Fresh off defending his UFC title last Saturday, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre took a few moments this morning to speak with RFA officials about Brandon Thatch, his close friend and training partner. Thatch is a highly touted welterweight prospect and Colorado native, who is headlining the RFA 7 main event tomorrow night at the 1stBank Center in Denver.
St-Pierre offered a strong prediction on Thatch’s fight vs. Mike Rhodes at RFA 7.
“He’s going to win by knockout. He’s going to surprise a lot of people tomorrow night,” said St-Pierre.
St-Pierre also talked about his decision to bring Thatch into his famed Tri-Star training camp, which is a move he made back when his team was forming the strategy to defeat then number one welterweight contender Carlos Condit.
“I first saw Brandon Thatch before my fight with Condit,” said St-Pierre. “I was impressed. I brought him into my training camp, because I needed a guy who had a similar style. Plus he can switch left-to-right and was one of the best strikers I could work with. He returned to Montreal and helped me prepare for Nick Diaz and it was good, because we worked really well together. Brandon and I are close friends now and I love training with him. He brought a lot to my camp and I hope I have brought the same to him as well for his fight tomorrow night.”
While Thatch was helping “GSP” prepare for Diaz, the RFA star was working on some strategies of his own, taking full advantage of St-Pierre’s superior wrestling, ground game, and game planning.
“Brandon was working a lot on his ground and wrestling in this camp,” said St-Pierre. “He got so much better. He’s a fast learner. Sometimes he was taking me down.”
RFA President Ed Soares has made it clear that the goal of the RFA is to serve as a developmental organization for fighters who want to move up to the UFC.
When asked if he thinks Thatch has what it takes to fight in the Octagon, St-Pierre did not hesitate in his answer: “I believe Brandon Thatch could be in the UFC right now and I’m pretty sure he’s going to prove it to everyone in his fight tomorrow night.”
RFA 7 takes place tomorrow, Friday, March 22 from the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado.
Tickets for “RFA 7 – Thatch vs. Rhodes” are on sale and available through Tickethorse.com or by calling 866.461.6556 (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Denver customers can dial locally at 303-53HORSE. Tickets start at $25. For VIP Status, eight-seat catered cage-side VIP tables are available by calling 303-521-0966. Doors for RFA 7 open at 5:30 p.m. MT; first bout starts at 6:00 p.m. MT and the main card goes live at 8:00 p.m. MT / 10:00 p.m. ET.
RFA 7 – Thatch vs. Rhodes will be televised live nationwide and in high-definition on AXS TV starting at 10:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. MT (DirecTV channel 340 and Dish Network channel 362).
