A look at the career of Georges St. Pierre
How many 25 years olds can call themselves the best in the world at something? Not many, but Georges St. Pierre can. With his demolition of the former champion Matt Hughes, Georges cemented his spot as the top 170-pound fighter in the world today. The road to the top was long and hard. By most fighters standards it was a tough one, but Georges St. Pierre tore through most of his competition, making them look like mere amateurs at times. George’s success is a testament to his superb work ethic, heart, desire, and determination. Right from the beginning it was easy to see that there were big things in the future of this young French Canadian.
Georges St. Pierre began training martial arts when he was seven. He was enrolled in Kyokushin Karate to defend himself from bullies at school (I wonder if they would like a rematch). After his Karate teacher died St. Pierre got into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and at the same time also trained in boxing and wrestling. The foundation had been set for one of the best MMA fighters of the modern era.
St. Pierre made his MMA debut at UCC 7: Bad Boys, on January 25, 2002. He was set to fight Ivan Menjivar who is one of Canada’s top lightweight fighters today. St. Pierre stunned the crowd as he scored a TKO victory at 4:50 of the first round. He ended up winning 5 fights in the UCC/TKO organization with only one of those fights going past the first round. He had finally earned himself a shot at where he wanted to be…the UFC.
In St. Pierre’s first UFC match, he had the unenviable task of facing Judo practitioner, Karo Parisyan. Karo Parisyan had only one other fight in the UFC at the time but had a substantial experience advantage on Georges St. Pierre and was picked as the heavy favorite over the relatively unknown French Canadian. Georges St. Pierre was physically too much for Karo and pulled out a unanimous decision win. His next fight was against Jay Hieron. St. Pierre tore through him in less than two minutes.
The next match for Georges St. Pierre was a huge step up in competition. He was paired up against Matt Hughes who at the time was the UFC welterweight champion. Many people were surprised that he got a title shot so early in his UFC career but Georges St. Pierre was determined to show the world how skillful he really was. Before the first bell rang, viewers could tell that St. Pierre was not feeling like his usual self. During the traditional stare down, he was not able to look Matt Hughes in the eye. As the fight started, the two exchanged a few punches and Georges St. Pierre even showed some of his old Karate as he landed a stiff spinning back kick. However, on the ground Georges St. Pierre made a rookie mistake in going for a kimura without securing guard and as the bell sounded he tapped out to an armbar. A devastated Georges St. Pierre fell to his knees moments after the fight ended. It was no doubt a brutal loss for a very young fighter but many people argue that this was the night that St. Pierre realized his full potential.
Unlike most people, St. Pierre was not discouraged by his loss to the champion. Although he was devastated at the time, in the long run it was best for him. With the loss he realized that although he lost, up until his mistake, many people felt he was winning the fight, and that with a bit more training he could easily be the champion. He was ready to begin his journey back to the top of the welterweight division.
Georges St. Pierre came back with a chip on his shoulder. He went back north of the border to TKO, the organization that he had come up and got a quick win over David Strasser. He then came back to the UFC with a unanimous decision over Jason “Mayhem” Miller. He then pulled off two extremely impressive wins against Frank Trigg and Sean Sherk, who were among the top of the UFC welterweight division. Many people now believed that he was in line for a rematch against Matt Hughes for the championship. However, there was one more man standing in his way. BJ Penn, the only man to defeat Matt Hughes in the octagon. This was no doubt going to be the toughest fight in Georges’s career but he was more then ready. At UFC 58 (appropriately titled “USA vs. Canada”), BJ and St. Pierre faced off. In a three round war, which saw Georges St. Pierre leave the ring bloody and battered for the first time in his career, Georges St. Pierre was able to pull out a slim split decision victory.
Again Matt Hughes was set to defend his title against Georges St. Pierre. It was scheduled for UFC 63 but due to a groin injury Georges St. Pierre was forced to pull out and BJ Penn took his place against Matt Hughes. After dominating for two rounds and looking as if he was poised to take the title once again from Matt Hughes, BJ Penn seemed to completely gas out and Matt Hughes took advantage by getting on top of BJ and pounding him until the referee was forced to stop the fight. After the fight was when the real conflict between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes began. Georges St. Pierre was ushered into the octagon and given a microphone. In this microphone he uttered in his typical French Canadian accent the now infamous line, “I am happy you won, but I am not impressed by your performance.” Even though the line was meant to be playful hype for the rematch, Matt Hughes did not receive it well. He was visibly angered. In the locker room afterwards Georges St. Pierre offered an apology to Matt, which he accepted, however it was too little too late. The war of words between the two began. Trying to put all the hype aside, Georges St. Pierre focused on his training for the biggest fight of his life. He trained with the Canadian Olympic wrestling team to improve his ground game. The match was set for UFC 65: Bad Intentions. It was the night that would drastically change St. Pierre’s life forever.
As the fight drew closer, the pressure was mounting on St. Pierre. A second loss to Matt Hughes would be devastating to his career. Many people thought that Matt Hughes was in St. Pierre’s head. St. Pierre showed that this statement was far from the truth. It was clear from the opening bell who the better fighter was. St. Pierre displayed a wide array of strikes utilizing both kicks and strikes to throw off Matt Hughes. Had it not been for the bell signaling the end of the first round, a great punch combo from Georges St. Pierre would have defeated Matt Hughes. St. Pierre finished the job in the second round when he hit Matt Hughes square on the temple with a great left high kick that sent the champion reeling. The challenger immediately jumped on Hughes and connected with a series of brutal punches and elbows to the head, forcing the referee to intervene..
Finally Georges St. Pierre was a champion, and in decisive fashion leaving no doubt in the fans minds who deserved to be crowned as the champion of the UFC welterweight division. It took our young champion little less then 5 years to make it to the top but he will be the first to tell you that everything he sacrificed was worth it. It is easy to see why Georges St. Pierre is a fan favorite. How can you not love a guy who makes every fight exciting? A guy who is always willing to sign an autograph. Who is just genuinely one of the nicest guys in the sport regardless of whether he is a champion or not. Georges St. Pierre has all the tools to remain the champion for years to come. He is the perfect ambassador for the sport and no doubt will be a great champion. The story of Georges St. Pierre is a rare case in which the nice guy finished first.
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Source: www.mmafighting.com
