St. Pierre Best Among Tough Welterweight Division
Is current champ greatest welterweight of all-time?
Posted on Tuesday, March 10, 2010 at 1:15 PM
By Jason Reynolds
The UFC’s welterweight division is one of the deepest in all of mixed martial arts, and no one from that division is better than current champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre.
On March 27th when UFC 111 comes to Newark, New Jersey, world-class MMA will be on display when St. Pierre takes on British striking sensation Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy. 
St. Pierre’s fighting style is a mix of powerful wrestling, crisp strikes, and overwhelming control. He holds black belts in both Kyokushin karate and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He began training in martial arts at a young age - he was only seven when he began learning karate to defend himself against a bully at school. But even with his juvenial interest in combat sports, he didn’t truly become inspired until after he watched Royce Gracie compete at UFC 1 in 1993. It was while watching Gracie fight larger and seemingly more skilled opponents that GSP found the desire to not only compete in MMA, but discovered the will to become a UFC champion. Following his introduction to the UFC, “Rush” began training in other fighting disciplines. He quickly took to wrestling, boxing, and Jiu-Jitsu, adding even more knowledge and skill to his already solid repertoire.
Early in his career, St. Pierre established himself as a blue-chip prospect on the North American MMA scene. Before long, he had made his way to the UFC, where he won a unanimous decision over Karo Parisyan in his promotional debut at UFC 46. Since that win, GSP has compiled a 13-2 record inside the Octagon, his only losses coming in title matches against Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. Throughout his career, he has competed against some of the top mixed martial artists in the world, while dispatching most of them with relative ease.
The current welterweight champion is a perfect blend of Kyokushin karate, wrestling, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is currently the number-one ranked welterweight in the world and considered, pound-for-pound, among the elite. St. Pierre is widely known for implementing near-perfect game plans while training under the watchful eye of MMA mastermind Greg Jackson.
Taking on Hardy at UFC 111 will mark the fourth time that he has defended his title. That considered, St. Pierre is in the process of forming a legacy that may one day rival that of MMA legend and former nemesis Hughes. His most recent title defenses have come against Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, and Thiago Alves - all top-tier UFC fighters that he disposed of rather easily. He is simply the most complete mixed martial artist in the world. St. Pierre is no longer fighting for the accolades and the fame, but rather he is fighting for his legacy. He wants nothing more than to constantly test himself against the best in the sport.
This all begs the question - will Georges St. Pierre go down as the greatest welterweight champion of all-time?
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