt "The Terror" Serra with a dominant display to once again claim his position at the top of the 170 pound division.

21,390 fans sold out the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. This was the UFC’s first trip to Canada and the fans showed there support by breaking the UFC attendance record.

The main event featured the rematch between Georges "Rush" St Pierre and Matt "The Terror" Serra. The pair had first fought back in UFC 69: Shootout with Serra scoring a huge upset victory by way of TKO.

Pierre wasted no time in taking Serra down to the mat. Serra was given the advantage on the ground going into the match up but failed to launch any real offence from his back while St Pierre made him pay with ground and pound and a much improved guard passing game. Pierre pushed the fierce pace and wore a game Serra down. With Serra on all fours GSP struck him with a combination of knees and punches forcing referee Yves Lavigne to call a halt to the match late in the second round.

"My strategy was to make a physical fight, make him tired as much as I can because I know I have the athleticism," St Pierre commented after the fight. "So I was trying to mix as much as I could: up, down, up, down. Ground-and pound, not play jiu-jitsu game because jiu-jitsu, that's his strength. So that's how I won the fight: I tired him out and then I took the fight."

On the under card former UFC 185 pound world champion Rich "Ace" Franklin got back to wining ways defeating Travis Lutter by TKO in the second round. Lutter took Franklin to mat in the first round with a single leg takedown. Lutter then proceeded to pass and mount Franklin showing his world class Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills. From here as Franklin attempted to escape, Lutter locked in a tight armbar. It looked like the end for Franklin before the former champ showed excellent poise and submission defence by escaping. In the second round Lutters always suspect cardio once again let him down. Lutter looked totally spent and huge head kick from Franklin was the beginning of the end. The referee stopped the fight with Franklin landing shots at will with nothing coming back from Lutter.

British fan favourite Michael "The Count" Bisping made his debut at 185 pounds following his razor thin decision loss to Rashad Evans at the higher weight class. Bispings opponent for his change in division was Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist Charles "Chainsaw" McCarthy. Bisping looked in the best shape of his career and this carried over in to the match. He punished McCarthy with a combination of punches and knee strikes forcing the referee to call a halt to action late in the first round.

In the other televised matches Nate "The Rock" Quarry scored a one sided decision over Kalib Starnes. Quarry showed much improved striking to score a routine victory to continue his comeback in the 185 division. Ultimate fighter season 6 winner Mac Danzig defeated a very game Mark Bocek by rear naked choke in the third round of there 155 pound match up.