Jake Ellenberger defeats Jake Shields- Courtesy of Sherdog.com

Georges St. Pierre Biography and Fighting Information

By Robert Rousseau

Georges St. Pierre is one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world of MMA today. In fact, some believe that he's the best pound for pound fighter, period. What do we here at Submit To MMA think?   Well you won't necessarily find that out in this article. But you sure will find out a little bit more about Georges St. Pierre.

It would seem important to note that there are plenty of outstanding MMA fighters out there today. Let's rundown some of them: Matt Hughes, Karo Parisyan, B.J. Penn, Frank Trigg, Josh Koscheck, Jason Miller, Matt Serra, and Sean Sherk. Guess what else these fighters have in common beyond the fact that they're excellent?

That's right: Georges St. Pierre has defeated them all. Thus, there's absolutely no doubt that he belongs on any best pound for pound fighter list. But there is simply so much more to this Canadian fighter's story than that.

So let's start from the beginning.

The early years and Georges St. Pierre

Georges St. Pierre was born on May 19, 1981 in Saint - Isidore, Quebec, Canada. We'd love to tell you that it was an easy childhood, but it seems as if it wasn't for one of the nicest guys in MMA today. For example, in a 2006 Black Belt Magazine interview St. Pierre indicated that he couldn't participate in both ice hockey and karate, two sports he enjoyed as a youngster, because they cost "too much money (together)." In addition, St. Pierre let out a little more regarding his surroundings with the following quote.

"My parents were very good with me; they wanted to keep me in sports because they didn't want me to hang out with bad people and become a criminal or anything like that. I was in a very tough school; my childhood wasn't easy."

Later in life, St. Pierre worked as a bouncer at a nightclub called the Fuzzy Brossard in Montreal.

That is, before he started fighting professionally. Speaking of fighting . . .

However, when St. Pierre was about 12 years old, his karate teacher died ( soon after giving him his second-degree black belt ). It was at that point that he ceased doing karate, instead focusing on Muay Thai kickboxing. Soon after that- when he was 16 years of age - St. Pierre finally found a place to do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in his area, something that he had been interested in since he'd begun watching the UFC.

Around the age of 18, St. Pierre started wrestling and boxing. Thus, he was well on his way to an MMA career. Still, St. Pierre continues to give credit to the traditional karate art that he learned so long ago, unlike many MMA fighters out there today.

"I'm very happy that I learned karate when I was young," said St. Pierre. "A lot of people told me that it's useless in fighting, but they're wrong. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't done it, I wouldn't be at this level today. Karate made me a lot stronger, and it made me flexible and athletic like I am now. When I'm fighting, I'm not doing kata, but I use a lot of kicks and techniques that I learned from Kyokushin."

Professional MMA didn't serve as the first time that St. Pierre had been in a true fight. And we're not only talking about possible street fights here. You see, he had actually fought as an amateur as well, picking up his first such win at the tender age of 16. That said, his professional MMA career started on January 25, 2002 against Ivan Menjivar at a UCC event. St. Pierre went on to defeat Menjivar by TKO. From there he won three straight by stoppage in UCC events, including a victory over Thomas "Wildman" Denny via TKO before competing once in a TKO event.

Fighting for a different organization certainly didn't change St. Pierre's luck, as he defeated Pete Spratt by submission.

And that's when the UFC came calling for Georges St. Pierre.

The UFC and Georges St. Pierre

On January 31, 2004, Georges St. Pierre won his first UFC fight by way of a clear decision over Karo Parisyan. Then he defeated Jay Hieron, another rather outstanding fighter, by TKO.

So who was next on the docket? How about Matt Hughes?

The bottom line on this fight was this: Matt Hughes had once been Georges St. Pierre's hero. According to him, this caused him to come into this fight somewhat in awe. And although he seemed to be doing well against the champion early on, St. Pierre didn't believe it to be so.

And a fighter without a lot of confidence against Matt Hughes is one that's going to eventually lose. Such was the case with St. Pierre on that cold October night, as he succumbed via armbar after 4:59 in round one.

But the loss would only serve as motivation. Along with this, St. Pierre would go on to defeat Dave Strasser, Jayson "Mayhem" Miller, Frank Trigg, and Sean Sherk consecutively before taking on another MMA legend.

Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn at UFC 58 : USA vs. Canada

In sum, B.J. Penn dominated St. Pierre in the first round of this one. In fact, he bloodied his nose and generally beat him up on their feet. But here's the thing:

Then B.J. Penn gassed. And with that, St. Pierre began connecting with his punches. Next, he started taking Penn down. Although the Canadian fighter looked way worse than Penn did when this one was all said and done, he still won the final two rounds according to two judges; thus, he took home a decision victory.

This fight was rather controversial. Either way, it set up a long sought after rematch with Matt Hughes.

Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre at UFC 65 : Bad Intentions

Just before this fight, Matt Hughes had put himself on a near immortal platform by defeating B.J. Penn in one of the best fights in MMA history. So what did Georges St. Pierre have to say right after that victory?

That he was "not impressed."

Thus, the battle lines had been drawn. But would the outcome be any different than the last time these two had fought?

You bet your bottom dollar it would.

In the first round, St. Pierre dropped Hughes with a Superman punch and nearly ended things on the ground before the bell tolled. But Hughes had been through such near losses in the past and come back, so this was nothing new.

Because all the new stuff came in the second round.

It was then that St. Pierre connected with a head kick that dropped his opponent before following things up by pounding away at him on the canvas. In the end, the referee had no choice to step in, with St. Pierre finally exorcising his demons via TKO. The next time these two fought at UFC 79 : Victory, St. Pierre would once again go on to dominate Hughes, this time by second round submission. In between, however, problems would surface.

TUF 4 and Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra 1 at UFC 69 : Shootout

The Ultimate Fighter Reality Television Show 4 or TUF 4 showcased experienced MMA fighters, rather than the up and comers that had been seen on past shows. Along with this, these combatants weren't fighting for a six figure contract by itself.

They were fighting for a championship shot.

Along with this, BJJ black belt and longtime fighter Matt Serra took on opponents like Shonie Carter and Chris Lytle on his way to winning TUF 4 and a shot at the newly crowned UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre. Interestingly, St. Pierre had also served as a part time trainer on TUF 4; thus, he had worked with Matt Serra on his game during the show, and now he had to fight him.

Matt Serra was the new UFC Welterweight Champion, and Georges St. Pierre had failed in his attempt to defend his title.

After defeating Josh Koscheck by outwrestling a former All American grappler and then defeating Matt Hughes for the second time ( winning an interim belt in the process because Serra had been injured and unable to fight Hughes ) St. Pierre got his long awaited rematch with Matt Serra on April 19, 2008 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Let's put it this way. . .

He didn't disappoint the home crowd. Basically, St. Pierre took Serra down easily, improved his position on several occasions, and eventually began kneeing his opponent's ribs while on the ground in devastating fashion. Those knees soon caused the referee to step in during the second round.

Thus, Georges St. Pierre had won another rematch via TKO and was the UFC Welterweight Champion again.

Training Camps

What's next for Georges St. Pierre?

St. Pierre is considered one of the best to ever step foot in a cage.  Since defeating Serra, he's gone on to win six straight, which equates to nine consecutive bouts.  Up next, is Carlos Condit.  Then who knows- maybe Anderson Silva.

References

Black Belt Magazine

Wikipedia