8 things you might not know about Georges St-Pierre
Despite retiring over five years ago, Georges St-Pierre remains one of the most popular and highly regarded fighters in UFC and MMA history.
With many fans considering Georges St-Pierre the greatest fighter of all time, the former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion’s reputation is still towering today.
Despite this, there are still a number of things that most fans may not realize about ‘GSP’, despite his huge popularity and fame.
Here are eight things you might not know about Georges St-Pierre.
#1. Georges St-Pierre was bullied as a child
At his peak, Georges St-Pierre was widely recognized as one of the toughest men on the planet. However, this wasn’t the case when he was growing up in St-Isidore, Quebec.
As a child, ‘GSP’ was bullied by his older peers, something he’s spoken out about on numerous occasions. Even after his father introduced him to Kyokushin karate at the age of seven, the bullying continued.
However, this only inspired the future UFC champion to continue to train even harder in martial arts, something that eventually led to his successful MMA career.
BULLY PROOF: The Story of @GeorgesStPierre's evolution from bully victim to UFC Badass has hit #UFCFIGHTPASS in the latest #UFC25Years in Short!
📽 bit.ly/2zEF2yA https://t.co/zTqR63fQaW
In an interview, St-Pierre had the following to say about his experiences:
“I think it left a scar. But sometimes it’s for the best, and sometimes for the worse. There are good things like...I think it helps me to be stronger and to face adversity.”
#2. Georges St-Pierre never fought an opponent with a losing record
Most MMA fighters, even great ones, fight lesser opponents in the early days of their career. Often, these opponents are more experienced journeymen who have lost the majority of their fights.
Georges St-Pierre, though, was a rare outlier in this sense. The Canadian legend put together a record of 26-2 during his career, but none of those 28 bouts saw him face an opponent with a losing record.
Even before he was signed by the UFC in 2004, St-Pierre only faced tough foes, including Pete Spratt, who was ranked highly in the welterweight division at the time, and Ivan Menjivar, who went onto compete with the WEC and UFC.
It’s partly because of this deep and impressive record that ‘GSP’ is widely considered the greatest fighter of all time.
Watch ‘GSP’ fight Pete Spratt below:
#3. Georges St-Pierre once named a journeyman his toughest opponent
Georges St-Pierre faced a who’s who of great welterweights during his career, including Matt Hughes, Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit.
However, at his peak, he once gave a surprising answer when he was asked who his toughest opponent was.
‘GSP’ named journeyman Thomas Denny, who he faced in Canada in his pre-UFC days back in 2003.
Supposedly, St-Pierre took the fight while he was sick, which made things more difficult than they might’ve been, although he eventually won via TKO. Years later, he had the following to say about the fight:
“My toughest fight didn’t happen in the UFC. A lot of people don’t realise that. It happened in an organization called TKO. I was very thin, I took the fight, and I fought a guy named Thomas Denny. After the first round I was so tired, I told my corner to throw in the towel. My corner said, “we don’t have a towel, you’re going to die in there”. I heard the bell, and I went back out and beat the guy up. I was like, 20 years old.”
Watch ‘GSP’ fight Thomas Denny below:
#4. Georges St-Pierre was not the UFC’s first Canadian champion
Georges St-Pierre is widely recognized as the face of Canadian MMA. During his time as UFC welterweight champion, the promotion was able to sell out huge arenas in Canadian cities like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, largely thanks to his star power.
However, ‘GSP’ was actually not the UFC’s first Canadian champion. That title belongs to Carlos Newton, who won the welterweight title from Pat Miletich in 2001.
‘The Ronin’ was a hugely popular fighter in his own right at the time, but his title reign did not last long, as he was defeated by Matt Hughes in his first defense.
Matt Hughes vs Carlos Newton https://t.co/NbyWGGFS0X
Newton failed to regain the title from Hughes in a rematch, and only fought twice more in the octagon. In the years that have followed, ‘The Ronin’ and his brief title reign have largely been forgotten.
#5. Georges St-Pierre once competed in the prestigious Abu Dhabi grappling championships
Despite holding a black belt in Kyokushin karate and being a highly regarded striker, it’s arguable that Georges St-Pierre’s grappling was his strongest point.
St-Pierre earned a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from trainer Bruno Fernandes in 2008, but despite his success in MMA, his stint in the world of competitive grappling didn’t go so well.
‘GSP’ entered the prestigious Abu Dhabi Combat Club grappling tournament in 2005, competing in the -77kg category. After taking a points victory over Otto Olson in the first round, he was defeated by future UFC lightweight contender Leonardo Santos in his second bout.
Remarkably, Santos was able to submit St-Pierre with an armbar – marking the final time that the Canadian was forced to tap out in any kind of official competition.
Watch ‘GSP’ vs. Leonardo Santos below:
#6. Georges St-Pierre still holds multiple UFC records
This November will mark six years since Georges St-Pierre’s last fight in the UFC, a bout that saw him claim the middleweight title from Michael Bisping.
Despite this, ‘GSP’ still holds numerous records in the promotion.
St-Pierre has the records for the most control time in the octagon (2:42:04), the most time in top position (2:22:05) and the most takedowns landed (90).
GSP all UFC takedowns (90) https://t.co/JWsqMp2cp7
He also stands behind only Max Holloway in the number of total strikes landed (2591), which stands as an example of how well-rounded the Canadian was in his prime.
#7. Georges St-Pierre left the UFC in 2013 partially due to their drug testing procedures
When Georges St-Pierre initially departed the UFC in late 2013, relinquishing his welterweight title in the process, the MMA world was stunned.
The big question was why ‘GSP’ would walk away. The general consensus at the time was that his decision simply came down to exhaustion from years of fighting nothing but top opponents.
However, in early 2014, St-Pierre spoke out and stated that one of his reasons for departing was his frustration with the UFC’s attitude to drug testing.
GSP took a leave of absence because he felt there was too much illegal drug use in the UFC. Approx 246 failed drug tests in last few months
At the time, the promotion simply allowed the various athletic commissions to test their fighters, meaning many PED users may have slipped through the net. For his 2013 bout with Johny Hendricks, ‘GSP’ pushed for Olympic-level drug testing through VADA, only for Hendricks to back out.
The UFC, of course, later partnered with USADA to test their fighters more thoroughly, and this eventually led to St-Pierre’s return in 2017.
#8. Georges St-Pierre tried to push for a fighters’ union in 2016
The subject of fighter pay in MMA, particularly in the UFC, has been a hot topic for years now. Because of this, the idea of a Fighters’ Union has been mooted on numerous occasions, but thus far, nothing concrete has really been put together.
However, back in 2016, that looked like it was about to change.
Despite earning millions of dollars during his career with the UFC, Georges St-Pierre was one of five well-known fighters to announce the launch of the MMA Athletes Association, standing alongside Cain Velasquez, Tim Kennedy, Donald Cerrone and TJ Dillashaw.
GSP, Bjorn Rebney, former UFC champs to make MMA ‘re-defining’ announcement (@marc_raimondi) mmafighting.com/2016/11/28/137… https://t.co/gXRfq9oX3P
The fighters suggested that their goal was to earn a settlement from the UFC for current and past fighters, bring the amount of revenue taken by fighters up to 50%, and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the promotion.
However, despite much publicity around this at the time, the group quickly went quiet, and received criticism due to the involvement of former Bellator president Bjorn Rebney. In the years that have followed, the MMAAA seems to have faded away.