May 11, 2020
GSP thrilled to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame
When Canadian MMA legend Georges St-Pierre answered Dana White’s phone call on the day of UFC 249, he thought it was going to be a request to get back into the Octagon. Instead, the UFC president was letting him know that he would be the seventh fighter inducted to the “Modern Era” wing of the UFC Hall of Fame. It was a call St-Pierre was both shocked and happy to receive.
When Canadian MMA legend Georges St-Pierre answered Dana White’s phone call on the day of UFC 249, he thought it was going to be a request to get back into the Octagon. Instead, the UFC president was letting him know that he would be the seventh fighter inducted to the “Modern Era” wing of the UFC Hall of Fame. It was a call St-Pierre was both shocked and happy to receive.
"Dana White called me Saturday night, at first when he called me I thought he was trying to convince me to go back to fight, I was very surprised,” St-Pierre told TSN. “The Hall of Fame is the greatest honour someone can have when you retire, so I’m very happy, I’m thrilled."
St-Pierre joins Forrest Griffin (2013), BJ Penn (2015), Urijah Faber (2017), Ronda Rousey (2018), Michael Bisping (2019) and Rashad Evans (2019) in the Modern Era wing, which represents athletes who turned pro on or after November 17, 2000.
The date represents the first time a UFC event was held under the unified rules of MMA. To qualify you must also be over the age of 35 and have been retired for at least a year.
St-Pierre (26-2-0) has an entire career of incredible moments that have brought not only Canadians but worldwide fight fans to their feet. However, it is a moment of both learning and resilience that stands out to him as the most memorable from his career.
"The moment I’m most proud of is when I came back after being knocked down by a head kick by Carlos Condit,” said St-Pierre. “That sequence is the moment I’m most proud of in my career because it proved that I learned from my mistake. When I first lost to (Matt) Serra, I lost because of a bad decision on my part. I got hit, I was wobbled and I tried to get involved in a punching exchange, instead of stepping on my ego and stepping back and accepting the fact that I got hurt and recompose.”
"When I got kicked by Condit, I fell on the ground, I saw him coming, my ego wanted me to stand up right away and get back into the fight, but I accepted the fact and I knew that I was dazed because I learned from my mistake that I made previously. So I laid on the ground and used the guard and the shield to recompose and come back into the fight.”
The 38-year-old would go on to score a unanimous decision victory over Condit at UFC 154 in Montreal in November of 2012.
When it comes to specific fights that he’s proud of, capturing the middleweight title and becoming a two division champion is high on the list, but it’s another battle at the Bell Centre that springs to mind.
"The Michael Bisping fight is a great fight, I’m happy I did that, but the fight that is the most memorable for me is the fight in Montreal against Matt Serra,” said St-Pierre. “It was the first time (The UFC) came to Montreal, it was at home and it felt very special to me to finally beat the guy that had beaten me before.”
There are many that consider the St-Isidore, Que., native to be the greatest MMA fighter of all-time, but St-Pierre does not believe there is such a thing as the best and that it depends on how you define greatness in the first place.
"There are a lot of guys that can be considered the greatest fighter and being the best fighter is something that does not exist,” said St-Pierre. “There is always someone that can beat you. Nobody is invincible, even though the odds make you a favourite for a fight, you might beat that guy nine times out of 10, but that particular night, it’s his night and he will beat you. It’s a very subjective debate and there’s a lot of good guys: Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Jon Jones, Henry Cejudo just retired Saturday, he’s one of them as well, Royce Gracie.”
"It depends what you are looking for - a role model, more title victories, the challenges he accomplished, it’s very hard. I feel very happy and very honoured to be part of the Hall of Fame and to be considered one of the best, I’m very thrilled.”
"Dana White called me Saturday night, at first when he called me I thought he was trying to convince me to go back to fight, I was very surprised,” St-Pierre told TSN. “The Hall of Fame is the greatest honour someone can have when you retire, so I’m very happy, I’m thrilled."
St-Pierre joins Forrest Griffin (2013), BJ Penn (2015), Urijah Faber (2017), Ronda Rousey (2018), Michael Bisping (2019) and Rashad Evans (2019) in the Modern Era wing, which represents athletes who turned pro on or after November 17, 2000.
The date represents the first time a UFC event was held under the unified rules of MMA. To qualify you must also be over the age of 35 and have been retired for at least a year.
St-Pierre (26-2-0) has an entire career of incredible moments that have brought not only Canadians but worldwide fight fans to their feet. However, it is a moment of both learning and resilience that stands out to him as the most memorable from his career.
"The moment I’m most proud of is when I came back after being knocked down by a head kick by Carlos Condit,” said St-Pierre. “That sequence is the moment I’m most proud of in my career because it proved that I learned from my mistake. When I first lost to (Matt) Serra, I lost because of a bad decision on my part. I got hit, I was wobbled and I tried to get involved in a punching exchange, instead of stepping on my ego and stepping back and accepting the fact that I got hurt and recompose.”
"When I got kicked by Condit, I fell on the ground, I saw him coming, my ego wanted me to stand up right away and get back into the fight, but I accepted the fact and I knew that I was dazed because I learned from my mistake that I made previously. So I laid on the ground and used the guard and the shield to recompose and come back into the fight.”
The 38-year-old would go on to score a unanimous decision victory over Condit at UFC 154 in Montreal in November of 2012.
When it comes to specific fights that he’s proud of, capturing the middleweight title and becoming a two division champion is high on the list, but it’s another battle at the Bell Centre that springs to mind.
"The Michael Bisping fight is a great fight, I’m happy I did that, but the fight that is the most memorable for me is the fight in Montreal against Matt Serra,” said St-Pierre. “It was the first time (The UFC) came to Montreal, it was at home and it felt very special to me to finally beat the guy that had beaten me before.”
There are many that consider the St-Isidore, Que., native to be the greatest MMA fighter of all-time, but St-Pierre does not believe there is such a thing as the best and that it depends on how you define greatness in the first place.
"There are a lot of guys that can be considered the greatest fighter and being the best fighter is something that does not exist,” said St-Pierre. “There is always someone that can beat you. Nobody is invincible, even though the odds make you a favourite for a fight, you might beat that guy nine times out of 10, but that particular night, it’s his night and he will beat you. It’s a very subjective debate and there’s a lot of good guys: Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Jon Jones, Henry Cejudo just retired Saturday, he’s one of them as well, Royce Gracie.”
"It depends what you are looking for - a role model, more title victories, the challenges he accomplished, it’s very hard. I feel very happy and very honoured to be part of the Hall of Fame and to be considered one of the best, I’m very thrilled.”