Bullied as a Youngster, Georges St-Pierre Says He’s Stronger for It and Now Wears the Welterweight Crown Because of His Mental Toughness

There have been many incarnations of Georges St-Pierre in his 29 years: son, brother, bully victim, student, mentor, garbage man, bouncer, friend, foe, contender and champion.

However, the reigning UFC welterweight titleholder will enter his prime as the resident alpha male in mixed martial arts. No other champion, not even the incomparable Anderson Silva, has been as complete with his dominance against stellar competition in the last two years. His strides have come through careful design, mapped out by those he trusts most.

St-Pierre understands the weight and importance of one word — legacy — perhaps better than any other fighter of his generation. It drives him to compete with conviction, to spend countless hours in the gym honing his mind and body and to adapt and evolve as the sport does the same around him.

“Legacy is making history in a sport, making something that people will remember for a very long time, for many generations,” St-Pierre says. “I want to be known as the best pound-for-pound [fighter] of all-time. I want to be the guy who made a difference, who took the sport to a different level.”

As he approaches 30 — a golden age in sports when talent, maturity and knowledge often blend into a beautiful tapestry — St-Pierre appears primed to achieve his lofty goals. His resume, vast and accomplished, includes five wins against former UFC champions: Matt Hughes (twice), B.J. Penn (twice) and Matt Serra.

St-Pierre’s last four foes — Dan Hardy, Thiago Alves, Penn and Fitch — were a combined 33-0 in their fights leading up to the French Canadian. None of them took a round from him, so thorough and complete were his performances.

THE SOURCE OF MOTIVATION

GSP’s motivation to be the best can be traced to his roots in Saint-Isidore, Quebec, Canada, a small parish municipality of less than 2,500 people outside of Montreal. One of three children and the only son born to Paulyne and Jim St-Pierre, he took an interest in martial arts in grade school. Still, there were physical and mental obstacles to overcome, and they greeted him daily for a time.

“I was bullied when I was a kid,” St-Pierre says. “I was maybe 10, 12 years old. It happened every week. My mom was giving me five bucks a week to eat at the cafeteria in the school, and they were stealing my money, my hats, things like that. It was a lot of kids, delinquent teen-agers, and they were older than me. It was terrible. It was difficult, but I think it made me stronger.”

 

You can read BK’s full story on GSP in the February issue of Ultimate MMA.