Fighter Profile: Georges "Rush" St-Pierre

On May 19, 1981 a legend was born.

On January 25, 2002 a legacy was born.

On that date Georges St. Pierre, or GSP, won his first professional MMA bout with Ivan Menjivar, defeating him by TKO in the first round.

This was the beginning of a bright future.

GSP’s first UFC came in 2004 against Karo Parisyan. GSP got the nod in the unanimous decision, improving his record to a perfect (6-0). After winning his next match, GSP was now the number one contender against Matt Hughes for the vacant UFC Welterweight Title. In awe of the world’s biggest stage and the biggest fight of his life, St. Pierre faced Hughes at UFC 50: The War Of ’04. Hughes submitted GSP with only 1 second remaining in the first round. Not letting the loss keep him down, GSP won his next 5 matches, overcoming B.J. Penn to become the number one contender for the Welterweight Title once again.

At UFC 65, GSP got his rematch with Matt Hughes. This time is went Georges way. GSP beat Hughes by way of TKO 1:25 into the second round, making GSP the UFC Welterweight Champion. The run with the belt was short but sweet. In his first chance to defend it, Georges lost to Matt Sera in the first round due to TKO. Some say that this is one of the best things that could have happened to the then 26 year-old, saying that the loss focused him more.

Redemption came on April 19, 2008 in UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre II. GSP took more of a ground approach to the fight, which seemed to have worked. The fight was stopped 4:45 in the second round due to knees to the body. This clinched the Welterweight title for St. Pierre. Looking to become a true champion and defend his belt, GSP won his next fight with Jon Fitch by unanimous decision after 5 rounds of fighting.

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Now comes the hard part.

Georges St. Pierre’s next fight against B.J. Penn will be on January 31, 2009 in UFC 94, the most anticipated re-match of UFC history. B.J. Penn lost once before in a split decision to GSP, giving St. Pierre the upper hand. The fight is also being highly publicized by the new UFC program, UFC: Primetime, which follows the two fighters for three weeks as they prepare for their fight together. Penn (13-4) is the Lightweight Division Champion and GSP (17-2) is the UFC Welterweight Division Champion, so this is sure to be a great clash of brilliant fighters.

Not too shabby for a kid that only started karate and wrestling to deal with the bully that stole his clothes and lunch money during school.

> See where the staff at Pro Fighting Fans ranks Georges St. Pierre in our MMA rankings!

June update - After St. Pierre's win over BJ Penn at UFC 94, he will now face Thiago "The Pit Bull" Alves at UFC 100 on July 11, 2009.

Recent Georges St-Pierre MMA News:

• Defeated Thiago Alves by Unanimous Decision at UFC 100 on July 11, 2009 - UFC 100 results

• Defeated Dan Hardy by Unanimous Decision at UFC 111 on March 27, 2010 - UFC 111 results

By Ryan DeClerck
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer
Published June 2009

Photo courtesy of UFC