Hear what Georges St-Pierre tells young fighters when they ask him for advice.
It’s without question that Georges St-Pierre is one of the most accomplished fighters of all-time. But even through all his accolades in his long career, he’s also been repeatedly candid about his dislike for fighting itself.
Now happily retired, the 39-year-old St-Pierre has become a big brother figure for younger fighters he trains with. And when some of them asks for his advice, his disapproval towards a career in combat sports tends to come out.
“One of the happiest places for me to go and the saddest place to go, it’s the gym,” St-Pierre told Rogan. “It’s the happiest place for me to go because I can practice the sport that I love because I love training. I love the science of fighting. And it’s very sad, too, because, after training, there’s always some guys that come to me because they seek some advice.
“I always give them advice regarding fighting, but a lot of them, my advice for them would be, ‘Hey bro, you should hang up your gloves and find a real job. Because I’ve seen this movie and it’s not a good ending, my friend.’
“If I tell them the truth, they get mad at me. (Because they’d think) ‘He’s jealous, he’s arrogant.’ I tell my real friends that when it’s time to hang up the gloves, I tell them the truth. I say, ‘Listen, what’s good for you now?’ It’s a little bit like (Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction). ‘If you would’ve made it, you would’ve made it before.’”
St-Pierre feels he was placed in a fortunate position where he got under the tutelage of the best trainers in the game. For him, it’s these variables along with fate play a big factor in a fighter’s success, which not many would experience.
“The odds of failure are so high. You need to have a certain pre-disposition,” he said. “I met in my life incredible mentors that had a huge influence on me. They taught me great life lessons, techniques, and it’s incredible. If I would not have had those guys to influence me, I would never have been where I am right now.
“And on top of that, I worked really hard, and I was lucky. That stars were all aligning. But you need all that.”
St-Pierre held two stints as the UFC welterweight champion, with his second title run spanning five years. He left the sport as the middleweight champion after defeating Michael Bisping in 2017.