"People have no idea how tough he is" - Georges St-Pierre picks his greatest MMA fighter of all time, explains why
Georges St-Pierre is widely considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. The two-division champion was able to defend his welterweight title nine times and retired with a 26-2 record, landing in the UFC Hall of Fame in 2020. While many have labeled 'GSP' as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, he recently tabbed Jon Jones as his pick for the honor.
Speaking to Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo on their Pound 4 Pound podcast, St-Pierre stated:
"I think it's hard to find someone better than Jon Jones, man. Jon Jones, he's so good. Jon Jones is extremely talented, but he's also extremely tough. People have no idea how tough he is, man. I've trained with him. I've seen him going through the grind. He's so freaking tough. I remember fights that he had, I think with Vitor Belfort, I think his arm got dislocated and then he fought even with a dislocated arm. Even in one of his fight, his toes were broken."
St-Pierre continued:
"Most of the time when you have a guy that is very talented, it doesn't come with toughness. Jon Jones is the full package. He's got everything. Elite striker, elite grappler, he's good everywhere. Of course, there's things that people will say, 'oh yeah, he did this, did that', but in terms of who's the best - man. And he came back, beat Ciryl Gane the way he did, it's hard to have an argument."
Check out Georges St-Pierre's comments on Jon Jones being the greatest of all time below:
Jones is widely considered to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. The UFC heavyweight champion holds a plethora of records and has never been defeated in the octagon. His only loss coming via a controversial disqualification in a bout many, including UFC President Dana White, believe should have been stopped in his favor.
Georges St-Pierre believes he would have defeated Khabib Nurmagomedov
There were talks that Georges St-Pierre could come out of retirement for a second time to face Khabib Nurmagomedov. 'GSP' revealed that he was confident he would hand 'The Eagle' the first loss of his mixed martial arts career during a recent appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo. He said:
"I think Khabib could have beat me. I'm not saying I would have beat Khabib all the time. I was confident enough to take that fight that I was thinking that if I take that fight I'm going to beat him that day, at that particular place, at that particular time. That doesn't mean I would beat him all the time. I was confident, but maybe I'm wrong. I think I would've beat him because if he would've come to put pressure on me, I would've put him down and I would've been confident to try and go for it."
Check out Georges St-Pierre's comments on Khabib Nurmagomedov below:
Nurmagomedov initially called St-Pierre out after capturing the lightweight title at UFC 223 in 2018. While there were rumors the two could clash all the way up until 'The Eagle' retired in 2020, nothing came to fruition. It remains one of the biggest 'what-if' fights in mixed martial arts history.