Due to the awe-inspiring record of Georges St-Pierre, and his abilities, most discussions on who is the greatest fighter of all time, generally include him. But, recently Dan Hardy outlined why for him, the UFC’s former middleweight and welterweight champ stands out.
Hardy points to GSP’s “lifestyle”
Typically, during debates about who is the GOAT, names like Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko and St-Pierre are mentioned. Depending on who is debating, you might also have Demetrious Johnson or Khabib Nurmagomedov entered into the discussion.
Well, recently Hardy spoke with MMA Junkie, and while discussing who is the GOAT, he said this about GSP.
“He’s definitely on Mount Rushmore – he’s definitely one of the top four; I can’t see anybody else above him.
“The thing that makes ‘GSP’ stand aside (from the rest) is the fact that not only was he an excellent martial artist in the octagon, but he lived the lifestyle out of the octagon.
He was squeaky clean – there were no run-ins with the police, no failed drug tests, nothing like that. The losses that he had, he came back and won.
I always think that proves an excellent martial artist, someone that found a limitation and then managed to push their way through it.
“Obviously I’m biased, because I spent a bit of time getting to know him, himself, in his home gym and everything.
He’s a fantastic martial artist, he operates on a very high level. It’s difficult to put anybody else above him.”
Hardy isn’t the only person who has made an argument like this. St-Pierre never tested positive for any banned substances, and he hasn’t had any personal scandals or run-ins with the law, etc.
He’s also continued to train regularly and remained committed to martial arts after his final bout in 2017, when he choked out Michael Bisping to win the UFC’s middleweight belt.
Hardy reflects on his bout with GSP
Of course, Hardy knows what it’s like to face St-Pierre in the Octagon. The British fighter was tapped to face GSP during his reign as the welterweight champ in 2011. St-Pierre cruised to a decision win via his wrestling and top game.
While reflecting on facing the legend in the cage, Hardy said this.
“To spend 25 minutes in there with him, he was a challenge in every range, and I learned a lot from it,” he said.
“To be in there with one of the best was amazing, and then to be able to go into his training camp afterward and help him prepare for a couple of fights, I learned a lot about him and how he puts his training camps together and how he structures things. It was fantastic.”
GSP finished his career riding a 13 fight winning streak and having gone 26-2.
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