Georges St-Pierre is regarded by many as the greatest MMA fighter of all time. However, he has recently revealed that he is not as in love with the sport as one might expect.
St-Pierre ended his career in 2017, with an impressive record of 27-2. He holds victories over all other ‘greats’ in his division at the time, including B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes and Nick Diaz. He also held both the welterweight and the middleweight belts.
A Shocking Revelation From GSP
However, in a recent interview on the Complex Sports Podcast, GSP revealed that whilst he loved the feeling of winning a fight, he felt the opposite to the fight itself. He stated the following:
“In fighting, you only get one take. If you zig when you should zag — boom! It can cost you not only a loss but it can cost you obviously cerebral damage. Damage that can cause your death. It’s very dangerous. You say ‘I play basketball, I play hockey but you don’t play fighting. It’s not a game, it’s a sport but it’s more than a game. It’s a different kind of thing.”
“I don’t like the fighting. I hate it. It’s unbearable. The feeling of stress. Not knowing if you will be humiliated or you might get hurt. It’s so hard. But when you win a fight, it’s really worth it. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. So that’s why I did it. Not because I love to fight. I love to win.”
St-Pierre did say that it was not without its perks, however. He revealed that the freedom and rewards the sport allowed were great motivators. He revealed the following:
“I was obviously very successful at it, the money, everything it brings me, the access to things that most people don’t have and the freedom when you’re a professional athlete,” St-Pierre said. “You’re free. If you train hard and you make all the sacrifices, you will have better result than if you’re lazy and don’t do your job well. That’s what I like about it” (transcribed by BJ Penn.com)
GSP has consistently been linked with a return to the sport. With Khabib Nurmagomedov going 29-0, he had touted that GSP was the dream fight to take him to 30-0. St-Pierre’s coach Firas Zahabi has stated that there is interest in the potential fight, although “there’s got to be an offer they can not refuse.”
