St. Pierre’s Quest for ‘Beautiful’ Perfection

Vince Lombardi once said that, “inches make a champion.” UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre probably understands this better than most. Twelve days out from his fourth title defense against British upstart Dan Hardy at UFC 111 in Newark, N.J., it’s on St. Pierre, one of the sport’s more dominant champions, to hone in on the subtle adjustments that will make him just that much a better fighter in a matchup he’s expected to win.

“I believe I have a lot more pressure than Dan Hardy, of course, and that’s a good thing,” said the 28-year-old champion during a UFC 111 teleconference call on Tuesday. “If you look at it, all the big fights I had a lot of pressure -- B.J. Penn when I did ‘Primetime,’ my revenge against Serra -- all those great fights I perform better when I’m under pressure. When I’m under pressure, I’m more nervous. I’m more awake and my reaction time is better.”

It took only once for St. Pierre to realize that no opponent can ever taken for granted. At UFC 69 in April 2007, Matt Serra caught St. Pierre, the heavy favorite that night, in a first-round exchange. St. Pierre is determined never to live that moment again, which means every opponent he faces becomes his toughest. That mentality has steered St. Pierre through six straight victories, each one more impressive than the next. Hardy, who has a penchant for slugouts, will be no different in St. Pierre’s eyes.

“A lot of people underestimate Dan Hardy and it’s a big mistake, a big mistake that I’m not going to do,” he said. “Dan Hardy is the most dangerous fighter that I’ve ever fought. He’s very well-rounded and he’s a smart fighter. He’d very technical when he fights and he’s a thinking fighter too. These guys are the most dangerous guys.”

St. Pierre’s last victory, a commanding five-round decision over Thiago Alves at UFC 100 nine months ago, was fairly close to perfection. Still, it gave the champion pause. In the face of heavier opposition come fight night, St. Pierre revamped his diet and said he’s gained five pounds of lean muscle to even the gap in the cage.

“When I fought Alves, he was walking around at 215 pounds,” he said. “I used to walk around at 185. I really felt that when I was fighting Alves, that he was big. I heard that Anthony Johnson is 220 (pounds), so I decided to follow a diet for the first time in my life. So, I’m much bigger and much more powerful than I used to be before.”

St. Pierre admits that he’ll have more to lose before weigh-ins, but the sacrifice will make him that much more potent in the Octagon.

“(The weight cut’s) going to be harder this time, but it’s not a problem for me,” he said. “My conditioning is 110 percent. I’m used to cutting weight. I do it in a very scientific way and I don’t tire myself doing it. It’s very important (that) I have a protocol to follow and everything is on (schedule).”

Whether they realize it or not, champions place lofty goals in front of themselves and every inch counts. For St. Pierre, it means that victory isn’t quite enough.

“I want to win in a beautiful fashion,” said St. Pierre. “I want somebody that doesn’t know this sport of mixed martial arts (to) watch me fight and say, ‘Hey, that guy that does that fight uses a beautiful technique.’ That’s when the artistic part comes into play.”