When he is officially inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, Thursday evening in Las Vegas, Quebecer Georges St-Pierre will undoubtedly take the opportunity to thank his coaches and his various partners, not to mention his many supporters all over the place. of the planet.
“The greatest honor I could receive,” St-Pierre has already ruled, about his entry into the Pantheon, which will be at a public event on the sidelines of UFC 266, scheduled in two days.
When Dana White called him to tell him the news of his induction in May 2020, he believed the UFC president was going to try to get him into a fight again. Now 40 years old, the pride of Saint-Isidore, in Montérégie, rather welcomed with joy the happy news of this tribute which was to be paid to her sooner or later.
With his usual class, St-Pierre will inevitably thank White, as will the founders of the UFC, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta.
“It was an incredible journey and it would not have been possible without everyone,” the Quebecer had testified, in a press release, during the announcement, then listing all those who have gravitated around him during his career, including White, then saluting his opponents at the same time.
From barbarian to athlete
With the election of St-Pierre among the immortals, the opportunity will now be ideal for us to thank in turn the legendary Quebecer who, without a doubt, left an indelible mark on the mixed martial arts. .
“I fought so that my sport was accepted as a real sport,” the Quebec fighter himself had recognized in an interview with the “Journal de Montreal” last year. We were treated like barbarians and not really like athletes. ”
This is indeed the impact that St-Pierre had on the notoriety of his sport, so much so that, over the years, he could decide to climb into the octagon, on his terms.
“A pioneer”
DanaWhite will not always have found him convenient, but he recognizes him today as a great of the discipline, among the most illustrious.
“Georges St-Pierre is a pioneer of mixed martial arts in Canada and he helped to grow our sport on a planetary level,” had also exposed the president of the UFC when announcing his future induction. He is the most popular athlete to come from Canada and one of the best fighters of all time. ”
Having retired from mixed martial arts in February 2019, the man nicknamed “GSP” concluded his career with a record of 26-2 and 8 KOs. Winner of 20 of his 22 fights in the ‘UFC, he was welterweight and middleweight champion of the prestigious organization.
Striking fights
Among his most memorable battles, we must remember the duel fought at Madison Square Garden in New York against Michael Bisping, in November 2017, after four years of absence. With the help of a submission hold in the third round, St-Pierre forced the referee to stop the fight, which secured him the middleweight title.
His previous presence in the octagon against Johny Hendricks, in Las Vegas in 2013, had also offered a superb spectacle. The Quebecer then won by split decision to keep his welterweight title. “GSP” still holds the record for the greatest number of title defenses in this category, with nine.
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