GSP: “I HATE FIGHTING”

It’s hard to believe that someone who’s arguably the best ever at his profession could despise it, but new UFC middleweight champion Georges St. Pierre says he hates fighting.

St. Pierre returned after a four year long hiatus at UFC 217 and made history when he defeated Michael Bisping to become UFC middleweight champion. When he left the sport back in 2013, GSP said he felt too much pressure, burnt out and needed some time to recharge his batteries. Georges was also completely non-committal on if he’d ever return to the octagon.

Following his win over Bisping, Georges St. Pierre sat down with Ariel Helwani for an in studio interview and explained that he actually hates the competition aspect of fighting.

“The week leading up to the fight, you’re very stressed,” St-Pierre explained about his feelings towards fighting. “It’s unbelievable. And I don’t like that part of my work — I hate it. Especially, it’s mostly the waiting part. I love fighting when I’m in the gym and I train with a guy. I love exchanging knowledge, I love training. But when I’m fighting, the pressure of it, it’s crazy. It’s unbearable. I hate it.”

However, GSP knows that these feelings are part of the process and what allows him to have the lifestyle he currently does.

“But if I pass that, if I go through this, it will allow me to have the lifestyle that I love to have,” GSP said. “My freedom, my lifestyle to train like a samurai, to be able to train like a martial artist, to pursue the great things in my career. There’s no perfect job.”

“There is more positive things about my job than negative,” he continued. “That’s why I’m doing it.”

Check out some of footage from his interview below.