Found this on UFC.com.With UFC124 coming up i thought it would interest some of u lads.
UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has always been one of mixed martial arts’ greatest talents. But what were the seven defining moments of the Canadian star’s career as he approaches his December 11th title defense against Josh Koscheck? Read on to find out on this updated list.
Matt Hughes I –
October 22, 2004 – UFC 50
Result – Hughes Wsub1
The fresh-faced kid from Montreal made quite a name for himself in his first UFC fights, decisioning fellow young gun Karo Parisyan at UFC 46 and then stopping Jay Hieron at UFC 48. But just four months after the Hieron fight, St-Pierre, just 7-0, found himself in the Octagon with his fighting hero, Matt Hughes. As he told me before his second bout with Hughes, “The first time I fought him, I was fighting my idol,” he admitted. “It was the first time I had done something like that, he was in front of me, and for me in my mind, it was impossible to do anything to him because he was too good.” GSP held his own for much of the first round though, until Hughes was able to lock in an armbar with seconds left in the opening frame. St-Pierre immediately tapped, unaware that if he held on for one more second, he would have gotten a reprieve. It was a move that made people question his resolve, and a decision he regretted almost instantly. “The moment I saw the replay of the fight, I realized I was doing pretty well,” he said. “I totally realized that I could beat that guy.” He would have to wait two years for that opportunity.
BJ Penn –
March 4, 2006 – UFC 58
Result – St-Pierre W 3 (split)
It was a purist’s dream match, and it lived up to the hype, but after the first round ended, not too many people would have bet that St-Pierre would emerge victorious. “That first round (against Penn) was the worst round of my life,” admitted St. Pierre after the bout. “Actually, if you look at my career, I had never lost a round against anybody (to that point). Even when I fought Matt Hughes, the judges thought I was ahead – I asked them if they would have given me the round. So this round (against Penn) was the only round I lost.” GSP more than lost it; he was bloodied and battered by the crisp standup of Penn, and many wondered if he would fold. He didn’t, showing the heart of a champion in roaring back and taking the next two rounds and the decision. It was the gut check moment all fighters have to go through, and St-Pierre passed with flying colors. “It just proved to everybody that I’m a lot stronger mentally than when I fought Matt Hughes,” said St. Pierre. “I’ve been able to come back after a beating and get the victory. I think that’s the difference between a champion and a guy who will always be tough, but will never be a champion. You can be as skillful as you want, but if you don’t have the mental toughness, you’re not going to go anywhere, and in our sport, sooner or later, you’ll need that to win a fight.”
Matt Hughes II –
November 18, 2006 – UFC 65
Result – St-Pierre TKO 2
St-Pierre more than earned a second title shot at Hughes after five straight wins against top-notch competition, and he was a different fighter than he was two years earlier. Hughes, one of the strongest fighters ever to step into the Octagon, found that out early on when he tried to lock the challenger up and St-Pierre tossed him away with little if any effort. By round two, the result was academic, and when the Montrealer dropped Hughes with a kick to the head in round two, seconds later a new champ was crowned. It was expected to be a reign that would last for as long as St-Pierre wanted it to. But you know that old adage about the best-laid plans of mice and men…
Matt Serra –
April 7, 2007 – UFC 69
Result – Serra TKO 1
To most people, Matt Serra didn’t even need to show up for his championship fight against St-Pierre at UFC 69. But there’s a reason why people actually fight the fights and don’t determine results on message boards or on talk shows, and that’s because when two highly-skilled athletes are in competition with each other, anything can happen, and in mixed martial arts, one mistake or one missed second of focus can mean defeat. St-Pierre, reportedly besieged by personal issues before the fight, found that out the hard way as Serra walked into the Octagon loose, well-prepared, and confident, and the New Yorker pulled the stunning upset, stopping St-Pierre in the first round. It was a crushing defeat for GSP.
Josh Koscheck I –
August 25 – UFC 74
Result – St-Pierre W 3 (Unanimous)
This may have been the most important fight of St-Pierre’s career. After the loss to Serra, the whispers were that GSP was ultra-talented but didn’t have that extra something to be great. It shows you how soon people forget the way he came back against Penn or dominated most of the 170-pound division on the way to the title. St-Pierre kept quiet and went about his business, determined to teach all the skeptics a lesson. The lesson he taught in dominating wrestling ace Josh Koscheck at UFC 74 was that you can’t keep a good man down, that he was back, and that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Matt Serra II –
April 19, 2008 – UFC 83
Result – St-Pierre TKO2
If GSP was going to crack under the pressure, this was the night to do it. Not only was he facing the man who knocked him out, but he was doing it in his hometown of Montreal, where fans packed the Bell Centre just to see their hero in action. Well, he didn’t disappoint, stopping Serra in the second round with a disciplined and dominant attack. “The pressure was there,” he said. “But I’m at my best when I perform under pressure – it keeps me sharp and aware of what can happen and what is on the line.”
BJ Penn II –
January 31, 2009 – UFC 94
Result – St-Pierre TKO4
Nearly three years after their first bout, St-Pierre and Penn locked horns again in THE superfight of 2009. Only this time, it wasn’t a 15 minute back and forth war. The second time around, St-Pierre, bigger and stronger than Penn – who was coming up from 155 pounds for the bout – was in control for four rounds until the Hawaiian’s corner decided that they had seen enough and halted the fight before the final stanza. After all the bad blood and trash talk before the match, it was one of St-Pierre’s most satisfying victories and one that entrenched him in the upper reaches of the mythical pound for pound list.
GSP