Few fighters have proved as dominant and put on more incredible performances in the octagon than the legendary Georges St-Pierre.
The former two-weight UFC champion called time on his career by choking out Michael Bisping in 2017, ending an incredible 13-year career in the UFC.
In that time, Georges St-Pierre became one of the biggest stars the promotion has ever known. He was a big draw both in the US and in his home country of Canada, with fans desperate to see the dominant GSP in the octagon.
Here are five of the best fights from St-Pierre’s career that every MMA fan needs to watch, including his shock defeat against an opponent nobody expected him to lose against.
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5. Georges St-Pierre survived a controversial decision to beat Johnny Hendricks at UFC 167
While the result may have been a controversial one, the fight between GSP and Johnny Hendricks is one from the Canadian’s canon that you simply must watch.
In what was St-Pierre’s ninth title defense in his record-breaking run as UFC Welterweight champion, he took on the 15-1 Hendricks in Las Vegas.
It was a close fight, with both fighters taking turns on top, although the striking statistics slightly favored Hendricks by the end of the bout.
The back-and-forth contest took its toll on the champion, who sustained significant damage in the five rounds he spent in the octagon, although Hendricks came close to finishing him after two.
There was huge controversy when GSP won via a controversial split decision, and he stepped back from fighting and vacated the title due to the toll the bout took on his body.
4. Matt Serra shocked the world by finishing Georges St-Pierre in one of the all-time great upsets
When the dominant St-Pierre took on The Ultimate Fighter winner Matt Serra at UFC 69, few people expected anything other than a dominant win for the Canadian.
GSP had just taken the UFC Welterweight title from Matt Hughes with an explosive knockout finish, and he was the outright favorite to do the same to Matt Serra just five months later in Houston, Texas.
The thing is, nobody told Serra the plan. He flew out of the blocks to drop St-Pierre multiple times in the first round; the champion had no reply to this frantic fighter in the octagon.
After just three minutes, Joe Rogan jumped to his feet and yelled as Serra mounted St-Pierre, winning the fight by TKO after a ground-and-pound that shocked the MMA sphere.
This was one of the biggest upsets in UFC history and a fight from St-Pierre’s career that one simply cannot miss.
3. Georges St-Pierre returned after a four-year hiatus to finish Michael Bisping to become champion again
It takes a real talent to take four years off before returning to become champion. St-Pierre is probably the only man who could manage that, and did at UFC 217.
After stepping away from the octagon after the controversial Hendricks fight, St-Pierre jumped up to Middleweight to challenge reigning champion Michael Bisping in somewhat of a dream match.
While Bisping managed to open up numerous cuts on the Canadian’s head, the profuse bleeding did little to dissuade GSP from going in for the kill.
St-Pierre caught Bisping with a rear-naked choke in the third round, forcing a tap out to become the UFC Middleweight champion.
He joined a select group including Conor McGregor and Randy Couture to hold world titles at two weight classes, before going back into retirement as champion.
2. He became only the second man to finish BJ Penn in their iconic rematch
A historic night in boxing saw the rematch between GSP and BJ Penn take place at UFC 94.
Penn was the UFC Middleweight champion while St-Pierre held the Welterweight gold.
This was only for the Canadian’s title, so Penn had the chance to become the first man to hold belts in two weight classes at the same time in UFC history.
However, despite some controversy after St-Pierre applied vaseline to “grease” himself between rounds, he managed to force a corner stoppage in the fourth round, dominating Penn enough for him to call off the fight before they could endure one final round.
1. Georges St-Pierre’s battle with Carlos Condit was the fight every MMA fan needs to watch
The title unification bout between St-Pierre and Carlos Condit is arguably the greatest fight in the Canadian’s historic career, and for good reason.
GSP was the reigning Welterweight king, but an 18-month absence due to knee problems meant that Condit had been crowned interim champion in his stead.
That set up a unification fight between the two in GSP’s hometown of Montreal, with a rabid fanbase behind the Canadian, willing him to finish the pretender to the Welterweight crown.
Each man had the opposite plan. St-Pierre was intent on taking down Condit, while Condit had no plan other than to keep the fight on their feet. He was a dangerous striker, and going to ground would be a disaster.
It was an exciting fight that went all five rounds, both men sticking to their game plans in an incredible watch. GSP won via unanimous decision to prove he was still the top dog after a year and a half off.