During his run in the Welterweight Division of the UFC, Georges St-Pierre achieved an incredible legacy as one of the most dominant champions of all time.
Although St-Pierre briefly returned to the middleweight to become a two-weight champion, it is his success with 170 pounds that first showed how great 'rush' was real.
His last defeat came back in 2007 before St-Pierre rubbed his loss against Matt Serra in a dominant way, so he stopped at UFC 83 to unite the Welterweight belts.
The Canadian star started to defend the belt nine consecutive times before he left the title on the main event of UFC 315 on 10 May.
With the Octagon who finally returned to the Bell Center in Montreal, St-Pierre was present for a fan Q&A where he was asked who, of all the legendary names he was confronted, was the toughest opponent of his career.
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Georges St-Pierre says that BJ Penn was the best opponent he fought in his legendary career
Every big champion needs worthy challengers to define their estate and Georges St-Pierre was not a shortage of iconic opponents.
From his rivalry with Nick Diaz to his two fights with Matt Hughes, the long -reigning welterweight champion fought the best names of his era and that includes a man who is often overlooked when we talk about the best to ever do it.
St-Pierre shared the Octagon with BJ Penn twice when the Hawaiian fan favorite wanted to recapture the title of 170 pounds after he had held it earlier in 2004.
On UFC 58 in 2006, Penn's return to the UFC was ruined by St-Pierre after a few years, while the Canadian defeated him through a split decision before he would eliminate Hughes to win the belt.
Their Rematch took place three years later at UFC 94, where both men had titles, making it one of the biggest matchups in the history of the promotion at that time.
Penn was sent back to lightweight where he won the gold, defended it and then tried to make UFC history as the very first simultaneous dual-way world champion of the promotion.
He was stopped in the fourth round at his corner after a dominant gripping display from the title defender, but that does not change the fact that St-Pierre acknowledges how good his former rival was.
“I would say that the best man I fought was in terms of skill BJ Penn,” said St-Pierre at the UFC 315 fan Q&A. “His nickname was 'The Prodigy', because he was the first American to become a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt champion, I think about three and a half years.
“He was a real prodigy, the moment he was like the perfect hunter. He was so fast. I remember the first time I fought against him, I threw a Jab and I was very fast. And when I threw that Jab, he was behind me.
“I had something like” what the hell, this guy has just teleported herself? “He was incredibly fast, incredibly competent and very difficult to deal with,” St-Pierre admitted.
Georges St-Pierre went at the top to close his legendary career in the UFC
In a recent exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, Georges St-Pierre spoke about his retirement and why he was able to drive into the sunset when so many fighters do not get the same Hollywood end.
For example, BJ Penn would lose seven consecutive fights in the Octagon after many believed that he should have run away from the UFC years before his last outing in 2019.
St-Pierre said that although it is difficult to fill the hole that MMA leaves behind, he came to terms with the idea that a professional hunter was only one chapter of his life.
“You have to prepare before it happens and I retired with a smile … Fighting is not who I am, it's what I used to do. Of course I made peace with it.”
“I will probably never feel that haste of adrenaline, that feeling of winning a fight, it's crazy about addicts, but I have to get a part of the competitive advantage that I need to place it in other things.”
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