The perfect human.
That was the best description that came to mind when I watched Georges St-Pierre’s awesome wrestling display against Dan Hardy in the UFC welterweight championship bout on Saturday. Between GSP’s athleticism, fitness, raw strength, speed and striking, he may be the closest thing I’ve seen to the perfect physical specimen.
At the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder if his latest dominant victory was another step toward damaging his legacy.
Huh? Am I making any sense whatsoever? Georges is 20-2, has avenged his only defeats, has seven straight wins and has four straight title defenses. He may now be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. His grappling ability is absolutely untouchable. How, then, could he be hurting his legend?
St-Pierre has virtually every quality you want in a champion but he may be missing just one: fearlessness.
Take another MMA legend in Randy Couture, for example. “The Natural” has never backed down from a challenge, consistently walking into battles in which he knows he’ll get hurt yet often coming out on top anyway. He’s battled giants like Brock Lesnar and Tim Sylvia with full knowledge that he was endangering his well-being – and he even chose to stand and trade with those behemoths.
Is Couture’s strategy always smart? No. Sometimes, he puts himself in harm’s way too often and gets pummelled. But it’s admirable. True MMA purists may not look for that in a fighter; they may prefer GSP’s super-intelligent, safe approach. But legends are built around the opinions of the layman, the common fan (don’t believe me? Look at Forrest Griffin’s popularity). And if Georges doesn’t start taking chances, he’ll start losing supporters.
There’s no question that St-Pierre is a master of making the correct strategic decisions in fights. Against his last two opponents, Dan Hardy and Thiago Alves, he did the right thing by eliminating their strength (striking) and taking the fight where they weren’t comfortable (the canvas). But people are starting to question Georges’ courage, wondering if he’s afraid to get hit.
I’m not saying I share that opinion – I think GSP is still a world-class fighter and one of the all-time greats – but even I would like to see him showcase a bit of the Karate and willingness to battle that made him so popular in the first place. Either that or he tries a new weight class.
By Matt Larkin
Guest Writer
MMA Training Toronto, North York, Brampton, Etobicoke, Markham, Mississauga, Oshawa, Peel Region, Pickering, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, Thornhill, Vaughan, Woodbridge, York, York Region Ontario Canada.