The case for GSP as G.O.A.T.
ESPN’s Jeff Wagenheim argues that GSP’s singular exceptionalism is because he is so clear of the asterisks.
ESPN‘s Jeff Wagenheim is arguably the writing G.O.A.T. in the MMA space, and makes a solid case for the just-retired Georges St-Pierre as the greatest of all time. The argument rests not so much on GSP having reached more impressive heights than Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, or Fedor Emelianenko. It’s not that GSP stood up for PED testing, for fighter income, and is such a decent human being. Rather, Wagenheim argues that GSP’s singular exceptionalism is because he is so clear of the asterisks.
While Jones and Silva have dazzled and dominated, each has failed multiple tests for performance-enhancing drugs. That has to factor into their legacies. As for Emelianenko, he conquered all comers for a decade but did so outside the UFC. Longtime fans will regard his days in the Pride Fighting Championships with fondness, but in the dozen years since that promotion shut down, Fedor has not swung a bat in the major leagues.
[St-Pierre] won his last 13 fights, and 13 is also his number of title bout victories, the most in UFC history. The only two losses of GSP’s career — to Matt Hughes in 2004 and Matt Serra in 2007 — he avenged with knockout wins.
Despite having no competitive background in wrestling, he landed the most takedowns in UFC history (90). His black belt in Kyokushin karate and his boxing training enabled him to become the only welterweight in the promotion’s history to land more than 1,000 strikes (1,254). And his 2.39 strike differential — strikes landed for every strike absorbed — is the best of any 170-pounder in the UFC, ever.
The true beauty of St-Pierre as an athlete, though, wasn’t just his diversity of skills. Even more so, it was the smarts he showed in employing those varied techniques.
Wagenheim goes deeper and traces the origins of his greatness to the loss vs. Serra, where he got his with a big shot and let his ego and pride take control, when he should have backed off and regained his wits. From that loss came the lesson to stay in control, and that GSP did, like no other, ever.