UFC 217: Career Rundown - Georges St. Pierre

GSP. Three letters that are etched into the minds of any MMA purist as a moderniser of the UFC's welterweight division, becoming arguably the most dominant champion in the division's history. However, following the recent explosion in popularity of the UFC, largely due to the success of the likes of Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, there may be a generation of younger fans unaware of the significance of the small French-Canadian.

So for them, as much as anyone else, let me spell out why Georges St-Pierre is one of the best true mixed martial artists in history. From the age of seven, GSP trained in the full contact Kyokushin form of karate, claiming his first All-Canadian junior championship at just 11 years old, and retaining the title for five consecutive years from 1992 to 1996. This martial arts training expanded into Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling and boxing by the time St-Pierre was 16, leading to the Canadian becoming a professional fighter in 2002.

Having gone 5-0 in his native Quebec, with all coming before the final bell, GSP was called up to the big leagues in 2004, making his UFC debut against Karo Parisyan at the end of January. Nine months and two victories later, he got his first experience of challenging for gold.

GSP's career has been largely dominated by a series of intense rivalries, some more heated and bitter than others. The one that saw him break onto the scene was against Matt Hughes, the former welterweight champion, who was hailed as a pioneer of the division. While 'Rush' suffered his first career defeat in their first encounter at UFC 50, he would gain redemption for the loss about two years later, in a moment that many see as a 'passing of the torch'.

With Hughes coming into the twilight of his career, albeit at the relatively young age of 33, GSP pounced, with the now iconic head-kick and punches combination enough to hand the Canadian his first title. This would be the first of 12 wins in title fights - a record that remains today.

However, this reign would not last long, as St-Pierre would fall foul of one of the biggest shocks in UFC history. After the conclusion of the Ultimate Fighter: Redemption series, Matt Serra was handed a shot at the welterweight title, though few suspected he would come close to matching GSP. Despite going in at odds of 7/1, Serra dropped 'Rush' with a strong jab, before finishing him with ground and pound in the first round. This would be the last time that the Canadian tasted defeat, gaining a measure of redemption over Serra at UFC 83 to start his second, and final, title reign.

Interestingly, despite being in the organisation for the combined time of more than 20 years, GSP has only been on the same card as his UFC 217 opponent Michael Bisping on two occasions. Having shared the stage with the Brit as he reclaimed his title from Serra, the last time was more than eight years ago, at UFC 100, where the pair enjoyed rather differing fortunes.

The Canadian has long been known as one of MMA's 'nice guys', refusing to get drawn into trash talking, regardless of the jibes being thrown his way. He has certainly had to take his fair share of shade from the likes of Josh Koscheck during his time coaching The Ultimate Fighter, and Jason 'Mayhem' Miller, but none matches the feisty attitude of Nick Diaz in the run-up to his title defence at UFC 158.

True to character, the Stockton native was relentless in his attempts to get under the skin of GSP, criticising everything from his management to his corner team. In particular, he questioned a number of the Canadian's practices in previous fights, including the now notorious 'greasing' during the UFC 94 title defence against BJ Penn. As usual, this did little to affect the calm demeanour of St-Pierre, who again conducted a technical masterclass to win a comfortable unanimous decision.

There was little comfortable about his final bout against Johny Hendricks, however. The power-puncher was able to land repeated shots on GSP like no-one before, creating swelling under both eyes, as well as numerous cuts and bruises on his face. To the neutral, it certainly appeared that the Canadian had finally relinquished his title, but the judges disagreed. Both Sal D'Amato and Tony Weeks saw the fight 48-47 in favour of St-Pierre, handing him the split decision win.

It's worth mentioning that this was nearly four years ago, since which time GSP has struggled with a number of personal problems outside the cage. While the much ridiculed 'alien' encounter has taken the headlines, St-Pierre himself has talked about battles with anxiety and depression. These conditions can be debilitating for people living regular lives, so one can only imagine the impact they had on the former champion.

But as he enters the cage in New York City, it does raise a few questions. How will he cope under the pressure and the big lights once again. Will ring rust play any part in the early rounds? And will his decision to move to middleweight come back to bite him, particularly coming in against a bigger man in Michael Bisping?

It's set to be a barnstorming main event, but which way do you think it will go? Let me know your thoughts either in the comments or on Twitter @TheWeighInMMA.

MMA Awards 2017: The Case For... Michael Bisping

It's been a busy year for The Count, during which he has achieved feats the majority of the MMA world thought impossible. I'm sure there are occasions where even he may have felt his dreams were going to elude him, but in typical stoic British fashion, he overcame his hurdles and ends the year atop arguably the most stacked division in the UFC. With the top 10 containing the likes of Romero, Weidman, Rockhold, Jacare, Mousasi, Silva and Whittaker, it's a real murderer's row for any potential champion.

If the state of the division plays in Bisping's favour, it makes it all the more impressive that the Brit won all three of his fights over the course of 2016. And it's not like he was fighting mid-carders. Both Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson are MMA legends, and while the argument could be made that they are perhaps not at the same level that they were in years past, these were the battles that gave him the most trouble. And no matter who you're fighting, a title fight is never easy.

In comparison to the other fighters on the shortlist, both Donald Cerrone and Cody Garbrandt have better records at 4-0, but barring the recent title fight for Cody at UFC 207, the level of competition has been the lower end of the top-10 rather than title contenders. Conor McGregor lost spectacularly to Nate Diaz, and while the fight did take place outside the Irishman's natural weight-class, Diaz is hardly a natural welterweight, and had taken the fight on 10 days' notice. Only Stipe Miocic can match the Brit in terms of both record and level of opponents faced, with Arlovski, Werdum and Overeem all of the highest calibre.

However, it was the way in which Bisping won each of his fights that really sets him apart from his competition. If there is one thing we've learnt about The Count this year, it's that he never does it the easy way. He took his title fight against Rockhold on 11 days' notice, walking straight off a movie set to knock the champion out in the first round. Meanwhile, in both the Silva and Henderson fights, the Brit found himself in deep trouble, only to find the inner strength and resilience to not only fight on, but win on both occasions. 

In comparison, Miocic has spent a sum total of eight minutes and nineteen seconds inside the Octagon this year, with none of his fights making it out of the first round. While that is impressive in itself, the heavyweight champ has spent the majority of the time in a dominant position, and despite being clipped by Overeem, has not had to battle through the same adversity as Bisping throughout the year.

The Brit's fighting style has also seen drastic improvement this year, with his now legendary cardio backed up by first class head movement and a left hook that put both Silva and Rockhold on the canvas. In addition, it certainly seems like Bisping has added patience to his game this year. Despite the flailing limbs and antics of Silva designed to distract, Bisping remained calm and composed in the opening rounds, with his only mistake leading to the flying knee that nearly shut his lights off. This same patience has allowed him to mix up his striking and try new techniques, with the switch kick utilised frequently against Henderson a newer move to the arsenal.

There is also the sense that Bisping has had the fight won in the pre-show exchanges, making a name for himself as one of the most notorious trash-talkers in the sport today. While he may not be as charismatic as the original 'Notorious One' McGregor, and perhaps is not as creative with his barbs, there can be little doubt that the Mancunian has a way of getting under his opponent's skin. In the lead up to the Rockhold fight, you could feel the tension and anger radiating off the champion during press engagements, eventually losing his cool with the challenger at the pre-fight conference. With Rockhold emotional and over-confident, Bisping took full advantage to shock the MMA world.

Nevertheless, Matt Hughes famously said "you're not a true champion until you defend your belt". Having campaigned for a revenge rematch against Dan Henderson, who brutally KO'd the Brit at UFC 100, the fact that the bout took place at Bisping's home arena in Manchester added further pressure to that first title fight as champ. While some may argue that home advantage is exactly that, the expectation of the crowd can also be a hindrance. Add in the fact that Bisping had to walk through two H-bombs, and his unanimous decision win was more than a little impressive.

And so, ten years after he entered the Octagon in The Ultimate Fighter, the Brit has beaten the greatest of all time, put an full stop on a bitter and storied rivalry, as well as ending the career of a legend, and claimed UFC gold in his first title fight - and on short notice at that. If that's not deserving of recognition, I'm not sure what is.

As always, share your thoughts with me in the comments section below, or on Twitter @TheWeighInMMA