Former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre looks to share his story on stage
From being bullied as a child to holding down three jobs while going to college. And the stress and challenges he faced in his rise to being a two-division mixed martial arts champion.
The 44-year-old St-Pierre, a native of Saint-Isidore, Que., who is a member of both the Canada Sports Hall of Fame and UFC Hall of Fame, will debut 'GSP: The Instinct of a Champion' at Toronto's Meridian Hall on Sept. 29 with other Canadian dates to follow in 2026.
The hope is to then take the show to the U.S. and other countries.
St-Pierre is no stranger to speaking publicly, having made plenty of speeches to corporate and other gatherings. The speaking tour will take the form of a live interview, followed by an audience Q-and-A.
'I will explain how I deal with fear, with stress. Background stories. Different protocol and tricks that I used throughout my career,' St-Pierre said from Thailand where he currently filming a reality show to air next year on Netflix.
He believes the September show will work for both fans and those who hope to learn something that they can apply to their own lives.
'A lot of what I do is always oriented towards the art of war — in terms of performance, how to be the best. And to be able to reach the top,' he explained.
St-Pierre officially retired in February 2019 with a 26-2-0 record, having won the middleweight title in his last fight at UFC 217 in November 2017. He previously was the longtime welterweight champion.
Sharing his story was difficult at first, he acknowledges.
'Now time has passed and I can talk about a lot of things in my life that I was not so comfortable to talk about when I was younger,' he said. 'Things like my dad when he was drinking and how it would affect me. Because when he quit drinking, he became my No. 1 inspiration. I saw how hard it was (for him).
'So everything started negative in the beginning but then later it became a positive thing, because it became an inspiration for me. When he made that sacrifice (forgoing alcohol), it really reunited my family and it bound us back together. It's something that had a huge impact on my life … I feel very lucky and very privileged to have a great role model.'
St-Pierre comes from humble beginnings on Montreal's South Shore. His father spent more than 60 hours a week on a floor-recovering business, installing carpet and ceramics. His mother nursed the elderly.
St-Pierre earned his own floor-recovering certificate before making it big in MMA.
Tony Gattillo, the Montreal-based producer of the show, believes St-Pierre's story can serve as inspiration.
'I think people will leave the show very motivated and will want to apply certain things that Georges is going to share … for the first time. And motivate the people,' said Gattillo, a former singer now working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry. 'And help them realize that if you want to be a champion in your life or you want to reach a certain goal, there is hard work to do. There's dedication. There's discipline. And mental toughness.'
When St-Pierre entered the modern wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2020, he was one of seven UFC fighters to win a title in two weight classes. He retired on a 13-fight win streak with a record that included 13 title fight victories, the second most in UFC history, and boasted the most strikes landed (2,591), most significant ground strikes landed (461) and most takedowns (90).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025
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