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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.'