Georges St.-Pierre

Infobox Martial artist biography
name = Georges St.-Pierre

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imagesize =
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birthname =
nickname = Rush
GSP
nationality = flagicon|CAN Canada
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1981|5|19|mf=y
placeofbirth = Saint-Isidore, Quebec, Canada
fightingoutof = Montreal, Quebec, Canada
dateofdeath =
placeofdeath =
height = height|ft=5|in=10
weightlb = 169
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style = Kyokushin, Wrestling,
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai,
Boxing
stance =
team = Jackson's Submission Fighting
trainer =
yearsactive = 6 (2002-present)
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mmawins = 17
mmakowins = 7
mmasubwins = 5
mmalosses = 2
mmakolosses = 1
mmasublosses = 1
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sherdog =3500

Georges "Rush" St.-Pierre (born May 19, 1981), often referred to as "GSP"cite news
url = http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/6177854
title = Hughes-St.-Pierre: UFC's match of the year?
first = Dave
last = Doyle
publisher = FOXSports.com
date = February 2007
accessdate = 2007-05-17] , is a French-Canadian mixed martial arts fighter. He is the current Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion.

He is currently ranked by multiple MMA publications as the #1 welterweight in the world.cite web
url = http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/topten.asp?articleid=13&zoneid=15
title = MMA's Top Ten
date = 2007-05-09
accessdate = 2007-05-13
publisher = MMAWeekly.com] [ [http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/5/Sherdog-Official-Mixed-Martial-Arts-Rankings-13605 Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings ] ]

Biography

Born May 10, 1981 in Saint-Isidore, Quebec, Canada, St.-Pierre had a difficult childhood, attending a school where others would steal his clothes and money.cite web|url=http://www.hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=8504|title=Georges St.-Pierre leads Montreal to UFC glory] . Hour.ca. March 2nd, 2006|last=Tousignant|first=Isa|accessdate=2007-07-06] He started learning Kyokushin karate at age seven to defend himself against a school bully.cite web|url=http://www.knucklepit.com/mixed-martial-arts-georges_st.pierre.htm|title=Montreal’s MMA Warrior.] knucklepit.com|last=Wickert|first=Marc|accessdate=2007-07-06] He took up wrestling and Brazilian 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 called Fuzzy Brossard and as a garbageman for 6 months to pay for his school fees.cite web|url=http://www.complex.com/CELEBRITIES/Web-Exclusive/Georges-St.-Pierre|title=Gold Rush] Complex.com|last=Kelly|first=Seth|accessdate=2007-12-24]

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.cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/OtherSports/2006/07/22/1697789-sun.html|title=slam.canoe.ca/Slam/OtherSports/2006/07/22/1697789-sun.html |accessdate=2007-07-06] after working up to his purple belt with Fabio Holanda at Brazilian Top Team Canada, who cornered many of his earlier fights. St.-Pierre is also a former member of the Canadian Top Team. He also spent time training in Quebec City, and has returned to training in Montreal with Brazilian Top Team Canada. He has also trained with "The Ultimate Fighter 4's" Patrick Côté and former UFC middleweight contender David Loiseau, and spent some time in the Montreal Wrestling Club. St.-Pierre also trains in boxing with Howard Grant and Otis Grant at the Grant Brothers Gym in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec. Here he gets the chance to spar with world champ Joachim Alcine and others.

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 BTT Canada and Tristar Gym including Keith Jardine and Nathan Marquardt. Currently, George trains in Muay Thai under Kru Phil Nurse at the Wat in New York City.

MMA career

Early career

St.-Pierre had dreamed of becoming a UFC champion since watching Royce Gracie fight in 1993 at "UFC 1".cite web|url=http://mmafighting.com/gettingtoknow/georgesstpierre.html|title=Getting To Know Georges "Rush" St.-Pierre|accessdate=2007-07-06] 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 nothing 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. cite web|url=http://www.mmaringreport.com/interview/interview_stpierre.htm|title=First Bout|accessdate=2007-07-06]

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.

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 experience fighter, St.-Pierre tapped out to an Armbar with only 1 second remaining in the first round. 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.

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. He then returned to the UFC to face Jason "Mayhem" Miller at "UFC 52", defeating Miller by unanimous decision.

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. 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". [CBC.ca. [http://www.cbc.ca/cp/sports/060718/s071864.html] ] 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. [cite web|url=http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=3125|title=St.-Pierre Sidelined by Injury; ‘The Prodigy’ to The Rescue.] August 23 2006|last=Gerbasi|first=Thomas|accessdate=2007-07-06] 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 "" 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.

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.

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.

On January 30, 2007, St.-Pierre signed a six-fight deal with the UFC. [cite web|url=http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3355&zoneid=13|title=www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3355&zoneid=13 |accessdate=2007-07-06]

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.cite news
last = Davidson
first = Neil
title = Georges St.-Pierre suffers loss to underdog Matt Serra at UFC 69: Shootout
publisher = Canadian Press
date = 2007-04-08
url = http://www.cbc.ca/cp/sports/070408/s040832A.html
accessdate = 2007-04-09 ] 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, 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.

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). 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. 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.

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, 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. In a reversal of their first fight, St.-Pierre attempted a Kimura on Hughes' right arm, 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, 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. 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. In the second round, St.-Pierre continued his previous actions, forcing Serra into the turtle position and delivering repeated knees to Serra's midsection. When Serra was unable to improve his position or defend against the strikes, referee Yves Lavigne stopped the fight. 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. [ [http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=12168 UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship® ] ]

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, 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 seemingly at will. 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.

MMA titles

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

Mixed martial arts record

MMArecordbox
wins=17
losses=2
ko-wins=7
ko-losses=1
sub-wins=5
sub-losses=1
dec-wins=5
dec-losses=0

Entrance Music

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

See also

*List of male mixed martial artists

References

External links

* [http://www.gspfightclub.com Official website]
*sherdog|id=3500
* [http://www.yardbarker.com/users/stpierre Official Blog]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl-beMYQ-K0