GSP: From the horses mouth!

"Well, I truly believe, first of all, that if you would put Thiago Alves and B.J. Penn in a fight, I would bet all my money on Thiago Alves, no doubt about it," St. Pierre said in a recent media call promoting the event. "This fight, for a lot of people, seems less dangerous for me because Thiago Alves is a gentleman, he's not somebody that needs to trash talk to promote himself.

"He's a very respectful guy. That's what makes him even more dangerous."

Alves has taken a completely different approach to his fight with St. Pierre than Penn did for a January contest with the welterweight champion. With a seven-fight win streak of his own - a streak that also includes several impressive names - Alves prefers to let his devastating strikes do the talking.

"Thiago's got devastating leg kicks, but that's not the only thing that he's got," St. Pierre said. "He's got great knees, a great left hook.

"I've been studying a lot of things that he does and I know he's going to be a better fighter than I saw in his previous fight because he's a young guy and he always comes back - he's always a better version of what he was the last time before."

The last time for Alves was an impressive display of striking against Koscheck. Snapping leg kicks punished Koscheck for 15 full minutes in a bout that a lesser man than the American Kickboxing Academy fighter would have quit long before the final bell.

Alves will also rival St. Pierre in sheer size, as the two men are perhaps the biggest currently fighting in the welterweight division. But St. Pierre believes the Brazilian's mass will not provide the difference in the contest.

"I don't think it will make a big difference because I always train with bigger guys," St. Pierre said. "I train with smaller and also bigger guys, so I'm used to every kind of size. And I truly believe in this sport skill and technique always beats strength and size. 

"The guy who will win the fight is the better fighter, not the bigger guy. It will be the guy who will fight the best that will win the fight."