The Legacy of a Champion

One of the greatest mixed-martial artists to ever compete, Georges St-Pierre, is planning to announce his retirement. He will announce his retirement from professional sports this Thursday at a conference in Montreal, Quebec.

The former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion has been regarded as the epitome of a true martial artist; Fans have watched him compete since he first came into the UFC in 2004. Both a professional inside and outside the cage, St-Pierre always welcomed the toughest competition and always strived to raise the stakes.

In fact, after a four years, St-Pierre returned to challenge then 185-pound champ Michael Bisping for the middleweight title in November 2017.

He submitted Bisping in the third round via rear naked choke and captured the 185-pound title. Prior to that, St-Pierre established himself as the greatest welterweight of all time. Winning the title twice and defending it nine times, St-Pierre leaves the sport with a 13 fight win streak.

Challenger Denied to Champ

If St-Pierre decides to truly leave the sport, he leaves behind a legacy that is unmatched. So much so that undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov asked the former two weight champion to postpone his retirement. He wanted to postpone it until after November so the two men can face off in the octagon. Had St-Pierre matched up with Nurmagomedov and won the lightweight title; He would become the first fighter to hold a belt in 3 different weight classes.

However, St-Pierre would go on to tell Ariel Helwani of ESPN, “I saw what Khabib wrote, and I appreciate it very much. Unfortunately, these decisions aren’t up to us. I will address everything at the press conference tomorrow.”

Whether or not fans see St-Pierre in the octagon again, it is a career that will go down in history as the best the UFC has ever seen. His assumed last appearance in the UFC comes as fitting as can be. He is a true martial artist in the cage embracing the crowd as he holds up his championship belt.