iFight365.com looks at some of the more interesting questions and answers from Friday’s Fight Club session involving UFC Welterweight champion Georges St Pierre!

In all of the guys that you have beaten, who for you posed the biggest threat and who did you think was the toughest or best fighter?
GSP: “I would hesitate between two guys. My toughest fight was against Jon Fitch or Thiago Alves. Jon Fitch because he was very well rounded and he was the type of guy who, when you try to finish the fight, he always comes back.  And Alves because he was a huge welterweight. This guy walks around at 215lbs and when I fought him I was walking around at 185lbs, so we had about 20lbs difference. That’s actually why I’m on a diet and I want to get bigger.

“You talk about me being a big guy at welterweight, I have a very large frame but I think I look heavier than I really am in reality, but by putting this extra weight on me and extra lean muscle mass, I think it will do me good. But yeah, regarding your question, Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves are two of the toughest guys I’ve fought.”

What changed from your first fight against BJ Penn to the second fight?

GSP: “To tell you the truth I think I got better since then and also, I was better prepared. The first time I fought BJ Penn, I only had one training partner and it was my friend David Loiseau. You know, I’m from Montreal and we don’t have the infrastructure, but now we do. The sport was not as popular back then as it is now. We didn’t have the infrastructure that the American team has.

“Nowadays things have really changed because we now have fighters from all around the world wanting to train with us. (The second time I fought) I had more training partners and the infrastructure of my training was better.”

How much does it excite you to get ever closer to the super fights, or as Mike Goldberg says, are you excited about fighting Anderson Silva?

GSP: (Laughs) “I’m not afraid of no-one in this sport. I think everything is a question of time and you know, it’s all going to be dependent on the moment. I think, from what I’ve heard, Anderson Silva wants to fight heavyweight or light heavyweight and he’s getting bigger. I’m getting bigger too, but he’s getting bigger – I need to catch up to him!

“Maybe one day, depending on the UFC and what the public want. If one day there is the possibility of a catchweight or something like that, then I’d love to do that.”

Who would you prefer to fight – Dan Hardy or Mike Swick?

GSP: “For you the fans, of course it is Dan Hardy because he’s a great fighter. But, to tell you the truth, I want to fight the best guys. Whoever wins that fight, I will be glad and honoured to give them a title shot because they both cause a threat to my title.”

If you could see any two fighters in the world fight in a dream fight, who would they be?

GSP: “There is a lot of potentially good match-ups. Fedor Emelianenko against Brock Lesnar would be a good one. Another guy called Gegard Mousasi is doing very well, I’d love to see him against some top guys in the UFC. Jake Shields is a very tough guy, that’d be a good fight. So, there is potential there.”

Arianny or Logan?

GSP: “I think both – is that the correct expression?”

If Dan Hardy wins, will the title fight be in England?

GSP: “Whoever wins the fight, I’ll be game to do it. There’s no problem there and that’s my word.”

How much a threat would Jake Shields be to you in the UFC?

GSP: “Everybody is a threat to me. The best example I can give is when I won the title against Matt Hughes and then I lost to Matt Serra. I was 10/1 on to win and Matt Serra came out surprised everyone and beat me.  Then I had to get back to the gym and improve the second time we fought. Everybody is a threat. I will never make the same mistake twice. I always want to feel that the guy I’m fighting is the most dangerous guy I’ve fought in my entire career.”

Is your jiu-jitsu better than Jake Shields’?

GSP: “I don’t think so and I’m totally honest, if you put me in a grappling match with Jake Shields on the ground, he would probably beat me. If you put me in a mixed martial arts fight with Jake Shields, I’m confident I would beat him, but there is only one way to find out.”

Who is the most arrogant person in the UFC?

GSP: “BJ Penn was very arrogant when we fought. He said a lot of bad things about me, but most of the guys are pretty nice.”

You’ve spoke a lot about maybe moving up to middleweight, would your philosophy change if you Nate Marquardt was champion? (The two are training partners)

GSP: “I would never fight a friend. I fight my friends, my training partners, every day in the gym. I can fight acquaintances – in the UFC we all know everybody, but a friend or training partner I would never fight. The reason is simple. You can say, I’m going to play football, I’m going to play hockey, I’m going to play baseball but you can’t say I’m going to play fighting. It’s not a game, it’s a sport – a full contact sport.

“The way I fight, it can affect his well being. So, let’s say I mount him and I’m on top of my so called friend. If it’s time to land this last big elbow that will probably put a scar in the middle of his forehead and knock him out cold and cause him “brain damage”, then I won’t do it. If this guy is my friend, I’ll think twice. I won’t be able to do that to a friend. I know a lot of fighters disagree with me, but that’s my personal opinion.”

After the BJ fight, he said, “nobody can look like that naturally.” How did you feel about the comments he made with regards to that and the greasing scandal?

GSP: “It doesn’t affect me at all. I think BJ tried to find an excuse for the loss and he’s somebody that when he loses, he needs to convince himself of something. When BJ lost, he tried to find out the reason why and tried to look at his opponent, rather than himself.

“When I lost to Matt Hughes the first time, or Matt Serra, I started looking at what they did and what did I do to lose that fight? That’s the difference between a guy who will go further in his career and a guy who will plateau. In real life, that’s how you step over obstacles”.

Simple question, Brandon or Randy?

GSP: “Maybe Randy – I’d say Randy.”

St Pierre also talked about how he gets his entrance music from French hip hop, he will fight anyone who deserves a shot at the title, how he is a lightweight in a drinking contest and how he was proud about winning the title in his hometown of Montreal.

iFight365.com will have live coverage of UFC 105 online on Saturday, in addition to our exclusive interviews with Mike Swick and Denis Kang, video coverage from Manchester and more!

Martin Smith
martin@ifight365.com