The Final Round

MMA legend GEORGES ST-PIERRE talks to us about his battle with colitis, his toughest opponent to date, and his next career move.

- Andrew Gutman

Before Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, there was Georges St-Pierre—the original UFC superstar whose athleticism, humble demeanor, and vicious groundand-pound made him the hottest ticket in mixed martial arts from 2005 until his retirement in 2013.

Then, after taking some time off to rehab from not one but two torn ACLs, St-Pierre returned to the Octagon in 2017 at UFC 217, moving up from 175 to 185 pounds and choking out Michael Bisping in the third round to win the middleweight belt.

Though he’s unsure of when— or even if—he’ll return to MMA competition, you wouldn’t guess it based on how the guy trains. We caught up with the legend to talk about his insane diet, new style of training, and when he’ll throw down again.

TRAINING MATURITY

St-Pierre used to hit the weights hard in his heyday, but he now admits he would’ve done it differently. “I used to think more is always better, but that’s not true. Smarter is better,” St-Pierre says. “Now I train in the water with Aqualogix, which I started doing when I tore my ACL the first time in 2011.” (St-Pierre suffered a second ACL tear in 2014.) He credits pool training with keeping his joints healthy while increasing his power.

DITCH THE WEIGHTS