Did anybody notice anything special about his passing sequence? What could've Matt done to prevent it?
It didn't look like anything special. I think the strikes from the guard had more to do with the success of those passes then any high level BJJ. St. Pierre is very vicious with the ground and pound...
yeah the strikes had alot to do with it but there were 1 or 2 of em where he passed cleanly with just grappling tecnique.
very impressive.
The pass from guard to half guard that GSP did on Matt Serra about 10 times is a common pass for top level MMA fighters, but it's not as simple as it looks. It relies a lot on timing and balance, with the hand pushing the leg down and the leg kicking up (or backwards) and then over. Denis Kang used to do it to me all the time.
If you can push your opponent's head away, down and towards the side he is trying to pass on, that sometimes counters it. In theory you could also do a Kimura on his hand as he pushes your knee down, but I think that that is pretty tough to pull off.
Serra DID counter it many times (by reguarding) - it just took him a while and he ate a lot of leather doing it. He also countered for a while by posting the foot of that leg on GSP's hip - it just didn't work all the time.
Basic pass..... done by an exceptional athlete.
I Love Basics.