GSP: ‘I don’t train for a fight. I train for myself.’
“In fighting, in evolution, in life, efficiency is the key,” says St-Pierre, who hopes to one day return to school…
“In fighting, in evolution, in life, efficiency is the key,” says St-Pierre, who hopes to one day return to school to study paleontology. “It’s not the most powerful animal that survives. It’s the most efficient.”
Paraphrasing Darwin is a neat trick for a guy who’s paid to cut off the blood supply to people’s brains. But St-Pierre, whose next bout is scheduled for April 30 against welterweight Jake Shields, isn’t your typical fighter. He’s arguably the best mixed martial artist in the world, a 5-foot 11-inch, 190-pound destroyer who drops 20 pounds for bouts. St-Pierre has cleaned out his division and could go down as the greatest champion in the UFC’s history. He hasn’t lost a round in more than 3 years. He’s faster than other fighters. More efficient. More fit, in the truest Darwinian sense.
“There is a difference between a fighter and a martial artist,” St-Pierre says. “A fighter is training for a purpose: He has a fight. I’m a martial artist. I don’t train for a fight. I train for myself. I’m training all the time. My goal is perfection. But I will never reach perfection.”