Georges “Rush” St-Pierre (GSP)

On May 19, 1981, George St. Pierre was born in Saint-Isidore, Quebec. At the age of seven, St. Pierre began his MMA career by studying Karate from his father and shortly after joining a Kyokushin Karate class as a result of bullying issues at school.

Georges stated this in an interview with Isa Tousignant from Hour dated March 2006:”I went to a school where it was pretty rough – I’d get my clothes stolen, my cash. And at home life was pretty hard too. I had a difficult childhood, and I’m not saying that that’s why I do ultimate fighting, but it helped shape my character.”

After obtaining his second-degree black belt in karate at the age of 12 or 13, Georges’ karate instructor passed away, and Georges started dabbling in other sports. He ceased practicing karate and began practicing Muay Thai. He enjoyed Muay Thai, but after seeing UFC 1 with Ken Shamrock, he was motivated to switch to mixed martial arts and begin practicing basic ground fighting techniques.

He maintained his Muay Thai training instead because there were no Jiu-Jitsu schools in Montreal at the time, and he eventually returned to get his third-degree black belt in Karate. He discovered a reputable Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school when he was 16 years old, and at age 18 he started taking boxing and wrestling lessons.

Prior to going professional, Georges was living in a subpar apartment, doing three jobs, attending university, and preparing for bouts all at the same time. There wasn’t much money. He even spent six months working as a trash guy to help pay for college. In addition, he performed recovery work for a business in Montreal and worked as a bouncer at a nightclub there. Although it was a very trying moment for him, it helped to mold the person he is today. He is thankful for his difficulties and the lessons he gained from them. He had always believed that effort would be rewarded.

At UFC 46, St-Pierre made his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut by winning by unanimous decision over highly ranked Karo Parisyan. At UFC 48, he faced Jay Hieron in his next UFC match. In just 1:42 of the opening frame, St-Pierre eliminated Hieron via technical knockout.

At UFC 50, he competed against Matt Hughes for the vacant UFC Welterweight Championship after earning his second victory in the organization. St-Pierre put on a strong showing against the much more seasoned opponent, but with just 10 seconds left in the opening frame, he submitted to an armbar. St-Pierre suffered his first defeat in his professional career, and he has subsequently said that prior to the title fight, he was in awe of Hughes.

The previous UFC welterweight champion B.J. Penn was beaten by St-Pierre at UFC 58, elevating St-Pierre to the position of top contender. St-Pierre defeated then-champion Matt Hughes in a rematch at UFC 63 after winning the fight by a split decision. However, owing to a groin injury, St-Pierre was forced to withdraw from the fight and was replaced by B.J. Penn, the opponent he had defeated in March. Following the event, the UFC said that St-Pierre would be given the chance to compete for the championship once his illness had completely recovered.

As the undisputed UFC welterweight title, St-Pierre faced Matt Serra in a rematch at UFC 83 on April 19, 2008. At the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, it was the UFC’s debut event in the country. St-Pierre pressed the action early with a takedown and then varied his assault instead of opening with strikes, which never gave Serra the chance to launch a big offense.

Serra was driven into the turtle position in the second round by St-Pierre, who then repeatedly kneed Serra in the belly. The fight was interrupted by the referee, Yves Lavigne, at the conclusion of the second round because Serra was clearly out of steam and unable to protect himself from St-constant Pierre’s knee strikes or gain ground.

On December 13, 2013, St-Pierre made it known that he had willingly given up the championship and would be taking a break from mixed martial arts. He left the door open for a potential future comeback to MMA. On March 27, 2014, St-Pierre revealed through Twitter that he had ruptured his left ACL while working out, significantly postponing his future comeback to combat.

Surgery would be needed to repair the left ACL. On October 17, 2014, he received a medical clearance to begin training, but it was not immediately obvious if he intended to engage in professional combat once more. Rory MacDonald’s preparation for his rematch with Robbie Lawler at UFC 189 in 2015 was significantly aided by St-Pierre.

On June 20, 2016, St-Pierre declared that he was renegotiating his contract with the UFC with the hopes of competing again at UFC 206 in Toronto in December.

In 2017, St-Pierre will face Michael Bisping, the middleweight champion of the UFC, according to Dana White. The bout was postponed, as announced by Dana White on May 11.

On November 4, 2017, the main event of UFC 217 featured GSP vs. Bisping, nearly four years after GSP’s previous fight at UFC 167. The third-round technical submission victory against Bisping became St-Pierre the Middleweight Champion and the fourth fighter in UFC history to hold titles in different weight classes. St-Pierre received his first Performance of the Night bonus award for this victory.

After 34 days of holding the championship, St-Pierre said that he was giving it up on December 7, 2017. Because of his ulcerative colitis, St-Pierre didn’t want to delay the middleweight division.

On February 21, 2019, St-Pierre made his formal retirement announcement at a news conference held at Montreal’s Bell Centre. St-Pierre will be inducted into the Modern-Era Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame, the UFC announced on May 9, 2020.