Georges St-Pierre is frequently discussed among the all-time greats in combat sports, and he’s thankful that he fought in an era alongside other UFC stars on that list.
When St-Pierre walked away from competition for good in 2017, he left behind a legacy that included nine straight defenses of the UFC welterweight title, a middleweight title win, and a sterling 26-2 record. “GSP” is lauded for his masterful all-around game, cerebral approach, and unwavering consistency, but he points to the championship
standards constantly set by him and his peers as a key reason for his success.
“The pressure, it’s very hard to maintain a good level of performance under pressure, and when I was competing at the time, I was very fortunate to have colleagues like Anderson Silva, Demetrious Johnson, other champions that were forcing, that were raising the bar, because you always see that in sport that when someone breaks a record, soon after others keep on going,” St-Pierre told Sportsnet. “That’s what happened during my era.
“I had Anderson Silva, and I had Demetrious Johnson and other champions that were staying there, so it forces me to stay in there because when you’re a champion you no longer compete against the next opponent, you compete for your legacy against other guys of other divisions and even other sports to, from a competitive standpoint, have a better legacy. So that’s what sports is about, it’s performance.”
During Silva’s 17-fight win streak, he notched 10 consecutive middleweight title defenses, a record that was later broken by Demetrious Johnson, who successfully defended the UFC flyweight title 11 times in a row. Those numbers are unlikely to be challenged anytime soon as the longest active championship streak currently belongs to flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja at four. Seven of the 11 UFC champions are yet to defend their current belts.
Immense success brings immense pressure, something St-Pierre understood and thrived upon.
“It’s crazy,” St-Pierre said. “Everybody’s brain works different and also knowing that I’m at my best fighting under pressure, I was willing to put myself under more pressure knowing that it will make me perform better. So that’s a sacrifice that I needed to make. So the preparation, of course, a big part of it is physical, but there’s a big part also that is mental, and like everything else in life, the more well you prepare yourself, the better you slip the odds in your favor for success.”
St-Pierre has often spoken about feeling fear before a fight even as he continued to knock off opponent after opponent. As it turns out, embracing fear as well as the growing expectations of the combat sports world were all part of St-Pierre’s winning formula.
“I know it’s hard to understand maybe coming from a more normal background than being a fighter, but one of my strongest assets, which made me champion was my pride, my ego,” St-Pierre said. “It was very important for me. I used to really care about what people thought of me and it was very important. I didn’t want to disappoint anybody. But at the same time, it drives you crazy in society. You cannot live your life, it’s not always about performance, and being a fighter is very selfish. It’s me, me, me, performance, so that’s why when I retired I made peace with it.
“I changed. I realized that the only thing that is important for me – I care a little bit what people think of me, but what really matters to me is to care about what people that I love and who love me think about me. People that I don’t know, I can’t please everyone, and that’s when I realized that it’s time to let go and retire.”
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VIDEO STEW
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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Legend.
OH I AM IN.
Classic Merab.
Scary.
Cheeky.
FINAL THOUGHTS
GSP is the GOAT. But you all knew that.
EXIT POLL
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