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Georges St-Pierre

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Georges St-Pierre
NicknameRush
GSP
NationalityCanada Canada
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Reach76 in (193 cm)
StyleKyokushin Karate, Wrestling,
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai,
Boxing
Fighting out ofMontreal, Quebec, Canada
TeamJackson's Submission Fighting
Years active6 (2002–present)
Mixed martial arts record
Total19
Wins17
By knockout7
By submission5
Losses2
By knockout1
By submission1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
See also: Georges St-Pierre vs. B.J. Penn

Georges "Rush" St-Pierre (born May 19, 1981), often referred to as GSP,[1] is a Canadian mixed martial arts fighter. He is the current Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion, and is generally regarded as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world.

St-Pierre has been lauded by many media outlets for his skills; he is currently ranked by multiple MMA publications as the #1 welterweight in the world,[2][3] as well as the 2008 Most Outstanding Fighter, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.[4]

Biography

Born May 19, 1981 in Saint-Isidore, Quebec, Canada, St-Pierre had a difficult childhood, attending a school where others would steal his clothes and money.[5] He started learning Kyokushin karate at age seven to defend himself against a school bully.[6] He took upBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu after his karate teacher died, and has also trained in boxing. Before turning pro as a mixed martial artist, St-Pierre worked as a bouncer at a Montreal night club in the South Shore called Fuzzy Brossard and as a garbageman for 6 months to pay for his school fees.[7]

St-Pierre has trained with a number of groups in a wide variety of gyms throughout his fighting career. Prior to his fight with B.J. Penn at UFC 58, he trained at the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in New York City. St-Pierre received his brown belt in BJJ from Renzo Gracie on July 21, 2006.[8] after working up to his purple belt with Fabio Holanda at Brazilian Top Team Canada, who cornered many of his earlier fights. St-Pierre has now received his black belt in brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Recently, St-Pierre began training with Rashad Evans, Nathan Marquardt, Keith Jardine and many others at Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting Gaidojutsu school in New Mexico. Some of Jackson's students have also accompanied Georges to Montreal to train at Tristar Gym including Keith Jardine, Nathan Marquardt, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, and Rashad Evans. Currently, Georges trains in Muay Thai under Kru Phil Nurse at the Wat in New York City. Georges Strength and conditioning coach is Jonathan Chaimberg, of JSPORT core fitness, and Georges Head Trainer is Firas Zahabi, of tristar gym, who has cornered many of his most recent bouts.

In September 2008, St-Pierre earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Bruno Fernandes.[9]

Interestingly, St-Pierre is acrophobic and does not enjoy flying.[10]

MMA career

Early career

St-Pierre had dreamed of becoming a UFC champion since watching Royce Gracie fight in 1993 at UFC 1.[11] St. Pierre had his first amateur bout when he was only 16 years old. He states, "When I won my first amateur (MMA) fight, I was 16 years old and I beat a guy that was 25. I was only a Kyokushin karate fighter and the guy I fought was a boxer. At the time my ground skills were very poor, I didn’t know anything on the ground.” St-Pierre won his fight by knockout, going low with several leg kicks and then going high with a kick to the head.[12]

St-Pierre's pro debut was against Ivan Menjivar and ended in a first round TKO win. St-Pierre went on to win his next three fights before making his TKO debut against Pete Spratt at TKO 14 (November 29, 2003). St-Pierre defeated Spratt with a rear naked choke in the first round.

Joining the UFC

St-Pierre made his Octagon debut at UFC 46 where he defeated Karo Parisyan by unanimous decision. His next fight with the UFC was against Jay Hieron at UFC 48. St.-Pierre defeated Hieron via TKO (Punches) in only 1:42.[13]

Following his second straight win in the UFC, he faced Matt Hughes at UFC 50 for the vacant welterweight title. Despite a competitive performance against the much more experienced fighter, St-Pierre tapped out to an Armbar with only 1 second remaining in the first round.[14] The loss was the first of St-Pierre's career, and he has since admitted that he was in awe of Hughes going into the title bout.[15]

Road to the title

After his loss to Hughes, St-Pierre rebounded with a win over Dave Strasser at TKO 19 with a first round kimura submission.[16] He then returned to the UFC to face Jason "Mayhem" Miller at UFC 52, defeating Miller in a bloody battle by unanimous decision.[17]

With momentum behind him, St-Pierre was then matched up against top contender Frank Trigg at UFC 54. St-Pierre controlled the fight and eventually sunk in a rear naked choke with less than a minute remaining in the first round.[18] He then faced future lightweight champion Sean Sherk at UFC 56. Midway through the second round St-Pierre became the second fighter to defeat Sherk, and the first to finish him.

At UFC 58, St-Pierre defeated former UFC welterweight champion,and current lightweight champion B.J. Penn to become the number one contender for the UFC welterweight title. St-Pierre won the match by split decision and was set to rematch then-champion Matt Hughes on September 23, 2006 at UFC 63.[19] However, St-Pierre was forced to withdraw from the match due to a groin injury, and was replaced by the man he defeated in March, B.J. Penn.[20] The UFC had announced afterwards that St-Pierre would have the opportunity to fight for the title when his condition was fully healed.

The Ultimate Fighter

St-Pierre was seen as a trainer on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback on Spike TV, which featured fighters who were previously seen in UFC events including Matt Serra, Shonie Carter, Pete Sell, Patrick Côté, and Travis Lutter. St-Pierre was seen vocally supporting fellow Canadian and training partner Patrick Côté during the season's airing.[21]

Winning the championship

At UFC 63, St-Pierre made an appearance to support fellow Canadian MMA fighter, David "The Crow" Loiseau. At that time he was seen pushing Loiseau to "fight his fight" against Mike Swick. At the same event, after Matt Hughes had defeated B.J. Penn, GSP stepped into the ring to hype up his upcoming title fight against Hughes, stating that he was glad that Hughes won his fight, but that he was "not impressed" by Hughes' performance.[22]

According to both commentator Joe Rogan and Hughes' own autobiography, Hughes was unhappy with St. Pierre's statement and that they "had words" off-camera shortly after, at which time St. Pierre apologized, saying he had misunderstood something Hughes had said on the microphone, and did not mean to offend him. St. Pierre challenged Matt Hughes again at UFC 65 for the UFC welterweight title. The fight was almost stopped near the end of the first round when St. Pierre sent Hughes to the mat with a superman punch and left hook, but Hughes managed to survive the first round. In the second round, St-Pierre won the fight via TKO (Strikes) after a left kick to Hughes' head, followed by a barrage of unanswered punches and elbows.[23]

On January 30, 2007, St. Pierre signed a six-fight deal with the UFC.[24]

Losing the title

At UFC 69 St-Pierre lost the welterweight title to The Ultimate Fighter 4 winner Matt Serra via TKO (Punches) at 3:25 of round one. Matt Serra was an 11-1 underdog going into the bout.[25] St-Pierre has said that he lost the match partially due to a lack of focus because of problems in his personal life, including the death of a close cousin and his father's serious illness,[26] and later parted ways with his manager and most of his entourage. St.-Pierre has since gone on to say that he shouldn't have made any excuses and that Serra was simply the better fighter that night.[27]

Back into title contention

On August 25th, 2007, at UFC 74 St-Pierre won a unanimous decision against Josh Koscheck (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).[28] His wrestling skills were displayed during the match by outwrestling Koscheck (a 4-time Division 1 NCAA All-American & 1-time NCAA wrestling champion), scoring takedowns, stopping Koscheck's takedown attempts and maintaining top position throughout most of the fight.[29] There was speculation before the fight that Koscheck would out-match St.-Pierre on the ground due to his credentials, but St.-Pierre was confident that he was a better wrestler and striker and was more well versed in submissions than Koscheck.[30]

Before and after the fight, St-Pierre stated his intention to reclaim his lost title, miming the act of placing a championship belt around his waist while still in the octagon. His win over Koscheck had placed him in the number one contender spot for the UFC Welterweight Championship. This fight was to be against the winner of Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. Matt Serra had to pull out of UFC 79 due to a back injury sustained during training,[31] and instead St-Pierre faced Hughes in a rubber match for the interim UFC Welterweight Championship. Despite Hughes' best efforts, he was unable to mount any serious offense against St-Pierre, who again showcased his wrestling skills by not only avoiding all of Hughes' takedown attempts, but taking Hughes down at will.[32] In a reversal of their first fight, St-Pierre attempted a Kimura on Hughes' right arm,[33] then switched to a straight Armbar with fifteen seconds left in the second round. Hughes fought the extension, but with his left hand trapped between St-Pierre's ankles, was forced to verbally submit at 4:55 of the second round,[34] making St-Pierre the Interim Welterweight Champion. After the fight St-Pierre said that the belt was a great honor but meant nothing to him, as Matt Serra was still the real champion.

Becoming the UFC's Undisputed Welterweight Champion

At UFC 83 on April 19, 2008, St-Pierre fought Matt Serra in a match to determine the undisputed welterweight championship during the UFC's first-ever event in Canada, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.[35] Instead of striking, St-Pierre pressed the action early with a takedown and kept mixing up his attack, never allowing Serra the chance to mount a significant offense.[36] In the second round, St-Pierre continued his previous actions, forcing Serra into the turtle position and delivering repeated knees to Serra's midsection.[37] When Serra was unable to improve his position or defend against the strikes, referee Yves Lavigne stopped the fight.[38] St-Pierre was gracious to his defeated opponent and asked the crowd to restrain themselves and show Serra some respect. Serra in turn bowed graciously before St-Pierre. The event was historic in that a UFC championship event had never taken place in Canada before. Georges recently finished up jiu-jitsu training at Gracie Barra and Nova Uniao in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in preparation for his bout with Jon Fitch. [39]

Defending the title

In his most recent fight, St-Pierre defeated Jon Fitch by unanimous decision with scores of 50-43, 50-44, 50-44 at UFC 87,[40] retaining his UFC welterweight title. He exhibited clear dominance over a durable Jon Fitch, scoring multiple devastating strikes and taking the former Purdue wrestling captain down. After the fight GSP spoke to Fitch about the growth that his own loss prompted and said that Fitch's experience should be no different. The win over Fitch now sets up one of the most anticipated rematches in UFC history, as BJ Penn stepped into the octagon after the fight to essentially challenge GSP to a rematch of their bout at UFC 58 in 2006, which ended in a split-decision victory for GSP. This superfight is tentatively scheduled for the UFC's annual Super Bowl show on January 31st, 2009.

Dana White has recently said that if GSP is able to defeat B.J , then he will have a mandatory title defense against the new #1 contender, Thiago Alves. If he is again successful at defending the title from the hands of Alves, White said he will set up a big money fight with GSP against Middleweight champion Anderson Silva sometime in 2009; possibly at catchweight.[41]

Canadian Athlete of the Year

On 22 Dec 2008, St-Pierre was voted the Canadian Athlete of the year by Sportsnet. St-Pierre was chosen by sportsnet.ca viewers through a week long voting process, winning with 89% of the vote.[42]

MMA titles

  • UFC Welterweight Champion (Twice)
  • UFC Interim Welterweight Champion (former)
  • TKO Canadian Welterweight Champion (former)

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
19 matches 17 wins 2 losses
By knockout 7 1
By submission 5 1
By decision 5 0
Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
United States B.J. Penn UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 January 31, 2009 United States Nevada, United States
Win 17-2 United States Jon Fitch Decision (Unanimous) UFC 87 - Seek and Destroy August 9, 2008 5 5:00 United States Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Defends UFC Welterweight Championship
Win 16-2 United States Matt Serra TKO (Knee Strikes) UFC 83 - Serra vs. St.-Pierre II April 19, 2008 2 4:45 Canada Montreal, Quebec, Canada Became the Undisputed UFC Welterweight Champion
Win 15-2 United States Matt Hughes Verbal Submission (Armbar) UFC 79 - Nemesis December 29, 2007 2 4:54 United States Nevada, United States Won interim UFC Welterweight Championship; Replaced Matt Serra who was sidelined due to a back injury
Win 14-2 United States Josh Koscheck Decision (Unanimous) UFC 74 - Respect August 25, 2007 3 5:00 United States Nevada, United States
Loss 13-2 United States Matt Serra TKO (Strikes) UFC 69 - Shootout April 7, 2007 1 3:25 United States Texas, United States Lost UFC Welterweight Championship
Win 13-1 United States Matt Hughes TKO (strikes) UFC 65 - Bad Intentions November 18, 2006 2 1:25 United States California, United States Won UFC Welterweight Championship
Win 12-1 United States B.J. Penn Decision (Split) UFC 58 - USA vs Canada March 4, 2006 3 5:00 United States Nevada, United States Became the number one contender in the UFC Welterweight division
Win 11-1 United States Sean Sherk TKO (strikes) UFC 56 - Full Force November 19, 2005 2 2:53 United States Nevada, United States
Win 10-1 United States Frank Trigg Submission (Rear Naked Choke) UFC 54 - Boiling Point August 20, 2005 1 4:09 United States Nevada, United States
Win 9-1 United States Jason Miller Decision (Unanimous) UFC 52 - Couture vs Liddell 2 April 16, 2005 3 5:00 United States Nevada, United States
Win 8-1 United States Dave Strasser Submission (Kimura) TKO 19 - Rage January 29, 2005 1 1:52 CanadaQuebec, Canada
Loss 7-1 United States Matt Hughes Submission (Armbar) UFC 50: The War of '04 October 22, 2004 1 4:59 United States New Jersey, United States For vacant UFC Welterweight Championship
Win 7-0 United States Jay Hieron TKO (Punches) UFC 48 - Payback June 19, 2004 1 1:42 United States Nevada, United States
Win 6-0 Armenia Karo Parisyan Decision (Unanimous) UFC 46 - Supernatural January 31, 2004 3 5:00 United States Nevada, United States
Win 5-0 United States Pete Spratt Submission (Rear Naked Choke) TKO 14 - Road Warriors November 29, 2003 1 3:40 CanadaQuebec, Canada
Win 4-0 United States Thomas Denny TKO (Cut) UCC 12 - Adrenaline January 25, 2003 2 4:45 CanadaQuebec, Canada
Win 3-0 Canada Travis Galbraith TKO (Elbows) UCC 11 - The Next Level October 11, 2002 1 2:03 Canada Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win 2-0 Canada Justin Bruckmann Submission (Armbar) UCC 10 - Battle for the Belts 2002 June 15, 2002 1 3:23 Canada Quebec, Canada Won TKO Canadian Welterweight Championship
Win 1-0 Canada Ivan Menjivar TKO (Punches) UCC 7 - Bad Boyz January 25, 2002 1 4:50 Canada Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Entrance Music

St-Pierre is famous for using French rap music during his entrance walks.

Event Entrance Music
UFC 52 X Gon' Give It to Ya by DMX
UFC 58 Tout Le Monde Debout by Neg' Marrons
UFC 65 Samurai by Shurik'n
UFC 69 Samurai by Shurik'n
UFC 74 Dirty Haus by Rohff
UFC 79 Territoire Hostile by Sans Pression
UFC 83 Numero 1 by Sans Pression[43]
UFC 87 Boulbi by Booba[44]

Acting career

Georges will soon be seen in two films, both written by martial artist Hector Echavarria. He will play "The Crusher" in Death Warrior, and Georges in Never Surrender which will be released by Lions Gate Entertainment in 2009.

See also

References

  1. ^ Doyle, Dave (February 2007). "Hughes-St. Pierre: UFC's match of the year?". FOXSports.com. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference MMAWeekly1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
  4. ^ "MMA's Top Ten". MMAWeekly.com. 2007-05-09. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  5. ^ Tousignant, Isa. "Georges St.-Pierre leads Montreal to UFC glory]. Hour.ca. March 2nd, 2006". Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  6. ^ Wickert, Marc. "Montreal's MMA Warrior.] knucklepit.com". Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  7. ^ Kelly, Seth. "Gold Rush] Complex.com". Retrieved 2007-12-24.
  8. ^ CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Other Sports - Fighter has big plans
  9. ^ Zuffa Fighters get Belted
  10. ^ Post UFC 87 - Continued
  11. ^ "Getting To Know Georges "Rush" St.-Pierre". Archived from the original on 2007-08-20. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  12. ^ "First Bout". Archived from the original on 2007-06-09. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  13. ^ http://www.sherdog.com/pictures/event/UFC-48-Pictures-1779
  14. ^ http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/weighty-issues-10826
  15. ^ http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/weighty-issues-10826
  16. ^ http://sherdog.com/pictures/event/7/TKO-19-Pictures-2386
  17. ^ http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=stats.fighterDetail&pid=772E62A6D781C07D
  18. ^ http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Frank-Trigg-311
  19. ^ CBC.ca. [1][dead link]
  20. ^ Gerbasi, Thomas. "St.-Pierre Sidelined by Injury; 'The Prodigy' to The Rescue.] August 23 2006". Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  21. ^ http://www.mmanews.com/ufc/MMANews.com-In-Depth-Pre-UFC-74-Interview-With-GSP.html
  22. ^ Georges St. Pierre ‘Im not impressed by your performance’ video at UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets — MMAmania.com
  23. ^ :: HaCkeD By GOYHACKERS & DANGER14 ::
  24. ^ GEORGES ST. PIERRE SIGNS NEW UFC DEAL - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more
  25. ^ Davidson, Neil (2007-04-08). "Georges St.-Pierre suffers loss to underdog Matt Serra at UFC 69: Shootout". Canadian Press. Retrieved 2007-04-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)[dead link]
  26. ^ Georges St. Pierre’s time to shine | MMAjunkie.com
  27. ^ Matt Serra: ‘I’m definitely up for’ fighting Georges St. Pierre in April at UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets — MMAmania.com
  28. ^ MMANews.com
  29. ^ UFC MMA Mixed Martial Arts News themmadigest.com » St. Pierre indeed Outwrestled the Wrestler
  30. ^ UFC calls on St. Pierre - MMA - Yahoo! Sports
  31. ^ Matt Serra pulls out of UFC 79 title fight with back injury « The General’s Orders
  32. ^ UFC 79 - Round-by-Round Updates and Live Results | MMAjunkie.com
  33. ^ news.proelite.com » FIGHT METRIC: HUGHES VS. ST-PIERRE III: 79, fighters, georges, hughes, match, matt, mma, rubber, st. pierre, ufc, news: news article
  34. ^ UFC 79 'Nemesis' Play-by-Play
  35. ^ UFC 83: SERRA Vs. ST-PIERRE 2 | Bout | Canadastar Boxing
  36. ^ UFC 83 Play-by-Play
  37. ^ UFC 87 odds: Seek & Destroy | Pointspread.com
  38. ^ UFC 83 live results | MMAjunkie.com
  39. ^ UFC : Ultimate Fighting Championship
  40. ^ Georges St. Pierre scores a unanimous UFC 87 decision Over Jon Fitch
  41. ^ Dana White: BJ Penn vs Anderson Silva ‘aint gonna happen’ at UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets — MMAmania.com
  42. ^ [2]
  43. ^ http://video.aol.com/video-detail/georges-st-pierre-numero-1-sans-pression/2887188021
  44. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20080205162828/http://www.mmafighting.com/ufc/entrance_themes.html
Wikiquote has quotations related to Georges St.-Pierre.
Preceded by 6th UFC Welterweight Champion
November 18, 2006 – April 7, 2007 		Succeeded by
New championship 1st UFC Interim Welterweight Champion
December 29, 2007 - April 19, 2008 		Vacant
Preceded by 8th UFC Welterweight Champion
April 19, 2008 - present 		Current holder
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