St. Pierre Not Impressed with Himself

Take any athlete of any skill in any era and you’ll find extremists arguing both sides of their reputation. For some, Randy Couture’s title-laden career is modern-day mythology; for others, he’s an overrated smother artist with a crippled 17-10 record. You can’t argue facts, but you can argue how they’re interpreted.

Georges St. Pierre might be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, with a dizzying array of skills, but there are those who think his inability to finish fights is handicapping his reputation. (Anderson Silva has gone the distance only once in his UFC career; St. Pierre, six.)

That chorus has now added an unlikely voice: St. Pierre himself.

“I’m not satisfied about my ratio of knockouts. I have knockouts, but I want to bring my ratio up,” he told Tapology.com. “I’m more powerful than I was, and by being more powerful I’m faster as well. Power is strength and speed together.”

In recent months, St. Pierre has recruited a nutritionist to correct dietary deficiencies brought on by a love of McDonald’s. (Corporate sponsors: how do you not love this guy?) He’s added weight and power, something that Lyoto Machida credits with helping him move away from the decision-fighter stigma in 2009. When Machida began lifting weights, his technique found the fuel it needed to hurt people.

I’m not of the mind that fighters who don’t finish bouts are lesser competitors: a lot of athletes in this sport are just incredibly hard to stop. But as talented as St. Pierre is, stoppages are within his wheelhouse and would be proof of his maturation as a fighter. It’s the difference between being respected and being feared.