Due to Georges St-Pierre’s storied fighting career, the Canadian star is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time. According to some, GSP is the greatest.
But, recently St-Pierre explained why you won’t hear him say he’s the greatest of all time, or why he won’t dub someone else as the G.O.A.T.
St-Pierre doesn’t think there’s a G.O.A.T.
For years now, St-Pierre’s name has been mentioned, or should be, in discussions about who is the greatest fighter to date. After all, not only is St-Pierre a former UFC welterweight and middleweight champ, he went 26-2 during his career.
When the now 38-year-old hung up the gloves, he did so having won 13 straight bouts. That winning streak went down while he fought the best of the best.
So, on account of all this, as well as his abilities, GSP is one of the G.O.A.T. contenders. But, while talking to Ariel Helwani recently, St-Pierre had this to say about the G.O.A.T. debate (quotes via MMA Fighting).
“I don’t think there is nobody that is the greatest,” St-Pierre said. “Let me explain that to you.
There is three guys, right? This guy will beat [that] guy, [that] guy will beat [the other] guy, and [the other] guy will beat this guy. That’s how it is in this game. . .
It’s just a matter of timing. Everybody can beat everybody on any given day. You make a fight against a top guy 10 times, the guy will probably not win it 10 times.
Depending on the situation, he might win nine out of the 10. And style makes fights, too. There are guys that have your number – you don’t know why. In the fight game, it’s not a straight line.”
“When I was young, I wanted to be the best of all time but when I got older and had more experience, I realized it’s just a fugazi – it doesn’t exist,” St-Pierre said.
“You cannot be the best fighter on the planet. There will always be one guy that will beat you. I know some people say, ‘No that’s not true’ but if you train with many different training partners, with different people, you’ll find out it’s true.
There’s guys better than you maybe who are not fighting but if you fight them in the gym you’ll see they are gonna beat you.
It’s like that. That’s how the world works. There’s no better guy. There will always be one guy that will have your number, will beat you.
That’s how it is. There is no better guy. Any given day, one guy will be better than the other.”
Does GSP have a point?
St-Pierre makes some interesting points and it’s interesting to hear him say this, as in 2007, he was KO’d by Matt Serra in what was one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.
But, if you frame the G.O.A.T. discussion while looking at the entire careers of fighters, it becomes more clear.
For example, Jon Jones has yet to incur a legitimate loss on his record. St-Pierre lost twice, yes, but he was one of the most dominant champions in UFC history and won titles in two different divisions.
What do you think? Is there a G.O.A.T.? And if so, who is it?
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