George St-Pierre: UFC's Greatest Welterweight

George St-Pierre may be the best ever to step into the octagon at the Welterweight Division. At 5'10 170 lbs., the Quebec native has improved immensely over the past few years.

GSP's career in the UFC began in 2004 with two impressive wins over Karo Parisyan and Jay Hieron. His ground game was not quite as refined as it would become however, which he found out quickly in a match with Matt Hughes. St-Pierre put up a great bout but in the end Hughes' level of experience showed. Hughes submitted St-Pierre late in the opening round, showing GSP still had some learning to do. St-Pierre did just. He went back to the drawing board at his gym in Quebec and became arguably the hardest training individual in the sport.

St-Pierre went on to win his next five fights, including a much talked about bout with BJ Penn and redemption shot against Matt Hughes. His victory against Hughes was a double feature, as it also crowned him UFC Welterweight Champion for the first time in his career. St-Pierre would go on to lose that belt to Matt Serra, but later regained the belt in a rematch the following year.

The most amazing qualities of St-Pierre are his intensity and ability to improve himself. I realize how cliché this phase is but I will use it anyways, you can see it in his eyes. He has what its takes to bring down his opponent and, lets face it, he just looks like a prize fighter (at least the UFC definition of one).

When St-Pierre first started he was strong and quick but did not have the technical skills needed to be at the top of the newly popular league. Through a strict training regiment, he changed that. Looking at his fights now there is no doubt in my mind every time he walks into the octagon that he has better striking, grappling, and standup skills than his opponent. There is just no one in his class at the moment.

This improvement of his craft is something we don't always see in athletics. Competitors get to their peak and then remain complacent. St-Pierre laughs at this. He continues to get better with every fight. Take his first match with BJ Penn as an example, a match he clearly won in my view although I understand the controversy of the split decision. It was a close fight regardless, with St-Pierre getting rocked more than once. St-Pierre was not deterred however. He came ready to his second meeting with Penn, both in terms of shape and ground attack, and absolutely dominated the fight. He had Penn on his back nearly the entire match and finished him in the fourth.

So what is next for George St-Pierre? He is already is the top of his weight division, has won six fights in a row, defeated the only two fighters he has ever lost to in his UFC career, and won the 2008 Canadian Athlete of the Year Award. His skills are close to flawless and, even with the great talent the UFC is producing, I don't see anyone who can contend with him. In my estimation, if St-Pierre continues on his current pace he has the potential to be considered the greatest in the sport's history.

Sources:
UFC Bio: http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=fighter.detail&pid=330
Personal Fan Site: http://www.gspfightclub.com/en/