GEORGES ST PIERRE

Georges St Pierre

Canadian by birth, Georges was named the Canadian Athlete of the Year in 2008 and 2009 and in 2009 he was voted the Most Outstanding Fighter by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. He won the World MMA Award title of Fighter of the Year in 2009. Georges St Pierre is ranked by many publications as the top pound for pound fighter as well.

Born on May 19, 1981, in Saint Isidore, Quebec, St-Pierre took up Kyokushinkai Karate at seven years of age to wart off bullies at school who were stealing his clothes and money.

When his Karate instructor passed away, he began learning wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He also trained in boxing.

Early Jobs

Before he fought MMA professionally, Georges worked as a bouncer at a night club in Montreal and also worked as a garbageman.

While watching Royce Gracie in UFC 1 in 1993, Georges St Pierre knew he wanted to become a UFC Champion. By age 16 he had fought his first amateur match against a 25 year old boxer. He won the fight by knockout.

Pro Debut

On January 25, 2002, St-Pierre made his professional debut against Canadian Ivan Menijvar. The fight was at the event UCC (Univeral Combat Challenge)7-Bad Boyz and Georges St Pierre won by TKO only four minutes and fifty-nine seconds into the first round.

The UCC

His second professional fight was for the UCC title belt and was on June 15, 2002 at UCC 10.

Georges St Pierre went up against Justin "Loaf" Bruckmann and defeated him via arm bar in round one. The UCC Welterweight title was his. When the UCC converted to TKO Major League MMA, Georges was declared the TKO Champ.

Georges St Pierre next two fights were to defend his title. The first match was against Travis Galbraith on October 11, 2002 at UCC 11: The Next Level.

Georges St Pierre won in the first round TKO by elbows. On January 25, 2003, Georges St Pierre took on Thomas Denny at UCC 12: Adrenaline. Four minutes and forty-five seconds into round two, St-Pierre won TKO (cut).

Rush was really beginning to make a name for himself in the MMA world. His style was unique and effective and his reputation as a "good ole boy" was catching on.

Georges St Pierre faced off with Pete Spratt an American MMA fighter from Denison, Texas at TKO 14: Road Warriors on November 29, 2003 in Canada.

It was a much anticipated event and George St Pierre did not disappoint. He won the bout by Submission via Rear Naked Choke Hold in the first round.

Georges St Pierre made his debut in the UFC at UFC 46 which was held on January 31, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He went into the octagon against Armenian American Judo-style fighter Karo Parisyan and five minutes into the third round, won by unanimous decision.

His dream to fight in the UFC finally became a reality and he was holding his own.

The next fight on the list for St-Pierre was against Jay Hieron in June of 2004 at UFC 48: Payback, again in Las Vegas. Again Georges showed his stuff and won by TKO in the first round.

First Loss

His third opponent in the UFC was the notorious wrestling rooted fighter, Matt Hughes at UFC 50: The War of '04 for the vacant Welterweight Championship. The match turned out to be his first lost ever when he was forced into submission by arm bar in round one.

George St Pierre refused to give up. He came back to win over Dave Strasser at TKO 19: Rage in January 2005, winning via kimura submission in round one.

Next, Georges met up with Jason Mayhem Miller in the ring at UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a bloody duel but St-Pierre reigned victorious in the fifth round by unanimous decision.

In both UFC 54 and UFC 56 proved what he was made of winning against pro- wrestler Frank Trigg via Rear Naked Choke and against Sean Sherk by TKO.

Once again, Georges St Pierre was on a winning roll. UFC 58 was the setting for his face off with the UFC Welterweight Champion, B.J. Penn.

Hughes Saga

Georges St Pierre won and earned the right to fight Matt Hughes at UFC 63 for the title. Due to a groin injury, St-Pierre had to pull out of the event and was replaced by Penn.

It was announced, however, that St-Pierre and Hughes would rematch as soon as Georges injury had healed.

Although George St Pierre was not able to fight, he did attend UFC 63 to cheer on his fellow Canadian fighter, David Loiseau (aka The Crow).

He also entered the ring after the Hughes/Penn bout and had words for Hughes which Hughes took offensively. The taunting continued off-camera as well, setting the scene for a much anticipated rematch against the two.

In November of 2006, Georges St Pierre appeared as a trainer on the hit television reality show, The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback.

On November 18, 2006, St-Pierre stepped into the ring with Hughes to back up his tough talk. In the first round, Georges grounded Hughes with a superman punch followed by a left hook.

Hughes remained in the game though until taken out with a left kick to the head and flurries of punches and strikes. Georges St Pierre won by TKO. He was declared the new UFC Welterweight Champion and signed a 6 fight deal.

Serra Fighter

The glory was short lived, however. On April 7, 2007 in Houston, Texas at UFC 69: Shootout, Georges took on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practicianer, Matt Serra.

By August, a refocused St-Pierre surfaced for UFC 74 where he faced off with wrestling champion Josh Koscheck.

Georges was on top of his game and out wrestled Koscheck and won by Decision five minutes into the third round.

Hughes Again

Winning the fight put Georges as the number-one contender to take on the winner of the Hughes/Serra match. Serra was not able to fight due to a back injury therefore Georges would fight Matt Hughes once again. The bout would be for the interim belt.

The two met up at UFC 79 on December 29, 2007 at UFC 79 in Las Vegas, Nevada. St-Pierre showcased his wrestling skills and blocked Hughes' take down attempts.

Georges attempted a kimura on Hughes arm then switched to a straight armbar forcing Hughes to submit in round two. Georges was the new UFC Interim Welterweight Champion.

Battle for the UFC Title

GSP was not content with the title. He stated that it actually meant nothing since Serra was the real Champion. On April 19, 2008 the two met in the octagon at UFC 83 held in Montreal, Quebec. It was the first UFC event held in Canada which inspired Georges to give the fight his all.

In August, Georges defended his title at UFC 87 against the former Purdue wrestling captain, Jon Fitch who was riding on a 16 fight winning streak. Five minutes into the fifth round, Georges won by Decision.

A rematch was set against Penn and St-Pierre for UFC 94. It was one of the most anticipated UFC events ever. Georges did not disappoint.

With a superman punch, he bloodied Penn's nose and wore Penn out with take-downs and put on a Hawaiian ground-and-pound. By the end of round four, the fight was stopped by request of Penn's corner man.

Penn went to the hospital following the fight.

Georges next title defense was against John Fitch at UFC 87: Seek and Destroy on August 8, 2008. George St Pierre won the fight by Unanimous Decision in the fifth round.

Another title defense was in order, this time against purple belt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and top contender, Thiago Alves at UFC 100 on July 11, 2009.

Thiago gave Georges a run for his money while standing but St-Pierre took it to the ground and showed his wrestling skills, winning by Unanimous Decision five minutes into the fifth round. Georges did not come out unscathed though, pulling a groin muscle in the fourth round.

On March 27, 2020, Georges took on English fighter, Dan Hardy at UFC 111. It was the first time an British MMA fighter fought for a title in the UFC.

Though Georges dominated the fight, Hardy refused to tap out. At the end of the fifth round, Georges was declared the winner via Unanimous Decision and remained the UFC Welterweight Champion.

Georges in the Olympics?

In early January of 2010 it was announced that Georges may quit MMA to compete in the Summer Olympics for the Canadian freestyle wrestling team. It is uncertain whether this will actually take place or not.

St-Pierre has trained at the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy and received his brown belt from Renzo. He earned his black belt under Bruno Fernandes.

He has also trained at Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting Gaidojutsu school along with Rashad Evans, Nathan Marquardt, and Donald Cerrone who also went with Georges to Montreal to help him get ready for his fight with Penn in UFG 94.

GSP had earned the respect of not only his peers but of the media as well and also retains a swarm of fans and that combination of a following might very well be the mightiest feat an MMA fighter can accomplish.

So where does it go from here?

Georges will continue to defend his title with his winning style of Kyokushin, wrestling, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and spirit that cannot be stifled.

Georges is extrememly popular and you can find some good gear with his name on it.