Latest news with #GeorgesSt-Pierre
Montreal Gazette
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Georges St-Pierre is still standing strong after retiring from UFC
Fighting By At age 43, UFC legend Georges St-Pierre looks like he could still fight in the octagon. 'I like to be in shape,' St-Pierre said. 'It's very therapeutic to train. It makes me a better person and also it gives me confidence in everything I do in life. It makes me more successful and I like it and it's part of my brand. So I will never stop training until the day I die — or until I can't move.' St-Pierre retired in 2019 after winning three UFC championship belts and posting a 26-2 record. On Saturday night, he was a cornerman for Aiemann Zahabi for UFC 315 at the Bell Centre, helping the Laval native win a unanimous decision over UFC Hall of Famer José Aldo of Brazil. St-Pierre has remained active both physically and mentally while continuing to grow his brand since retiring from the octagon. Last month, the St-Isidore native and Montreal-based Lord's Hot Sauce launched K.O. and Rush, two sauces inspired by St-Pierre's career. On Friday, St-Pierre held a news conference at Montreal's Hotel Vogue to launch his new clothing brand: Still Standing Strong. What does Still Standing Strong mean to St-Pierre? 'It means that against adversity we show resilience,' he said, while wearing a Still Standing Strong T-shirt, jeans and running shoes. 'It's an ideology that we try to promote that we pay tribute with this clothing line. To everyone from all walks of life that face adversity to have the strength and the courage to face it. These clothes are made for everyone … it's not only for athletes. 'It's the ideology that I had growing up … first facing bullies at school and then after facing the adversity in competition in karate and then in mixed martial arts,' he added. 'It's an ideology that everyone can share when they have to go through an obstacle and that's what we want to promote. We want our customers, when they wear it, to feel strong.' Still Standing Strong — Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) May 10, 2025 St-Pierre got started in mixed martial arts at age 10 because he was a small kid getting bullied in school. He went on to become one of the greatest fighters in UFC history and helped build the organization into the behemoth it now is under UFC president Dana White. UFC 315 attracted 19,786 fans to the Bell Centre with ticket prices ranging from $300.25 to $963. 'It started in the U.S. and Brazil and then it took time for the mainstream media to accept us as legitimate athletes,' St-Pierre said about the growth of mixed martial arts and the UFC. 'I think it was because of the education … they didn't know what was going on, they didn't understand the sport. They thought it was like a bar fight at 3 a.m. They realized after that we're real professional athletes, that we train for this. That's our purpose. With the education now the sport is where it is now. It's mainstream and one of the most popular sports in the world.' David Shaw, UFC's executive vice-president in charge of international content, said the gate for UFC 315 was $8.4 million — the highest-grossing non-hockey event ever at the Bell Centre. Fans were also lined up at souvenir stands to purchase UFC 315 hockey sweaters for $225 and T-shirts for $55. Still Standing Strong T-shirts — which are available online — cost $50, while hooded sweatshirts are $100. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the clothes will go to the Georges St-Pierre Foundation, which works to help youth, stop bullying and promote physical activity in schools. Ready for war #UFC315 — Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) May 9, 2025 When asked what message he has for kids who are being bullied now, St-Pierre had more of a message for their parents. 'I started martial arts because I was bullied and then it transformed into a passion and then the passion transformed into a way that I earned a living,' he said. 'The message that I have for parents when they have kids that are bullied is try to find a passion for the kids. Your kid needs to find what is his passion. Once he knows what he loves to do, put him in it so he will develop skill, he will build up his confidence. And if you build up your confidence, your chances of being bullied are much less. Because bullies always go after kids that are not confident. 'When I was a kid I was not confident,' St-Pierre added. 'I lacked a lot of confidence and I built it up with martial arts. But you can do it with hockey, music, anything. You need to find something that you love and you put time in and you develop skill in it and then you become good and it builds up that confidence.' St-Pierre said he never liked to fight, but he loved to win and it became an addiction. 'So I have a love-hate relation with my sport, which is very hard to describe,' he said. 'That's why throughout all those years I tried to always stay standing strong.' What is he most proud about his UFC career? 'What I'm the most proud is that I always stayed authentic to who I am, my ideology,' he said. 'I'm proud because I promised myself that I didn't want the sport to retire me. I wanted to retire on top — on my terms — and that's what I did. It takes a lot of discipline, but I did it and I'm happy I did.'
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Georges St-Pierre finally answers who pushed him the hardest in his iconic career
Georges St-Pierre finally answers who pushed him the hardest in his iconic career (Image Source: Getty Images) Georges St-Pierre , who is almost universally considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists ever, has finally answered the question that has shadowed him throughout his illustrious career. He was asked who was the hardest to push inside the UFC octagon during Friday's UFC 315 fan Q&A session at Montreal's Bell Centre, the former two-division champion admitted that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu prodigy B.J. Operation Sindoor Pak to deploy students in case of war with India? What Khawaja Asif said Abu Jundal, Yusuf Azhar & more: 5 key Pakistani terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor Entry to airports banned, ATMs closed & more such news: Govt says 'fake news' Penn represented the greatest challenge of his career. This revelation comes as St-Pierre returns to his home province of Quebec for the first UFC event in Montreal in nearly a decade. The Prodigy's Unmatched Speed and Technical Brilliance In a fan event in Montreal on May 9, 2025, UFC legend Georges St-Pierre looked back on the most skilled opponent of his storied career, pointing to B.J. Penn as the toughest opponent ever to face. Georges St-Pierre praised B.J. Penn's incredible speed and elite grappling pedigree, adding that B.J. Penn earned the nickname 'The Prodigy' for becoming the first American to win a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt world championship in three and a half years. The Canadian legend pointed out B.J. Penn's incredible speed and technical ability that surprised him during their first meeting at UFC 58 in 2006, which Georges St-Pierre won on split decision. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Want Lower Bills Without Changing a Thing? elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo Recalling the first time they met, Georges St-Pierre recalled being amazed by Penn's speed, and noted after he threw a jab, he realised B.J. Penn had already moved behind him – 'like he teleported', he said. Georges St-Pierre praised B.J. Penn as 'the perfect fighter' highlighting how hard it was to cope with his combination of speed and skill. GSP's Championship Mindset and Street Fight Perspective During his discussion on his competitive approach, Georges St-Pierre also explained how he turned pre-fight fear into his competitive advantage. He explained, 'I use fear to elevate me.' 'When I'm scared, I train harder, my reaction time is better, and I don't shortcut'. In a recent interview with Lex Fridman, Georges St-Pierre provided interesting insights into the street fighting world, and he would rather fight former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou than Dutch legend Bas Rutten in an unregulated fight. Also Read: 'He should not be the interim champion…': MMA icon drops bold statement on Tom Aspinall's title Those fans who will be in the Bell Centre for UFC 315 on May 10 will be treated to the welterweight championship bout between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. The primary card starts at 10 ET with prelims at 8 PM ET and is available on pay-per-view through ESPN+.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Montreal madness: UFC's highest highs, lowest lows and 17-year history in its original Canadian home
The UFC returns to the Bell Centre in Montreal this weekend for UFC 315 after a decade-long absence. It is the promotion's eighth visit to Montreal, but its first since UFC 186 in 2015. Saturday's pay-per-view features two title fights, with Valentina Shevchenko defending her flyweight belt against Manon Fiorot in the co-main event, followed by Belal Muhammad's first welterweight defense against Jack Della Maddalena in the headliner. Advertisement Canada currently ranks third all-time behind the United States and Brazil in number of UFC events hosted with 34, which means "The Great White North" is a significant market for the company. Of those 34, Montreal will take pole position over Toronto after this weekend for Canadian cities that have hosted the most events. Montreal was also the first Canadian home to ever welcome a UFC event — it actually held the first four Canadian UFC events before Toronto got its inaugural one in 2011. But while the promotion has returned to Toronto three times since 2015, it hasn't shown Montrealers the same love. Part of the reason for that absence can certainly be attributed to the retirement of Georges St-Pierre in 2013 (and then again in 2017). Prior to that, the former two-division champion headlined four of the seven events that took in Montreal; yet without its homegrown superstar active, the UFC had less of a reason to return. While that still holds true as the hiatus comes to an end — no Canadian fighter on today's UFC roster approaches the star potential of St-Pierre — several promising Canucks are set to compete on Saturday's card nonetheless, led by Mike Malott, Aiemann Zahabi and Jasmine Jasudavicius. Advertisement So join me, a born and bred Montrealer, as we take a trip down memory lane and look back at the roller-coaster 17-year history of the UFC descending upon my hometown. For each card, we're detailing the main event, an outstanding undercard performance as well as the Canuck performance of the night. Let's dive in. Georges St-Pierre got his revenge against Matt Serra atop the UFC's debut trip to Canada. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) UFC 83 — April 19, 2008 Attendance: 21,390 Main Event: Georges St-Pierre TKOs Matt Serra at 4:45 of Round 2 Record of Canadians on the card: 4-4 Finishes: 9/11 Headlined by the rematch between St-Pierre and Serra, the first UFC event to take place on Canadian soil set the record for the fastest sellout in company history and eclipsed the previous attendance record of 19,049 from UFC 68. Considering all the anticipation surrounding the promotion's grand arrival up north, St-Pierre had the perfect opportunity for redemption in front of his hometown fans. Advertisement The first St-Pierre vs. Serra meeting had taken place at UFC 69 in Houston, where Serra's hands shockingly stopped the champion St-Pierre in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. Showing resilience, St-Pierre rebounded from that devastating loss by beating Josh Koscheck and then stepping in for an injured Serra against Matt Hughes. In their trilogy fight, St-Pierre submitted Hughes via armbar to win the interim welterweight title, setting up a highly anticipated unification fight with Serra. And redemption is exactly what St-Pierre achieved, as he executed a wrestling-heavy game plan to take Serra down and force the referee to step in and rescue a tired and battered Serra after a bevy of knees to the midsection, allowing St-Pierre to reclaim the undisputed UFC title in front of his adoring fans. Cain Velasquez's vast potential was obvious from the start at UFC 83. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) Undercard Highlight: Making his Octagon debut, Cain Velasquez showed no UFC jitters whatsoever by clinically annihilating Brad Morris in the first round. Even though wrestling was the two-time NCAA All-American's forte, Velasquez showed off the crisp and powerful boxing skills that soon helped him rattle off a dominant seven-fight win streak that culminated with winning the UFC heavyweight title in 2010. Advertisement Canuck of the Night: Also in his UFC debut, Alberta's Jason 'Dooms' Day used an array of punches in close range to stun and overwhelm a young Alan Belcher in the first round. The grizzled Canadian veteran upset Belcher, who was 3-2 in the UFC and riding a two-fight winning streak. Day's win is even more impressive in hindsight as Belcher would compete in the UFC for another five years, going 6-3 and only losing to top contenders. Anderson Silva's baffling performance against Thales Leites was not the outcome many expected at UFC 97. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) UFC 97 — April 18, 2009 Attendance: 21,451 Main Event: Anderson Silva def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision Record of Canadians on the card: 4-2 Finishes: 5/12 Making his fifth middleweight title defense against Leites, who was 5-1 in the UFC, Silva easily won a shutout decision in a lackluster bout that was met with boos throughout. "The Spider" dominated, repeatedly stuffing Leites' takedowns and using his vastly superior striking to befuddle Leites on the feet. Advertisement Leites routinely flopped to the mat, desperately pleading for Silva to join him on the ground in grappling exchanges, but Silva was too smart for that and routinely forced Leites to stand back up, where his fellow Brazilian was at a clear disadvantage. As the fight wore on, Silva grew visibly frustrated and impatient with Leites' tactics and began experimenting with all sorts of unorthodox stances, movement and strikes to get Leites to open up. But nothing worked — and the risk-averse Leites was content to survive rather than go for broke in an attempt the wrest the title away. Silva's win over Leites represented a forgettable stretch during his legendary title reign, being sandwiched between similarly uneventful wins over Patrick Cote and Demian Maia. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua knocked out Chuck Liddell in a battle of living legends. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) Undercard Highlight: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua knocked out an aging Chuck Liddell in the first round, courtesy of a leaping left hook followed by ground-and-pound. It was the second of three consecutive knockout losses for the legendary "Iceman," whose mobility and punch resistance had by then sharply declined after a long career in the sport. Rua's knockout win over Liddell set him up for his first UFC title shot against light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. Advertisement All-Canadian Canuck of the Night: Ontario's Sam Stout and American Mitt Wiman engaged in a three-round back-and-forth brawl that was awarded Fight of the Night. After an evenly contested first round, Stout had his best moment in the second, dropping Wiman with a body shot/head kick combination. The third round belonged to Wiman due to his wrestling and control, but in the end the judges awarded Stout with the unanimous decision. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's crowning UFC moment came in Montreal. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) UFC 113 — May 8, 2010 Attendance: 17,647 Main Event: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua KOs Lyoto Machida at 3:35 of Round 1 Record of Canadians on the card: 1-6 Finishes: 5/11 Lyoto Machida and "Shogun" Rua collided for the first time at UFC 104 in Los Angeles, where Machida retained his light heavyweight title by controversial decision. Most observers thought Rua won clearly though, as he badly damaged Machida with his arsenal of kicks. Advertisement Given the disputed nature of their first fight, an immediate rematch was the logical next step — and in the second go-round, Rua left no doubt, knocking Machida out in the first round. Rua clipped Machida with a right hand on the top of the head that dropped him, then finished the job with vicious ground-and-pound from mount, becoming UFC champion for the first and only time. Paul Daley's post-fight theatrics against Josh Koscheck earned him a UFC ban for life. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) Undercard Highlight: In an instantly infamous bout, Josh Kosheck beat Paul Daley by unanimous decision thanks to his dominant wrestling and top control. The fact that Koscheck relied on his superior wrestling skills to avoid the dangerous strikes of Daley was not surprising; what was surprising was that after the final bell, a clearly frustrated Daley threw a blatantly late left hook at Koscheck. The American ultimately saw it coming and got his guard up so the punch didn't land clean, but the egregious foul resulted in Daley getting cut from the UFC and banned for life. Canuck Performance of the Night: This award is an easy one as Joe Doerksen was the only Canadian winner on the card. Although Doerksen was a veteran of over 50 pro fights compared to Tom Lawlor's eight, the Winnipeg native had only won once in his previous six UFC appearances. And Doerksen had to work for it, getting dropped and battered in the first round by Lawlor. 'El Dirte' showed toughness and guile to weather the storm while landing enough strikes to keep Lawlor honest, then in the second round Doerksen defended a Lawlor takedown, took his back and sunk in the surprising rear-naked choke. Georges St-Pierre made an example of Josh Koscheck at UFC 124. (Al Bello/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Al Bello via Getty Images) UFC 124 — Dec. 11, 2010 Attendance: 23,152 Main Event: Georges St-Pierre def. Josh Koscheck via unanimous decision Record of Canadians on the card: 4-2-1 Finishes: 4/11 Advertisement In the most-attended event on this list, St-Pierre defended his welterweight title for the fifth time against Koscheck. The two had already fought once before at UFC 74 in 2007, which St-Pierre won by unanimous decision. But for the rematch, the stakes were raised with the title on the line. The Montreal fans already despised Koscheck because of his previous appearance at UFC 113 when he beat Daley and then antagonized the crowd by taunting St-Pierre and their beloved Montreal Canadiens hockey team. But then both fighters coached "The Ultimate Fighter 12," with Koscheck embracing the villain role and continuing to goad St-Pierre all season, putting the UFC 124 crowd at a fever pitch. From the opening bell, St-Pierre's masterful boxing and dominant jab was on display; by the end of the first round, Koscheck's right eye was already badly bruised and discolored. That pattern continued for the rest of the fight, with St-Pierre adding in right hands and a bevy of inside leg kicks to hamper Koscheck's movement and make him a stationary target. Given Koshceck's strength as a wrestler, St-Pierre wisely kept the fight on the feet, where he picked his power-punching opponent apart. St-Pierre won every round on the scorecards and showed once again why he was considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Jim Miller taught young Charles Oliveira a lesson at UFC 124. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) Undercard Highlight: Jim Miller submitted a 21-year-old and undefeated Charles Oliveira via kneebar in the first round. It wasn't easy for Miller, who showed off his grappling chops by defending numerous submission attempts before catching the overly-aggressive Oliveira. Miller's win looks even more impressive in hindsight given that Oliveira eventually found his groove and won 11 consecutive fights from 2018-22, culminating in a brief reign as lightweight champion. Meanwhile, Miller is remarkably still an active UFC fighter, having competed 46 times for the promotion since 2008. He currently holds the record for most career UFC wins with 27. Advertisement Canuck Performance of the Night: In a matchup of grappling experts, Ontario's Mark Bocek secured a first-round submission of American Dustin Hazelett. Bocek nailed a takedown within the first 15 seconds and stayed on top, eventually passing Hazelett's guard and seizing mount position. From there, Bocek immediately attacked with a triangle choke and rolled to his back to finish it. It was a clinical masterclass on the ground by Bocek, which earned him Submission of the Night honors. Carlos Condit gave Georges St-Pierre hell — and nearly pulled off an all-time upset. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) UFC 154 — Nov. 17, 2012 Attendance: 17,249 Main Event: Georges St-Pierre def. Carlos Condit via unanimous decision Record of Canadians on the card: 6-3 Finishes: 3/12 I was in attendance for St-Pierre's seventh title defense against interim champion Carlos Condit, who had beaten Nick Diaz at UFC 143 while St-Pierre recovered from a torn ACL. Although it was the longest layoff of St-Pierre's career to that point, he showed no signs of cage rust as he took Condit down and kept him there for much of the first round, opening a bad cut on Confit's forehead with a damaging elbow. Advertisement Yet Condit still gave St-Pierre one of the biggest scares of his legendary career, landing a massive third-round left high kick that stunned and dropped the champion. Condit followed up with significant ground-and-pound, but St-Pierre survived and rose back to his feet. Moments later, St-Pierre regained momentum, taking Condit down and keeping the challenger on the defensive for the rest of the round. Having survived a major hurdle, St-Pierre leaned on his wrestling for the championship stanzas. Although St-Pierre was cut and bruised by the end of the fight, he won a clear-cut unanimous decision — and showed tremendous resiliency in surviving the third-round head kick. Johny Hendricks' ferocious rise included a monster knockout of Martin Kampmann at UFC 154. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) Undercard Highlight: In a card that featured only three finishes out of 12 fights, Johny Hendricks added some much-needed excitement by starching veteran Martin Kampmann in the first round. Using a lead right hook to close the distance, Hendricks followed up with a thunderous left hand that put Kampmann down and out. It was a huge win for Hendricks, his fifth in a row, which set him up for a welterweight title eliminator in his next fight. Advertisement Canuck Performance of the Night: Contrary to his "Bull" nickname, John Makdessi effectively played the role of the matador in an all-Canadian matchup against Sam Stout. Makdessi defended all of Stout's takedowns to keep the fight standing, where he was able to repeatedly land his quick and accurate jab. While Stout had his moments with forward pressure and low kicks, Makdessi was the smoother striker with better head movement, and he picked Stout apart with effective counters to earn a unanimous decision. Nick Diaz was pure Nick Diaz throughout his saga with Georges St-Pierre. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) UFC 158 — March 16, 2013 Attendance: 20,145 Main Event: Georges St-Pierre def. Nick Diaz via unanimous decision Record of Canadians on the card: 5-2 Finishes: 5/12 Nick Diaz called out St-Pierre for years as the Strikeforce welterweight champion, but it was only when Diaz returned to the UFC in 2011, after a five-year hiatus, that his dream match could be made. Advertisement Yet Diaz failed to capitalize on his golden opportunity, as he was thoroughly dominated by St-Pierre in another lopsided title defense. After all of Diaz's trash talk, he only had fleeting moments of success on the feet in the third round. The rest was all St-Pierre, as the champ completed eight takedowns and had his way on the mat. St-Pierre also found great success with his jab, repeatedly popping it in Diaz's face. In an anti-climactic main event, St-Pierre demonstrated that he could not only out-grapple Diaz, but beat him in a boxing match too, which was Diaz's specialty. No matter where the fight took place, St-Pierre bested Diaz convincingly. Johny Hendricks (right) and Carlos Condit put on a forgotten war at UFC 158. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) Undercard Highlight: In the co-main event, Johny Hendricks and Carlos Condit went to-to-toe for three rounds to earn the next title shot against St-Pierre. Hendricks leaned on his wrestling and repeatedly took Condit down, though Condit showed an improved ability to get back to his feet, where the striking exchanges were evenly contested. Although Hendricks couldn't keep Condit down for long, the takedowns counted on the scorecards and Hendricks rightfully earned a unanimous decision. Advertisement Canuck Performance of the Night: Alberta's Jordan Mein made his his UFC debut one to remember against veteran Dan Miller. Despite being only 23 years old, Mein had close to 35 pro fights on his résumé — and he took full advantage of his first UFC opportunity, using precise striking to stop Miller in the first round. After escaping an early armbar submission, Mein got back to his feet and dropped Miller with a left hand later in the round. Mein then knocked Miller down again with punches before finishing with ground-and-pound, thus becoming the first fighter to finish Miller inside the distance. Demetrious Johnson made history with his literal last-second finish of Kyoji Horiguchi. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) UFC 186 — April 25, 2015 Attendance: 10,154 Main Event: Demetrious Johnson submits Kyoji Horiguchi at 4:59 of Round 5 Record of Canadians on the card: 8-5 Finishes: 5/12 The main event of the UFC's final trip to Montreal for nearly a decade was supposed to feature a bantamweight title rematch between champion T.J. Dillashaw and challenger Renan Barao. But Dillashaw broke his rib in training and had to pull out, which elevated Johnson and Horiguchi to the main event. Advertisement As he often did, "Mighty Mouse" put on a flawless performance en route to securing the latest finish in UFC history — an armbar of Horiguchi at the 4:59 mark of the fifth and final round. The win represented Johnson's sixth consecutive flyweight title defense, and although it was far from a thrilling affair, Johnson won every round leading up to the last-second submission, adding another accolade to an already glimmering résumé as one of the UFC's most dominant champions. Thomas Almeida was once a feared up-and-comer. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) Undercard Highlight: Undefeated (18-0) bantamweight prospect Thomas Almeida made his second UFC appearance against Canadian Yves Jabouin. It was Almeida's hard and accurate punches that hurt Jabouin in the first round, leading to a standing stoppage. Although Almeida went on to win his next two fights by knockout, he then lost five of six. Looking back, it's easy to forget how precipitous Almeida's rise and decline truly were. Canuck Performance of the Night: In another All-Canadian matchup, Nova Scotia's John Makdessi took on British Columbia's Shane Campbell, who was making his UFC debut. After struggling initially with Campbell's length, Makdessi made his way inside, landing crisp punches to devastating effect. Makdessi dropped Campbell twice in the first round courtesy of right hands, and while Campbell was able to survive the first knockdown and get back to his feet, the second knockdown and ensuing ground-and-pound rendered him helpless and the referee waved off the fight with only seconds remaining.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Deiveson Figueiredo dismisses viral photos of poor physique, plots statement win
Georges St-Pierre offers advice to Tom Aspinall: 'Focus on the next task' Georges 'Rush' St-Pierre — Ariel's MMA GOAT and Canadian legend — calls in after training to discuss his new hot sauce company, the UFC's return to Montreal, the slump in Canadian MMA, cornering Aiemann Zahabi, the harsh reality of retiring from the sport, his relationship with Dana White, Belal's claim to GOAT status, Tom Aspinall's future, and more. 3:00 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Georges St-Pierre on UFC retirement: 'They tell you to pass the torch. F*** that. Don't pass the torch'
Georges St-Pierre is one of the greatest of all time for many reasons. Most professional athletes only dream of going out on top in their sport, but the Canadian icon St-Pierre actually lived it, winning titles in two divisions and then retiring as UFC middleweight champion. Advertisement Unfortunately, the more common outcome is that fighters stick around past their expiration date and end up on the wrong end of some bad beatdowns. At UFC Kansas City this past Saturday, for example, perennial light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith called it a career following a brutal first-round loss to Zhang Mingyang. But as St-Pierre pointed out, Smith isn't done fighting yet. That's because the fight with yourself once the realities of retirement hit is bigger than any battle inside the Octagon, according to the former champ. "The temptation [to come back] is always there, but there's always something you cannot beat — it's time," St-Pierre said on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show." "All we have in this world is [time]. Sooner or later, we're going to lose it. Whatever it is, materialism, we think, 'Oh, I'm building up my legacy.' Yeah, people remember me now. The next generation, the other one maybe, but in a few generations, nobody will care. So it's my ego that wants my legacy. Advertisement "It's good as a fighter because you want that pride, you want that ego to carry you because it helps you to be more successful. But when you retire, you have to learn how to disassociate yourself from it. And that's what I've worked on since I retired. It's very, very hard, and there are a lot of guys that, they don't know when to stop. They think they can beat time. But it's impossible. It's the cycle of life. We cannot beat time. Everything we have now, it's temporary. We're all going to leave and everything will be lost forever. So I learned that and I made peace with it. "It makes me sad when I see guys, and they messed up their health," St-Pierre continued. "Because when you retire, you have another half of your life to live. So it's important you stay as healthy as you can. And also, if you retire on a winning streak, they tell you to pass the torch. F*** that. Don't pass the torch. Retire on your terms, not on their terms. It's a selfish sport, and you have to be selfish. When you feel it's time to retire, retire." Georges St-Pierre did things his way throughout his MMA career. (Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Brandon Magnus via Getty Images) Under a microscope, it could be argued that St-Pierre went out on top twice in his career. Before "Rush" made his long-awaited middleweight debut to challenge Michael Bisping for UFC gold in 2017, St-Pierre had gone on hiatus in 2013 and vacated the welterweight crown he held for years. St-Pierre built his legacy in the 170-pound division, but outside factors and injuries ultimately piled up to force the Canadian's decision. Advertisement The second time around, St-Pierre faced another big choice, and he listened to the voices that all fighters battle. Eight years later, he still hears them. "When I retired, it's because I was, at the time, if you go back, after Bisping, I got ulcerative colitis and I had symptoms," St-Pierre said. "I was on heavy medication. I did not want to hold onto the title for too long because my respect for not just my colleagues, but my competitors [who] are trying to get the title. So I relinquished the title because I didn't know what was going to happen. Then I realized the stress and everything in my life, it was time for me to retire — and I did. And I'm glad I did it. I don't regret it. "There's always going to be in the back of my mind, 'Oh, if I come back, I think I can beat him, I think so.' But this is my pride talking. It's not what I should follow."
