St. Pierre’s Lofty Goals Could Cement His Legacy
In an interview with Sherdog.com, Georges St. Pierre’s manager, Shari Spenser, let the cat out of the bag regarding St. Pierre’s future goals if his reign in the Welterweight division is deemed complete.
“He wants to leave a legacy,” Spenser said. “He wants to be the most dominant fighter the UFC and MMA has ever seen, and he intends to accomplish that by dominating the 170-pound weight class, moving up to the 185 weight class and then eventually the light heavyweight class.”
This should have fans excited for a number of reasons. First and foremost, we haven’t seen champions in lower divisions move up the ranks often. BJ Penn is a fighter who comes to mind when looking at the UFC’s roster of guys who have made the trek to higher weight classes. Penn fought in the lightweight division, welterweight division, and even fought a few Middleweight and Light Heavyweight battles. He’s pushed the limits of his skill through a span of nearly 50 pounds, and found success in most of those matchups.
The question is whether St. Pierre can do the same. He has one of the most diverse skillsets of any mixed martial artist in the world. His combinations of karate, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and overall great boxing skills are tough for any fighter to deal with. Can he bring that same quickness and level of skill to higher weight classes?
Anderson Silva or Dan Henderson could be waiting for him in the struggling Middleweight class. There is a reason that fans have mentioned Hughes or Pierre moving up to battle Silva. The division has a large gap between the title picture and the contenders. Pierre moving up to take on Silva is a solution to that problem, but also sets up future fights for Pierre if he wins. It’s no secret that both the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions are struggling, especially after Pierre’s domination of Hughes at UFC 79.
Pierre in the Light Heavyweight division is the most intriguing prospect from the quote. There are some very good fighters who have some strong skills that can counter Pierre. Before that even comes into play, Pierre must bulk up his physique and try to maintain his quickness to his advantage. If he can do that, he may be able to succeed against some of the middle of the pack fighters. It would be an unbelievable test for Pierre to take out some of the upper echelon fighters in the Light Heavyweight division, and it would definitely cement his legacy. We should all look forward to seeing Pierre’s goals come true.
Tags: Georges St. Pierre
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Let’s just knock off Serra and get your WW belt back. The after you successfully defend your title ONCE, then start figuring out to become a legend.
i think it is a big ask to go right upto lhw and be a champ.there is a lot of talent in that division.but a fight between him and anderson silva would be a classic.whether he could beat silva is another matter but he would definatly have a good chance.i agree holy dave lets see him clean up his own division as champ first then see where he wants to go.interesting to read about though.
Its a HUGE jump to think he can go right to lhw and dominate. Great fighter though he is, the weight difference (and competition) would be too much. Middles on the oter hand, I’m sure he could be a serious contender, if not champ down the road. But everyone else is right – lets see him clean up his own division before we start making crazy dreams.
Guys – the article didn’t say he was jumping right to light heavyweight. It’s a gradual process, and he has to win at whatever weight he’s at. If he does, his goal is to move up.
If ANYONE can do it, it’s GSP.
How is the UFC Welterweight division weak? You have Fitch Davis karo Kos Sanchez Swick and about 20 other guys jockeying for position. Now I would pick St.Pierre vs any of them but they are all legitimate threats.
Yes, it’s going to be a gradual process, but the fact of the matter is that the Welterweight division is suffering from a depleted talent pool and a gap between the upper-tier of fighters and lower-tier of talent, much like the Middleweight division.
I don’t think Fitch can give GSP a run for his money, and the next logical step would be to take on the stiffer competition in the Middleweight division, especially if Serra loses to GSP, and then to Hughes.
What a ****. I can’t believe that he’s not going to also move up to heavy weight and capture the belt.
Why on earth would his manager create such high expectations BEFORE he matches up with Serra. Wasn’t focus part of his last defeat? Isn’t being respectful of other fighters part of his MO. This does not sound like a manager, but more of a gossip. Frankly, a managers job is to help guide what the fighter should say, not act as his mouthpiece.
Could she not just have said “the thought of moving up to 185 is intriguing, but there are some great challenges for GSP in the welterweight division, and right now he’s focused on regaining the championship.”
Daily I’m reminded how the manager talent for these fighters is often “lightweight.”
Didn’t BJ Penn also fight a heavyweight?
St. is not the guy’s middle name.
MrRee:
The highest weightclass in BJ has fought is lightheavyweight. And he lost to Lyoto Machida by unanimous decision. (Which is pretty impressive, considering how much bigger Machida is.)
If GSP could fight Rickson Gracie (who wants to comeback according to sherdog), that would be awesome.
I also agree with Drifter: GSP’s manager shouldn’t talk like that.
MrRee – He fought Machida at K-1 Heros. That was 205, though.
This is a very exciting possibilty but GSP started this talk last time he whooped Matt Hughes and then he got steamrolled by Serra so im gonna take the wait and see approach but i hope it happens cuz Silvas got no one to challenge him if he beats Henderson
man gsp fighting silva ide do owt to see that fight
@michaelthebox – I agree, it’s not his middle name though idk where that came from.
I agree with Leland on the welterweight division. I don’t think it’s week but there’s very few legit contenders though I have to give Karo and Fitch their due and I want to see them face St. Pierre/Serra.
I think Serra needs this match in April a hell of a lot more than GSP needs a win. His iwn over Hughes was shear domination and another loss to Serra does little to change my mind. On the other hand a loss for Serra could be crushing. He hasn’t fought in a year and his only big win will have been avenged so Serra has a lot to lose and gain in his fight against GSP.
I think Karo will get destroyed by Pierre, but he does deserve his shot. Fitch is also up in the air. He has been dominant, but he’s the real test to see how much of a gap there really is in the talent pool.
Leland, his name is St. Pierre! His name is Pierre as much as your name is land ling.
Not a big deal at all, just slang in calling him Pierre.
I’m too lazy to move my hand over and type a period… looks like you guys can continue to complain.
PIERRE.
GSP needs to concentrate on Serra and then cementing his status as #1 Welterweight in the World and all time by taking out Karo and Fitch. Then he can look up to MW and Anderson Silva. However, when he beats Serra and Anderson Silva beats Henderson. UFC and fans will start calling for GSP vs The Spider; as well the money may be to good to pass up. Who will not pay to watch GSP v A Silva?
gsp vs silva could be as big as fedor and couture, but the b****(manager) needs to shut up, kick serras ass and then move forward, the only guy in gsp’s division who poses a threat is fitch, could gsp handle silvas striking is the big question in that matchup
Michaelthebox – exactly!! Those dummies.
We all know his middle name is Rush… geez!
The thing about GSP is that he is an incredible athlete; look how much his wrestling improved. If he puts that focus on his standup and striking for the next few months you will see a big jump in his striking skills and then The Spider better be very careful.
I like GSP (I’m Cdn., after all), but I just don’t think he has the physical or mental toughness to deal with Anderson. Silva is a GREAT striker; he is going to hit GSP at some point. When that happens, I don’t see GSP being able to take what Silva can dish out.
The fighter at 185 lbs and under who can beat Silva still isn’t out there (sorry, it won’t be Penn either, though I think BJ would be surprisingly competitive for a while because of his fighting intelligence, excellent chin, and his great jiu-jitsu).
BTW, St. Pierre’s manager should learn to keep her mouth shut; typical woman piping off when its somebody else’s ass who has to cash the cheque