MVN - Most Valuable Network

Georges St-Pierre: A Canadian Treasure

If you read this site with any sort of regularity, you know that I am a huge fan of Georges St-Pierre. In fact, up until last weekend I thought GSP was the number two in the world for best pound-for-pound fighter. Although Fedor Emelianenko now claims that top spot, GSP didn’t fall far. He’s still the third best fighter in the world in my book and is the best fighter that was born on the North American continent. All-in-all I’d say he’s still pretty damn good.

GSP has been a pro fighter for six and a half years now but is still only 27 years old. He holds a professional record of 16-2 and is a two-time UFC Welterweight Champion. He has avenged both his losses by beating Matt Hughes and Matt Serra in rematches.

GSP has always had the physical tools to be a great fighter but many people questioned his heart for MMA after his loss to Matt Serra in April 2007. St-Pierre bounced back from that loss with two of the most dominant victories of his career by beating Josh Koscheck and Matt Hughes.

Prior to his fight with Josh Koscheck, many people felt Koscheck was the best wrestler in the division. GSP proved that was untrue by taking Koscheck to the ground over and over for three straight rounds while Koscheck was never able to get St-Pierre off of his feet. GSP won an easy unanimous decision over Koscheck.

After Matt Serra had to pull out of his match with Matt Hughes last December, GSP stepped up to the plate to face Hughes on short notice. Not only was GSP up to the challenge to face Hughes, but GSP may have had the best fight of his career. He made Matt Hughes look old and washed up in. It took GSP less than two rounds to pull off a submission win over the UFC legend. GSP locked Hughes in an armbar to become the interim UFC Welterweight Champion.

After the match, GSP gave the belt back to UFC President Dana White and said he didn’t want that until he beat Matt Serra in their rematch which took place in April. GSP again proved his superiority over the Welterweight division when he stopped Serra in the second round due to strikes. GSP caught Serra with numerous knees to the midsection that stopped Serra from defending his title.

St-Pierre will now face top-ranked challenger Jon Fitch at UFC 87 in two weeks. Fitch is a great wrestler who will bring a 21-2 record with him when he enters the Octagon. He has yet to lose a match since coming to the UFC.

St-Pierre should be able to hang with Fitch on the ground since he handled Koscheck on the ground with ease. GSP has also been working on his BJJ to add he more weapons to his arsenal. The difference in the match should be St-Pierre’s superior striking ability. GSP is only an inch shorter than Fitch so he shouldn’t have much difficulty with Fitch’s length and reach.

There have been recent rumblings about St-Pierre looking to leave the UFC after his contract expires in two more fights. He has put that talk to rest stating that he is loyal to the UFC because it is the organization that gave him his start and he hopes to retire as a UFC fighter.

Canadians are famous for worshiping their sports heroes. Wayne Gretzky, Bret Hart, Bobby Orr, Larry Walker and Steve Nash are all giants north of the border. Georges St-Pierre is as popular right now as any of those athletes have ever been. GSP is a great ambassador for the sport. He is a gentleman who always shows great respect for his opponent and his sport.

Georges St-Pierre is a truly a special person. Hopefully our neighbors to the north don’t mind sharing him with the rest of the world for several more years so that we can enjoy the honor and privilege of watching one of the greatest fighters of all-time.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 8:36 pm and is filed under Fedor Emelianenko, In the Cage, Georges St-Pierre, Matt Serra, Pay-Per-View, Matt Hughes, UFC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.