Georges St-Pierre – Pressure King

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By Thomas Gerbasi

At the kickoff press conference in Las Vegas last Saturday to officially announce his January 31st rematch with UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn, the organization’s welterweight king, Georges St-Pierre, called his two losses to Matt Hughes and Matt Serra the “great turning points” in his career.

I beg to differ.

For me, and for many other mixed martial arts fans, the day Georges St-Pierre went from athlete to fighter was the last time he stepped into the Octagon against Penn – on March 4, 2006.

Before that fight, St-Pierre pretty much had his way with whoever he fought. Even when he lost to Hughes a year and a half prior, he would have likely won the opening round had he not gotten caught in an armbar and submitted a second before the bell rang. So when Penn relentlessly attacked in the first round and bloodied the Canadian standout, it was the classic case of ‘Fight or Flight’. Which option would St-Pierre choose?

“It was a good fight because I was tested,” St-Pierre recalled after Saturday’s presser. “It was the first time in my career I had lost a round. I already lost a fight, but I hadn’t lost a round. I’m a very good athlete, so I was used to winning all the rounds. But after that round, I came back and I was hurt. I was cut under my eye, I couldn’t breathe well from my nose, and it was hard. It was a big test mentally to see how I could come back from a hard first round.”

He passed the test, with flying colors no less, winning the next two rounds on two of the three judges’ scorecards, enough for him to earn a split decision victory and respect from the hardcore fans as a true warrior who knew how to dig down deep to win a dogfight.

But so much has changed for both St-Pierre and Penn since 2006. Penn would lose to Hughes and then go on to win the lightweight title; GSP would win, lose, regain, and defend the welterweight crown, beating the likes of Hughes, Serra, Josh Koscheck, and Jon Fitch along the way. All along though, St-Pierre knew that eventually, he and Penn would lock horns again.

“I knew we would probably meet each other again,” said St-Pierre. “We’re gonna meet each other on January 31st and maybe we’ll meet after that too. It all depends on the outcome. Everything goes up in life and goes down, everything that goes down can sometimes go up, so it’s all a question of timing. I just want to have the best challenges as possible in my career. I fight for myself, and for me, it will be a big honor to fight BJ Penn, and I can’t ask for a better fight for me. The man I want to fight is BJ Penn right now.”

St-Pierre vs Penn II is one of those fights that can get the blood flowing months before it takes place, and heated debates are already taking place around internet message boards as the two combatants continue on a media tour that took them to Toronto yesterday and that will touch down in Hawaii tomorrow. But the heat between the two will be confined to the Octagon on Super Bowl weekend, as both have shown a great deal of respect to each other during the press gatherings.

“The fight is great by itself,” said St-Pierre. “I’m not a person who trash talks and I don’t think BJ is either. Just the hype of the fight itself is gonna be enough to promote it. But of course, it’s a fighting sport, so sometimes we have to give some answers about fighting that the opponent doesn’t like, but it’s part of the game and it doesn’t break my focus at all.”

St-Pierre is already at a solid 185-186 pounds more than two months out from the bout, with Penn just five pounds over the welterweight limit at press time, so it’s obvious that both fighters haven’t strayed too far from the gym since their most recent bouts.

“When I’m not training for a fight, eight weeks from a fight, I train my skill,” said St-Pierre. “I train strictly wrestling, boxing, Muay Thai, and Jiu-Jitsu and that’s how I improve, that’s how I sharpen my skills. I can see a big progression in my training and also in my fights. I can’t wait to show up on January 31st and fight BJ because BJ’s not the same fighter he used to be as well. So we’re both going to fight each other in our primes, and it’s gonna be a great fight.”

But being in near-fighting trim is about all the two have in common as training camp beckons, as Penn will sequester himself in Hilo for his fight preparation, while St-Pierre, who has recently spent some time training in Brazil, will go back to his preferred method of training around the globe – from Montreal to New York to Albuquerque – in order to get ready for January 31st.

“It brings me the biggest variety of training partners, and what makes a great fighter is his capacity to adjust to a certain style,” said St-Pierre of his training methods. “So to train with different styles of people from different camps really helps me a lot.”

What may have also given St-Pierre a significant edge, at least mentally, was his recent five round battle with Fitch. It was the 27-year old’s first 25 minute fight, and again, it showed the development in his overall game as he showed the ability to go the championship distance and still win in style.

“I go there every time in training, so it was just new for me that I had never been there in an actual fight,” said St-Pierre of the five round battle, and while he may downplay that fight’s significance, what he isn’t doing is scoffing at a rematch that may be one for the ages.

“I think if you ask somebody who’s the best pound for pound in the world, a lot of people would say it’s BJ Penn, so for me, it’s a great challenge,” said St-Pierre. “When you’re a UFC world champion, you have to fix your goals even higher. I don’t want to fight to be champion anymore because I’m already the champion. I want to fight to become a legend in the sport, and that’s what this fight will give me.”

Fighting to become a legend is a lofty goal, and a lot of pressure for anyone. But with each obstacle St-Pierre knocks down, pressure is nothing more than a stone in his shoe – a minor annoyance removed with one shake of his foot.

“The pressure is always there, but that’s when I perform the best.”

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