One on One with GSP

Post-Fight Press Conference with Dana and the Fighters

GSP and Koscheck speaks to NBCSports after fight

GSP on Koscheck win
John Moody interviews George St. Pierre after his UFC 74 victory of over Josh Koscheck. GSP says his plan was to take Koscheck out of his comfort zone. He says the Matt Serra fight was the best thing to ever happen to him and that he wants a title shot.
http://video.nbcsports.com/player/?id=147903


Koscheck speaks out on loss to GSP
Josh Koscheck says he speak his mind to hype the fight, and how George St. Pierre is a true champion.
http://video.nbcsports.com/player/?id=147920

Georges lays down the law in UFC 74 against Koscheck

By JOSE RODRIGUEZ

AS VEGAS -- Canada's French Connection ruled the cage here last night.

And after mopping the mat with with his opponent, Georges St. Pierre made an impassioned plead to Ultimate Fighting Championship brass to bring a fight to Canada.

"Please. Please. If you bring a fight to my country, my people will go crazy," he told the crowd to deafening applause from the large Canadian contingent on hand who had already witnessed Quebecer Patrick 'the Predator' Cote score a first round knockout.

St.Pierre, fresh from a title loss to 10-to-1 underdog Matt Serra put to rest questions about his mental strength as he beat Josh Koscheck in convincing fashion.

St. Pierre took Koscheck to the ground early and pounded him mercilessly in all three rounds scoring a unanimous decision.

It was a regenerated St. Pierre who chose to take the fight to the ground against a decorated college wrestler.

(Canoe.ca)

* Click HERE to see the fight. :)

GSP on training and Koscheck

GSP reveals what was troubling him

Georges St. Pierre retools after Serra loss, preps for comeback fight

(CP) - Georges St. Pierre's life changed after taking the UFC welterweight title away from Matt Hughes last November in Sacramento. But not the way he had expected - or hoped.

The Montreal mixed martial arts star lost the championship belt one fight later, in a shocking loss to 10-1 underdog Matt Serra in April. And the normally polite, diplomatic St. Pierre turned heads - and angered Serra - by suggesting later that he had gone ahead with the fight despite injuries and a subpar training camp because he had not rated Serra a threat.

It turns out that St. Pierre had more than fighting on his mind before meeting Serra at UFC 69 in Houston.

"I had a lot of personal issues," St. Pierre told The Canadian Press. "A lot of stuff was going wrong."

There was illness in the family. But St. Pierre also says he lost his way.

"I forgot who I was, what was my No. 1 priority," he said.

"I didn't realize how lucky I was, to have this opportunity to be world champion," he added. "Once I lost, I realized all that stuff and it made me regret a lot of things."

St. Pierre, 26, has turned the Serra setback into a positive, saying it forced him to look in the mirror and make changes.

"I truly believe that this loss is probably the best thing that ever happened to me," he said.

He has since changed both his management and training regimen, retooling his organization and entourage.

He has parted ways with former manager Stephane Patry, a successful MMA promoter in Montreal who had helped his career since his first UFC fight in January 2004.

The two remain friends and Patry speaks fondly of his former protege - "He's still a great kid." But he says St. Pierre stumbled outside the ring after winning the title.

"He didn't train as much as he should, because he was too busy doing other things than training and fighting," said Patry, choosing his words carefully.

"He won the title, he's a kid, he was 25 years old," Patry added, when pressed. "Let's just say he partied a little bit too much."

It's an image at odds with the respectful squeaky-clean fighter, who used to restrict letting down his hair to one week's vacation after each bout.

In a sport with plenty of rough edges, St. Pierre stood out for bringing his mother into the cage to celebrate his title win in Sacramento, saying she had sacrificed so much to help him along the way. And showering and changing into a suit before attending the post-fight news conference at UFC 65.

St. Pierre says he lost focus after winning the title.

"I never had a mentor, somebody who was there to tell me 'Hey be careful of this, be careful of that once you are champion.' I never had that. I was by myself and I got caught in a lot of stuff and was focusing more on doing PR things than training things. I forgot what was my No. 1 priority. My No. 1 priority is to stay champion and being the best in the world.

"I forgot that. I paid for it, I made a mistake. But I'm the type of guy that never makes the same mistake twice."

Patry says St. Pierre did not look after his body after his title win and, as a consequence, fell victim to injuries prior to the Serra fight.

St. Pierre is reluctant to talk about the issues that dogged him around the Serra fight, initially saying only: "A lot of bad stuff happened to me, all at the same time. . . . I have never been so messed up mentally in my life."

Pressed, he shares more.

His father was suffering from a brain ailment and his young cousin was in a coma.

"People were dying. I had to go to the hospital at night. I was sleeping like maybe two, three hours a night when I was training for that fight. I was sleeping with one eye open because I thought I had to go drive my father to hospital and stuff like that.

"I was very worried about a lot of things in my life. Not only this, I had a lot of other stuff going on."

His father is doing much better these days. His cousin remains ill, however.

St. Pierre says he didn't talk about his family issues because he didn't want to intrude on their privacy.

"Georges is very conservative about his personal life. He keeps everything inside," said friend and fellow fighter Patrick Cote.

St. Pierre's MMA career is far from over. He is probably one win away from another title shot and is still on a lucrative UFC deal negotiated by Patry.

"I got him the contact he's on there right now that makes him a millionaire," the former manager says. "I'm proud of that."

But you only get so many chances.

Losing to Serra, who won the title shot via a season of the reality TV show "The Ultimate Fighter" that featured veterans making a comeback, was a wakeup call, St. Pierre said.

"This experience that I just lived, there's no price for that. You can watch it but if you haven't lived it, you cannot understand it. I was humiliated that night I lost. I was supposed to win that fight."

St. Pierre also revealed he has talked to a sports psychologist "to help me get through stuff."

"Now I feel way better with myself and I can't wait to get back into the Octagon. Because fighting, that's what I do best and that's what I love to do, I realized that when things went bad."

The mental side of St. Pierre's game was called into question after the Serra loss. UFC president Dana White said he saw St. Pierre in his dressing room before the Serra fight and was shocked by the champion's nerves.

Heavyweight champion Randy Couture knows the pressure St. Pierre faced.

"It's tough that first time being the champ, having that target on your back where everybody's kind of gunning for you, to deal with that pressure," he said.

"I think that played into his performance with Matt, not to take anything away from Matt. Matt's a very very tough competitor."

St. Pierre says he is a new man.

"I changed a lot of stuff. I'm not the same person that I used to be. I'm a totally different guy and I will prove it Aug. 25."

That's when St. Pierre (13-2) returns to the cage against Josh Koscheck (11-1) at UFC 74 in Las Vegas.

"I'm way, way, way stronger," St. Pierre said. "And I'm going to prove it. I can't wait to fight. People will be shocked. I'm going to make a statement."

Koscheck won't make it easy.

"Georges is stepping right back into the fire. Josh Koscheck is no joke," said Couture, who fights Gabriel Gonzaga in the main event of UFC 74.

While UFC 69 proved to be St. Pierre's Waterloo, it was a watershed for Koscheck, who handed rival Diego Sanchez his first loss.

Koscheck is an elite wrestler who has turned himself into a well-rounded MMA fighter. While a personable sort, Koscheck loves to play mind games and has already turned his sandpaper-like tongue on St. Pierre.

"We know he doesn't have a big heart and he doesn't have that good of a chin," Koscheck told www.ufc.com.

"Talking bad and saying bad stuff about me just gives me more motivation to train hard, to beat him up," St. Pierre responded. "I don't play that game. It's not my style. I'm not that kind of person. I will do my talking in the Octagon."

St. Pierre said virtually the same thing before dismantling the abrasive Hughes at UFC 65.

Today, Shari Spencer takes care of the business side of St. Pierre's life and Greg Jackson co-ordinates the fighting end.

"Nobody ever coached me globally, like in MMA," St. Pierre said. "That's what I needed. . . . I should have done that a long time ago but like I said, you don't fix things that are not broken."

In addition to training out of Jackson's camp in Albuquerque, N.M., St. Pierre works on his striking in Montreal with trainer Howard Grant and his stable of pro fighters including WBA light-middleweight world champion Joachim Alcine.

"I'm way sharper than I used to be," St. Pierre said.

He also works on his jiu-jitsu in Montreal with Fabio Holanda and continues to make trips to New York to augment his training.

St. Pierre has also parted ways with kickboxing coach Victor Vargotsky, saying the former Soviet special forces sniper was not keen on him mixing up his training by working with other coaches.

"In my sport, that's how we get better - when we cross-train," St. Pierre said.

Patry disagreed with the move, however.

Spencer says the changes have reduced St. Pierre's stress level and that he seems far more at peace with himself.

St. Pierre himself exudes confidence over the phone.

"I put the puzzle back together. Everything is going very well. . . . I am doing very well. I'm in great shape. No excuses, physically, mentally. Everything's going well.

"I'm ready to rock."

(940 Montreal News)

Q & A with Georges St. Pierre

Q & A with Georges St. Pierre
By Gary Herman

Former and future champ?

A few months ago, Georges St. Pierre appeared unstoppable. He ran off six consecutive victories – including wins over Frank Trigg, Sean Sherk, and BJ Penn – and won the UFC welterweight championship from Matt Hughes.

However, in April of 2007, St. Pierre ran into Ultimate Fighter season four winner, Matt Serra. Serra, a huge underdog, quickly handed St. Pierre his first loss in over two years with a knockout in just over three minutes.

Now, St. Pierre begins the road back to the UFC welterweight championship. The quest starts on August 25 with a match against Josh Koscheck. The winner of the fight may very well be next in line to fight the winner of the Serra – Hughes title bout scheduled for the end of 2007.

We recently caught up the St. Pierre to talk about his fight with Koscheck, what happened with Serra as well as some interesting possibilities for his future.

GH: We’re about a month or so away form the fight with Josh Koscheck how is your training camp going?

GSP: I’m in the best shape of my life. Physically, mentally – everything is good right now.

GH: Koscheck has been on a tremendous roll as of late. What are your thoughts on your opponent?

GSP: Josh Koscheck is a very tough opponent. He’s one of the best guys in the division.

GH: The top guy in the division right now is of course, Matt Serra. After your fight with Serra, you were very complimentary towards him, but since then, the tide seemed to have turned a little bit. Is there anything that caused the friction between yourself and Serra?

GSP: The thing is – a lot of people got very mad at me when I lost that fight. A lot of people were asking me, “What happened to you Georges? How come you didn’t look so sharp? How come you looked so different?”

I felt like I had to explain myself and my version of the story. And by doing this, it was disrespectful to Serra. It took away some of his credit. After I realized what I said, I apologized to him about what I said. I do not want to take anything away from him. I don’t want to give any excuses. I am a professional athelete. I took that fight. I knew I’d have to deal with the consequences of a loss, and I’d have to deal with it like a man. That’s what happened. And now I look to the future.

GH: Taking a fight with Koscheck is certainly a great way to get you right back in the mix for a title shot.

GSP: Exactly. That’s why I wanted to fight Koscheck. I want to fight the best guy in line and I am very happy to be getting in there with Koscheck. I am pumped up for the fight.

GH: What did you think of Koscheck’s performance vs. Diego Sanchez?

GSP: He fought a very intelligent fight. He’s an intelligent fighter. He has a great camp. It’s a great challenge. It may be the toughest fight of my life, but I’m in great shape for it. Mentally, physically – I have no issues. Everything is going well in my life.

GH: We talked a little about the division – guys like Serra, Sanchez, Koscheck. There are a lot of other great fighters as well – including Hughes, Karo Parisyan and possibly Penn. Maybe even Takanori Gomi in the future. The welterweight division is loaded. What are your thoughts on the welterweight division right now?

GSP: Well, it’s great. I am a very proud athlete. I want to be world champion again, and I think I will be. I don’t want to be a paper champion. I want to be a real champion. When you say you’re a ‘world champion’ but then you see someone in another organization is ranked higher, that makes you feel bad. But since the UFC bought so many organizations including Pride and with the talent they already have, when I become world champion, I will be the best in the world.

GH: What do you think about the Pride purchase? Is it good for the sport?

GSP: Absolutely. It’s great for the sport because we can unify the titles. It’ll be great for the fighters and the fans.

GH: Has the UFC mentioned anything about potential unification fights down the line if you were to win your next two fights?

GSP: I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. From what I’ve heard, they are going to get the champions to face each other and that would be a great thing.

GH: That would be huge. Of course the similar Pride champion is the aforementioned Gomi, and he sits in the middle of 155 and 170. In the past, we had heard that you may be interested in actually moving up to 185 lbs to take on Anderson Silva. Are you still comfortable at 170?

GSP: I am very comfortable at 170. People think that I am bigger than I am. I don’t cut much weight. One day when I become world champion again and I have the opportunity to go up and I don’t have much competition in my division, I think I would go up.

It would be for the challenge. Nothing personal - I just want to make my mark in the sport. I want to make history. I want people to remember me as the best fighter there has ever been in the sport. To do that, I need to do some crazy stuff like going up and challenging other champions and that is in my plans. But right now, I am just thinking about the present moment and Josh Koscheck.

GH: You’ve had some big wins in your career – from Matt Hughes, BJ Penn, Karo Parisyan, Jason Miller, Sean Sherk and Frank Trigg. Do any of those fights in particular stand out with you as being your favorite fight?

GSP: The fight that I performed the best in was my last fight with Matt Hughes. After that, they were all great. And right now, I feel the best I ever have. My personal life is great. In the past, a lot of personal issues turned bad all at the same time. Now, I fixed the puzzle and everything is going well.

GH: Seeing your tremendous popularity in Canada, do you think the UFC will be going to Canada?

GSP: I’m at the same stage you guys are. I’ve heard some rumors. Hopefully, when I win my next fight, the UFC will come to Montreal. That would be great.

GH: Certainly would be exciting to fight in your home country. How is the sport received in Canada? Does it receive a lot of national exposure like does here in the US?

GSP: The sport is not as big as it is in the US, but it is coming. It’s like fast food restaurants. When something is good in the US, it eventually makes its way up to Canada.

GH: Any final thoughts for your fans out there in anticipation of your fight on August 25 with Josh Koscheck?

GSP: I want to thank everyone for their support. I am sorry for what happened last time. I made a mistake. I cannot promise you I will never lose again, but I can promise you that I will bring my ‘A’ game in every single one of my fights. I will be back on track as fast possible. I will be back in a very explosive way.

(15rounds.com)