When you look at MMA, Brian Stann and Georges St-Pierre are two names that stick right out as a couple of the classiest and most professional fighters in the game today.
Inside and outside, they act how athletes should act and as someone you would want your son to grow up to be. Some fighters though, don’t.
GSP was asked by MMAFighting.com whether he thinks his fellow UFC co-workers should clean up their act and act in a professional manner:
“This is something that I’ve been doing since the beginning of my career,” St-Pierre said. “I wore a suit at press conferences when all the other fighters were making fun of me. [They said], ‘Oh, look at St-Pierre, he doesn’t wear his sponsor.’ I’m the one who first started doing this stuff, and I think the image and how you conduct yourself … because the sponsor, the big companies in corporate America, they’re not interested in sponsoring an athlete who is good in his sport but acts like an idiot outside of the Octagon. They want someone who performs well, of course, but acts like a gentleman outside of the Octagon.
“I understood that more than ten years ago. That’s why I behave the way I do and I do things that I do. That’s why I have a lot of sponsors. I do have a lot of sponsors and a lot of money because of this. It brings money to the table.”
It’s true—GSP’s almost always seen in a suit pre- and post-fight and never seems to act in a certain way that would make you question him. This has led the Canadian fighter to some big-name sponsorship deals including Gatorade and Under Armour.
“I’m in this business because I want to make it for a living, for money,” GSP said. “People don’t understand that. They used to make fun of me. Now ten years after, now they start picking up on it. It’s sad to see that it takes a long time for them to understand.”
GSP is still recovering from knee surgery and will most likely face interim welterweight title holder Carlos Condit sometime late this year.
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