Name |
Georges St-pierre |
Height |
5 ft 10 in |
Naionality |
Canadian |
Date of Birth |
19-May-1981 |
Place of Birth |
Saint-Isidore, Quebec, Canada |
Famous for |
Boxer |
Georges St-pierre is a Canadian mixed martial artist and the current Welterweight Champion of the UFC. St-Pierre is ranked as the #1 welterweight in the world according to Sherdog, and numerous other publications. St-Pierre is ranked the No. 3 pound for pound fighter by ESPN, and No. 2 by Sherdog. In 2008, 2009, and 2010 he was named the Canadian Athlete of the Year by Rogers Sportsnet.
St-Pierre made his UFC debut at UFC 46, where he defeated highly ranked Karo Parisyan by unanimous decision. His next fight in the UFC was against Jay Hieron at UFC 48. St-Pierre defeated Hieron via technical knockout in only 1:42 of the first round. Following his second win in the UFC, he faced Matt Hughes at UFC 50 for the vacant UFC Welterweight Championship. Despite a competitive performance against the much more experienced 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. After his loss to Matt Hughes, St-Pierre rebounded with a win over Dave Strasser at TKO 19 by a first-round kimura submission. He then returned to the UFC to face Jason Miller at UFC 52, defeating Miller by unanimous decision in a bloody battle. On August 25, 2007, at UFC 74 St-Pierre won a unanimous decision over Josh Koscheck (30–27, 29–28, 29–28). He outwrestled Koscheck, who is a four-time Division I NCAA All-American and an NCAA wrestling champion, by scoring takedowns, stopping Koscheck's takedown attempts and maintaining top position throughout most of the fight. Many predicted that Koscheck would outmatch 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 No. 1 contender spot for the UFC Welterweight Championship. That 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. Hughes 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 also 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 was forced to verbally submit at 4:55 of the second round, making St-Pierre the interim Welterweight Champion.