Georges St. Pierre has done everything possible for a UFC fighter and champion to do. He’s been on top of two of the biggest cards in MMA history, headlining the UFC’s only significant stadium show in Toronto and sharing headlining duties with Brock Lesnar at UFC 100. He’s held the UFC welterweight title, and defended it more, than anyone else in the company’s history. The champion has also gladly faced everyone put in front of him, only once asking for a different opponent (Nick Diaz) than the legitimate #1 contender in the name of personal interest.
He’s the ultimate company man, to say the least. He also the undisputed best welterweight in the world and while Johny Hendricks is a stout challenge he’s neither a favorite nor underdog. He’s got as good a chance as any to dethrone St. Pierre but let’s be honest: no one is giving him anything more than a good chance. GSP is the overwhelming favorite and it’d be a mild shock if the Oklahoma State wrestling product pulled off the upset. It’s possible … but improbable.
When you’ve been champion as long as he has, and been as dominant as he has, it’s a courtesy for GSP in a way. And with a win on Saturday night GSP will officially have gone through three cycles of contenders, with no one new or fresh on the horizon, and stand atop the mountain of UFC champions all alone.
A win Saturday makes him perhaps the greatest UFC champion of all time.
He won’t be the best fighter of all time. Fedor Emelianenko or Anderson Silva are the first two usually mentioned for that role, as GSP is a good candidate but perhaps not the best for a variety of reason. But he will be the best fighter to ever hold a UFC title.
No one in the UFC who’s held a title for any substantial period of time has faced the level of competition he has, for starters. It’s the one area where the argument for him as the best to ever hold a UFC title is perhaps the strongest. No one has faced such a high level of talent on such a consistent basis and walked away unscathed; GSP has barely shed any rounds in an eight fight title defending streak.
This is unprecedented on any number of levels. While he hasn’t finished a fight since winning his title back from Matt Serra, the only legitimate complaint about GSP’s title reign, he’s done something that’s arguably nearly as impressive: not surrendering rounds. He’s been winning, and dominating, in such profound ways that it almost doesn’t matter.
Another win on Saturday and he’s alone in the record books for title defenses, making him the most successful UFC champion in that regard, but it’ll mark one final crowning point. GSP will officially ascend to the throne on top of the rest of anyone who’s ever held a UFC title. You’re about to witness great one more time.
