Saturday, March 8, 2008


Georges "Rush" Saint-Pierre (born May 19, 1981), often referred to as GSP

Biography

MMA career
St. Pierre had dreamed of becoming a UFC champion since watching Royce Gracie fight in 1993 at UFC 1.
St. Pierre's pro debut was against Ivan Menjivar and ended in a first round TKO win. GSP went on to win his next three fights before making his TKO debut against Pete Spratt at TKO 14 (November 29, 2003). St. Pierre defeated Spratt with a rear naked choke in the first round.

Early career
St. Pierre made his Octagon debut at UFC 46 where he defeated Karo Parisyan by decision. His next fight with the UFC was against Jay Hieron at UFC 48. St. Pierre defeated Hieron via TKO (strikes) in only 1:42.
Following his second straight win in the UFC, he faced Matt Hughes at UFC 50 for the welterweight title. Despite a competitive performance, St. Pierre tapped out to an armbar with only one second remaining in the first round.

Georges St. Pierre Joining the UFC
After his loss to Hughes, GSP rebounded with a win over Dave Strasser at TKO 19 with a first round kimura submission. He then returned to the UFC to face Jason "Mayhem" Miller at UFC 52, defeating Miller by unanimous decision.
With momentum behind him, St. Pierre was then matched up against top contender Frank Trigg at UFC 54. St. Pierre controlled the fight and eventually sunk in a rear naked choke with less than a minute remaining in the first round. He then faced current lightweight champion Sean Sherk at UFC 56. Midway through the second round St. Pierre became the second fighter to defeat Sherk, and the first to finish him.
At UFC 58, St. Pierre defeated former UFC welterweight champion B.J. Penn to become the number one contender for the UFC welterweight title. St. Pierre won the match by split decision and was set to rematch then-champion Matt Hughes on September 23, 2006 at UFC 63. The UFC had announced afterwards that St. Pierre would have the opportunity to fight for the title when his condition was fully healed.

Road to the title
St. Pierre was seen as a trainer on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback on Spike TV, which featured fighters who were previously seen in UFC events including Matt Serra, Shonie Carter, Pete Sell, and Travis Lutter. St. Pierre was seen vocally supporting fellow Canadian, and training partner, Patrick Côté during the season's airing.

Winning the championship
At UFC 69 St. Pierre lost the welterweight title to The Ultimate Fighter 4 winner Matt Serra via TKO (strikes) at 3:25 of round one. Matt Serra was an 8-1 underdog going into the bout.

Losing the title

Next Scheduled Bout

1x UFC welterweight champion (former)
TKO Canadian welterweight champion (former) MMA record

List of male mixed martial artists

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