When Georges St-Pierre walked away from mixed martial arts, a casualty of injury, burnout and concerns about the UFC’s permissive performance-enhancing drugs culture, the sport lost more than a great fighter. It lost an icon, especially for fans in Canada who had embraced their hometown star with a gusto that made his every appearance a cash cow for promoters and athlete alike.
Even before St-Pierre’s departure, the search was well underway for his replacement. Athletic careers are short—but Canada’s potential as a market for MMA is endless.
The first man tapped as GSP 2.0 was his protege, Rory MacDonald, who main events UFC Fight Night 54 in Halifax, Nova Scotia Saturday on Fox Sports 1.
But while MacDonald is the obvious choice, the real GSP replacement may be lurking on the undercard in the form of The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia middleweight winner Elias Theodorou who fights Brazilian Bruno Santos in his first post-reality show appearance.
Where MacDonald is reticent, Theodorou is passionate. MacDonald isn’t even sure he wants to assume GSP‘s legacy. Theodorou? He’s happen to entertain the thought. He doesn’t just want to be GSP—he sees St-Pierre’s success as a mere jumping off place.
“I’m not sure about filling his shoes,” Theodorou said. “I’m kind of making my own way. He’s a great ambassador for the sport. But he’s a nice guy I’d say. That was important to establish the legitimacy of mixed martial arts as a sport instead of people looking at it as two barbarians going in there. I think what I have is a little bit more pizazz and flair. I’m just being myself. And, obviously I have to back it up. But so far, so good—never losing a round and never losing a fight.”
That likely sounds obscene to many Canadians, a humble people more comfortable with the quiet and self-effacing St-Pierre. Theodorou is a different kind of MMA superstar, the kind who pauses in mid-fight to say “Hi mom” before going back to dismantling a foe. But like baseball star Dizzy Dean once said “it ain’t bragging if you can back it up.”
MMA is filled with big egos. It’s that way by necessity. These are men who spot the biggest, baddest bloke on the block and never think once about crossing to the other side of the street. Instead, they’re willing to stand across a cage from him, not just risking a fight but demanding one.
You can’t be in the pain business with an almost comical level of self confidence. If you don’t believe in yourself unconditionally, you shouldn’t even consider stepping into the UFC Octagon.
But even in a sport where every fighter is the cock of the walk, Theodorou is an absurdity. If self-regard were measured in decibels, he’d be Century Link Field.
Genetically, he’s an aberration, a lottery winner in the looks department. Instead of cauliflower ears and a flattened nose, Theodorou sports the self-proclaimed best hair in MMA and helped pay the bills during his early career as a model who has been on the cover of several romance novels.
“I just wake up like this. I put in a little gel here and there, but mostly I’m blessed waking up as is…I’m Fabio 2.0,” Theodorou said. “They seemed to like my backside. For the majority of my shots, the focus is my butt and I’m just kind of looking back at the camera. A little pouty.”
He means well, you can tell. And he’s smart—smart enough to play along with the good-natured jibes about his pretty face.
“If looks can kill, they probably will,” he said. “Honestly, this is what I love to do. And it doesn’t matter what’s on the exterior. I’m doing what I love on the interior.
“It’s what has given me more attention, than most anyway. So I’m using it for all it’s worth. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about being punched in the face. That’s why I’ve only been punched three times in the face so far. I’ve been avoiding it. Doing what what I want to do—beat someone up.”
At 9-0, he’s on his way to giving Canada another star to embrace. But a pretty face and quiver of clever quips won’t be enough. To be GSP—or even Patrick Cote, his coach on The Ultimate Fighter and a regular training partner—Theodorou is going to face to prove himself in the cage. Charisma is just the sizzle. Fighting is the steak, and—continuing the metaphor—Theodorou might be a tasty morsel indeed.
“He’s a physically imposing middleweight with a bright future ahead of him,” Sherdog contributor Patrick Wyman said. “While he is a talented striker, Theodorou‘s best skill set is his punishing infighting ability. In the clinch, he whirls a constant stream of sharp, picture-perfect knees and elbows. He shows his strength with high-amplitude takedowns and a vicious top game, and he has the cardio to drag his opponents into deep waters.”
Bleacher Report’s own prospect watcher, The Beaten Path scribe Scott Harris, isn’t quite sold that Theodorou is anything particularly special:
I think it’s a little premature to anoint Theodorou as the successor to someone like GSP. He’s undoubtedly a talented athlete, and undoubtedly has several of the qualities valued by the modern marketing professional. He undoubtedly smells terrific. But I doubt him as a slam dunk.
He’s fun to watch and easy to admire. If he beats Santos, he’ll do it in a way that is very hype-enhancing. I’d just pump the brakes on crowning him The Next Big Thing From The Great White North until he earns it with compelling performances over proven guys.
Theodorou, for his part, understands that everything up to this point was just an audition. Here, in the sport’s promotion of record, is where he’ll stake his claim to fame. That doesn’t, he believes, mean changing an approach that’s working.
“What I’m really good at is just breaking the will of my opponent. I embrace the grind. But I embrace all aspects,” Theodorou said. “I’ve had kickboxing fights in Thailand and have a great coach, Sergio Cunha, who’s from Chute Boxe and has been developing my striking since the very beginning. I can do it all. I take the fight wherever I can win. On the show, it was wrestling. But, honestly, I’ll fight anywhere.”
He’s building those diverse skills across Canada, traveling regularly from Toronto, where he trains at Tapout Burlington and Grants MMA, to Montreal, where most of the country’s top talent coalesces around the world famous TriStar gym.
Life, of course, is about more than just MMA. Like many young celebrities, the nightlife calls to Theodorou, including a quest to bed every good-looking woman in Canada.
“It’s a work in progress is what I’m going to say,” he said with a laugh. “…I’ve been enjoying life. I’m a huge believer that the journey is the most important part. It’s been an awesome ride. I’ve been chosen a couple times and very lucky to be an ambassador for the UFC at different events and expos. It’s the beginning of becoming the face of UFC Canada. Honestly, I’m still coming to grips with having fans and people coming from hours away just to see me. It’s an amazing thing. I’m kind of pinching myself.”
It’s easy to get caught up in every thing that comes with fighting while losing track of what got you there in the first place. But when the call came from the UFC to make his debut proper, focus shifted exclusively to the gym.
“Martial arts is my passion. It’s what I want to do. Now I’m at the point where this is my 100 percent. Every fight is building from the last one,” Theodorou said. “Everything I’ve done, all the hard work, The Ultimate Fighter, the regional fights, it was all to get a place in the big leagues. Now I’m there. This is where it truly begins. It’s the same job, just a better office.”
Theodorou takes Bruno Santos Saturday night at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The broadcast airs live on Fox Sports 1.
Jonathan Snowden is Bleacher Report’s lead combat sports writer. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were acquired firsthand.
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