What is your favorite GSP fight or moment?
Frank Hyden, Columnist – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
His “I was not impressed by your performance,” remark to Matt Hughes. I know GSP apologized later and said he regretted it because it was low-class, but I don’t care. I thought it was great. In terms of performances, him beating the hell out of B.J. Penn is one of his high marks. This was back when Penn was still great so him doing that was impressive.
Christian Moore, MMATorch Contributor
Personally, my favorite GSP moment was his interview after Matt Hughes’ win, where he said that he “was not impressed by your performance.” The kindest trash talking I’ve ever seen, but that was GSP.
Sean Covington, Columnist – Covington’s Corner
My favorite GSP moment has to be when he defeated Matt Hughes to win the belt. To me, Matt Hughes was the greatest of all time at that moment. GSP was always modest and the type of champion should inspire to be, very different from the entitled-loud-mouthed-primadonna’s that have titles today.
Michael Hiscoe, MMATorch Managing Editor
For me, it has to be everything surrounding the second Matt Serra fight at UFC 83 in April 2008. It was UFC’s debut in Canada and it really cemented GSP as a Canadian sports icon and bonafide UFC star. Contrary to what a recent Canadian newspaper article on St-Pierre that suggested St-Pierre was an obscure Canadian celebrity, GSP was, in fact, one of Canada’s premier sports stars during his run. This is evidenced by his winning of Sportsnet’s Canadian Athlete of the Year award three years straight from 2008-2010. The fight with Serra set this in motion.
The crowd was electric at Montreal’s Bell Centre. UFC’s archive of the fight on Fight Pass doesn’t do the crowd justice as they had to dub over GSP’s entrance music for his walkout. The fight itself was somewhat unremarkable. St-Pierre dominated Serra on the ground, battering him with punches as Serra turtled on the mat followed by a series of knees to the ribs that led to the end of the fight.
Serra embraced the heel role in the buildup to the fight masterfully. Kelly’s article argues that St-Pierre would have been a bigger star if he talked trash a little more, but it was GSP’s manners and composure in contrast to the bravado of his opponents that made his fights appealing. Case in point, after defeating Serra to regain his welterweight title that night, St-Pierre urged the rabid Montreal audience not to try and beat up Serra in the clubs after the fight.
NEXT: POLL – WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE GSP FIGHT?
GSP provided so many memorable moments but his crowning achievement was bringing the UFC to Canada that night in 2008.
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