Gold Rush: Exclusive GSP Interview

Georges “Rush” St. Pierre is a happy French Canadian. Starting with his bout against Matt Hughes on December 29 in Vegas, the Montreal native gets a chance to kick, punch and choke his two biggest rivals into oblivion over the span of the next few months-something most fighters wait years for.

If you’re not up on UFC lore, here’s a little history. St. Pierre took the UFC welterweight belt from Hughes a little over a year ago only to lose the title in his first defense, an upset loss against Matt Serra. Hughes, a legend in the sport, was set to fight Serra for the belt this December until Serra blew out a disc in his back during training camp.

Now St. Pierre has stepped up for a chance to notch a second victory over Hughes (their personal record is 1-1) in a match for the interim welterweight title and the first shot at Matt Serra when he gets healthy. Starting to sound like a soap opera love triangle? It kind of is, only no shirts and there’s a hell of a lot more blood.

We caught up with GSP during one of his last tune-up visits to train at Wat, New York City’s premiere Muay Thai gym. Check out what he had to say about his upcoming fight, avenging his losses and the best strip clubs in Montreal. Hey, there are always things to talk about other than fighting.

By Seth Kelly
Photography by Jared Ryder

Complex: What went through your mind when you heard about Matt Serra’s injury?
Georges St. Pierre: Even before I learned the news my manager knew that if one of these guys got hurt I was ready to jump in. It was not something special. My manager called the UFC and told them I was ready to step up. The UFC called us back and said the fight was on. They were surprised a little bit [that I wanted the fight] because of the championship and fighting Matt Hughes on short notice. But I was ready, you know?

C: A victory over Matt Hughes guarantees your rematch against Matt Serra. Does that provide more motivation or is it just another day at the office?
Georges St. Pierre: Absolutely. It gives me more motivation. Now Serra will not eliminate Hughes and Hughes will not eliminate Serra. Now I get to fight both. It is perfect. I got the best scenario. I cannot be more happy than I am right now.

C: It will be a little more than a year since you faced Matt Hughes. How have you changed as a fighter?
Georges St. Pierre: We’re both different fighters so it’s going to be a different fight, defense and strategy… I changed a lot of my training when I found out I would not be fighting Serra so I am ready for war.

C: You handled Josh Koscheck, a world-class wrestler, in your last fight. Matt Hughes has a similar background. Was that the perfect tune-up fight for you?
Georges St. Pierre: They are both different fighters. I think Hughes has more tools than Koscheck and will be a tougher fight for me. I’m going to need to come in stronger, better and even more well prepared than I was against Koscheck.

C: Do you see any differences in Hughes’ game?
Georges St. Pierre: I think he’s a better striker, and better at submissions. It’s going to be a different game. The last time he didn’t try to stand and strike with me, he tried to take me down, just not enough. I don’t know what he’s going to do to me. I focus on what I’m going to do to him.

C: Did you watch the current season of TUF to try and learn anything about either of your opponents or not at all?
Georges St. Pierre: Not much. I didn’t really watch it.

C: Not a fan of reality television?
Georges St. Pierre: Well, I’ve been training pretty hard and it just didn’t fit into my schedule you know?

C: How did you end up training at Wat in New York City?
Georges St. Pierre: I’ve been training there almost a year. Everybody in the MMA scene talks about it. And they said, “You have to see this guy, Phil Nurse. He’s unbelievable. He does stuff that you never seen before,” and I just went there one time to see how it was. I loved his style and the way he sees UFC fighting, his point of view and his techniques.

C: What kind of toll does it take to travel between Montreal, New York and Greg Jackson’s camp in New Mexico?
Georges St. Pierre: It’s tough but it’s a sacrifice that I have to make if I want to stay on top. Eighty percent of my training is in Montreal. I would say 10% is in New Mexico and 10% is in New York. In New Mexico, I work mostly on mixed martial art technique. Greg Jackson is my head coach regarding MMA, you know, he’s the guy. Phil Nurse is my striking coach and Greg Jackson is my main MMA coach.

C: As an MMA coach, does Jackson set your game plan?
Georges St. Pierre: He’s more like…like lets say for my last fight I fought Koscheck, I had the idea that to put him on his back was probably the best thing to do. But I asked Greg like before the fight, like what do you think about this? Do you think it’s a good idea and he told me, he give me the blessing. [Laughs]

C: Talking trash seems like a strategy for some guys, but it’s something you have avoided. Do you think it’s worth it for some guys?
Georges St. Pierre: The funny thing is, most of my favorite fighters are trash talkers (laughs). They are my favorite fighters to watch. I like Tito Ortiz, Phil Baroni. They make the fight exciting. It’s not my style, but we need both type of guy. We need gentlemen and guys who are more like characters in the sport. It’s like Muhammad Ali used to say, “Love me, hate me, but don’t ignore me.” And I think that’s what the sport needs. You know, we don’t play hopscotch you know, it’s fighting so, it makes the fight more exciting.

C: Does trash talk work?
Georges St. Pierre: A lot of people try to make it personal with me, saying stuff like “Freakin’ Frenchy” and stuff like that. Even though it’s bad comments and could insult a lot of people, I just try to keep it out of my mind and when the fight is over, it’s over. I shake hands and that’s it. I never let things get personal.

C: Some guys seem to even use MySpace for talking shop and calling out other fighters.
Georges St. Pierre: On MySpace there’s a guy who pretends he’s me, but he’s a fake. It’s not me. It’s even got some picture of me walking down the street. I don’t know how these guys do this stuff. Maybe it’s somebody that used to be in my entourage? I don’t even know. To be honest, I’m more like a pre-historic guy. I should have been born in the Middle Ages, because I didn’t know how to use that stuff too much [laughs]. I just got used to it right now. I just opened up a Facebook account, so it’s brand new, and my first official web site, GSPFightclub.com.

C: Coming off the TKO loss to Serra did you have any nerves in your first fight back?
Georges St. Pierre: I always rebound very well after a loss and I always came back stronger. I’m that type of guy who never made the same mistake two times. I’m a human being and I’m gonna lose some of my fights. That’s what I told my fans. I cannot promise my fans I will never lose again. Nobody can do it. Nobody is invincible. But what I can promise my fans is that I will never show up in a fight where I’m not 100% mentally and physically and where my head is somewhere else. It will never, never happen again.

C: So you think you were sort of out of sorts against Serra?
Georges St. Pierre: I had some problems like some people died in my family; some people had health problems, problems with management. I got, like you say in English, I got screwed big time, and I learned from it. I learned what it takes to be a champion and to stay a champion. I learned how to make the bridge between my personal life, my career, and my fighting career. I learned how to make the connection better and how to, when it’s time to do business, go strictly business.

C: Speaking of business, what’s the best strip club in Montreal?
Georges St. Pierre: [Laughs] I think it’s probably Parée, Chez Parée or Wanda’s maybe. I never been there, but I’ve heard it’s pretty good [Laughs]. Wanda’s is nice too. There’s a lot. I can’t really tell you, but I think Parée is the most well known.

C: What are UFC fans supposed to do when they hit town for the rumored fight in Montreal?
Georges St. Pierre: Yes. Hopefully I will have the chance to fight in 2008 in Montreal. That would be my dream. The best thing to do I would say is the club scene in Montreal. It’s pretty good. The nightlife, it’s very well known for that. There are a lot of people coming from all around the world to Montreal because studying in Quebec is not expensive at all. So people are coming from all around the world that live there. So by having a lot of students at the University and college, it’s made the city have a little party vibe.

C: Is fighting in front of a home crowd kind of a handicap? Do you think it affects a fighters’ nerves or concentration?
Georges St. Pierre: It doesn’t matter where I’m fighting. I’m always going to come with my top game. The UFC could put me wherever they want and I’m going to be at my best. It would be a pleasure to fight in front of my hometown crowd.

C: A Montreal audience might contain a few members that you’ve dealt with before. Ever miss your job as a bouncer?
Georges St. Pierre: A long time ago before my career went to another level and I got serious, I was a bouncer in a club. I was working at Fuzzy Brossard every Thursday night, hip-hop night, which is probably the worst night. They had a lot of problems with gangs and stuff like that, so I always doing it. I had a hard job. [Laughs]

C: What was it like?
Georges St. Pierre: I never had any problems, you know? To be a bouncer at this place, I was probably one of the smallest guys, so I had to use my brain. In the street you can be as strong as you want, but nobody’s faster than a bullet. Being a bouncer, according to me, it’s more being able to talk and being able to use words instead of your arms to do the job. One time I had a problem with somebody and I was like “Hey come outside. I need to talk you. The music is too loud.” And once we were outside, “Sorry my friend. You hit on every girl, you make trouble, you grab the girls’ asses. Tonight you’re finished. You can come back tomorrow, I don’t mind. It’s nothing personal, but tonight is over.” (imitating club-goer) “Oh you have no right to kick me out you motherfucker!” and I just said, “Bye-bye, have a good night.”

C: Sounds like you used Road House as a training video.
Georges St. Pierre: That’s all you have to do. If I start fighting the guy inside it’s gonna make me a lot of problems. I try to make everybody’s job easier, which is not the case with some of the guys that I used to work with. They were all opposites. They were all in the arm and nothing in the head. [Laughs]

C: What’s the one thought you’ll take into the Octagon against Matt Hughes?
Georges St. Pierre: I’m going to take my A-game and I have a job to do. My job is to destroy my opponent, to go for the finish. And that’s what I’m going to do.


(Source: Complex.com)