The Ultimate Fighting Championship invades Canada for the first time in its storied history for UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre 2. The major question that will be answered Saturday, April 19th from Montreal’s Bell Centre is, can lightning strike twice?

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Matt ‘The Terror’ Serra (9-4) shocked the mixed martial arts world when he knocked out Georges ‘Rush’ St. Pierre (15-2) in the first round last April at UFC 69: Shootout. Not only was it Serra’s only knockout victory of his career, but he also captured the UFC welterweight title against a person many experts consider one of the best pound-for-pound fighters. Oh by the way, Serra also cashed tickets as an incredible $5.00 underdog making the upset bigger than Randy Couture over Tim Sylvia or Gabriel Gonzaga over Mirko ‘Cro Cop.’

“It’s going to be a historic evening, the first time the UFC is in Canada and I’m in the main event,” stated Serra. “I think it’s obvious that I’m a huge underdog once again.”

Sportsbook.com currently has St. Pierre, the interim welterweight champion, as a $4.50 favorite (bet $450 to win $100) over champion Serra, the $3.00 underdog (bet $100 to win $300). This rematch has taken over a year to return to the octagon.

Serra hasn’t fought since his historic upset due to an injured back he suffered while training to fight Matt Hughes after the taping of The Ultimate Fighter 6. With his injury, Hughes and St. Pierre fought for the interim title in late December that the French Canadian won with a second-round armbar.

St. Pierre followed his loss to Serra with a unanimous decision over Josh Koscheck at UFC 74: Respect before beating Hughes. ‘Rush’ now faces his toughest task in an effort to reclaim the undisputed welterweight title.

St. Pierre started seeing a sports psychologist after his loss to Serra to help improve his mental approach. The 26-year-old is considered one of the best athletes inside the octagon, but his mental approach has been questioned. Carrying the extra burden of fighting in front of his hometown fans shouldn’t be a problem according to him.

“I’m at my best when I’m fighting under pressure,” said St. Pierre. “I think the crowd will give me some positive energy.

“I’ve got more tools and momentum. He’s coming off an injury and I’ve won my last two fights. I have a strategy coming into this fight and I’m going to fight my fight, not his.”

Serra also addressed the mental game heading into this contest. ‘The Terror’ was thought to have his best fighting days behind him, and only got a title shot after winning The Ultimate Fighter 4 with a split-decision victory over Chris Lytle.

“My mental focus is probably my biggest advantage heading into this contest,” said Serra. “I have to be prepared and dangerous on all fronts.

“I don’t get caught up in outside forces, the hype or critics, I keep my head where it should be. GSP’s last two performances have been incredible. I know I’m the underdog and I’m comfortable in that role. I also think I’m a worse matchup for GSP than Koscheck or Hughes.”

There is also an intriguing middleweight matchup on the UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre 2 card, pitting former champion Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin (22-3) against Travis Lutter (9-4). Both men have fallen to current champion Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva who has cleaned out the division, but the winner will remain near the top of the rankings.

Franklin currently entertains the $3.30 ‘chalk’ status over Lutter, a $2.60 underdog. This fight will be an interesting contrast of styles, with Franklin more adept with his standup while Lutter wants to take the action to the canvas.

Franklin has 11 knockout victories along with nine submissions and two decisions, while his three losses have all occurred by knockout. ‘Ace’ rebounded from his first loss to Silva by beating Jason MacDonald by second-round knockout and Yushin Okami by unanimous decision. However, Franklin was dominated by Silva once again with a second-round knockout loss at UFC 77: Hostile Territory.

Lutter has just one knockout victory on his resume, but has seven wins by submission along with one decision. The Texas native has lost once each by knockout and decision, while two losses have occurred by submission. Lutter got a shot at the title by winning the middleweight portion of The Ultimate Fighter 4 with a first-round armbar over Patrick Cote.

However, Lutter failed to make weight when he faced Silva at UFC 67: All or Nothing. It didn’t matter as the champion prevailed with a second-round submission due to elbows.

Now, Lutter and Franklin can remain in title contention with a victory in Montreal.

Brad Young can be reached at byoung@vegasinsider.com.