It would be valid to assume that all professional fighters love the way they make a living. But as admitted by Nick Diaz, there are some who do not really enjoy their chosen profession as much as people think that they do.
Georges St-Pierre is apparently on that list. In a special episode of the MMA Hour on Monday, the newly-crowned UFC middleweight champion revealed how he enjoys the part of being a martial artist, and how it turns a bit sour for him once he is again faced with a big fight.
“I love the lifestyle I have,” St-Pierre said (via MMA Fighting). “It gives me the freedom, I can train. I have a martial artist life, I can live like a samurai. Every day, I try to reach perfection. I try to be the perfect fighting machine. Even though perfection is not perfect, but I will try to be as much as I can. As much as I can obtain to be, to allow me to have the freedom to do whatever I want.”
“The week leading up to the fight, you’re very stressed,” he pointed out. “It’s unbelievable. And I don’t like that part of my work — I hate it. Especially, it’s mostly the waiting part. I love fighting when I’m in the gym and I train with a guy. I love exchanging knowledge, I love training. But when I’m fighting, the pressure of it, it’s crazy. It’s unbearable. I hate it.”
As of the moment, St-Pierre is non-committal about unifying his title against Robert Whittaker. But ultimately, he recognizes that he needs go through the grind in order to keep the life that he enjoys.
“But if I pass that, if I go through this, it will allow me to have the lifestyle that I love to have,” St-Pierre said. “My freedom, my lifestyle to train like a samurai, to be able to train like a martial artist, to pursue the great things in my career. There’s no perfect job.”
“There are more positive things about my job than negative. That’s why I’m doing it.”
St-Pierre defeated Michael Bisping via third-round submission at UFC 217 this past weekend to become the fourth two-division champion in the history of the UFC.
About the author
