Joe Ferraro

Whenever Georges St-Pierre steps in the Octagon, it's the end result of a group larger than one man.

Every time Georges St-Pierre steps into The Octagon, he is the end result of a complicated array of Team GSP members.

While no member on this team receives preferential treatment, the UFC Welterweight Champion often reminds me that John Danaher, is by far, the unsung hero of his immediate MMA family.

Danaher, a native of New Zealand, immigrated to the United States and one day stumbled upon Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu via the legendary Renzo Gracie. His relationship with Gracie has spawned an incredible working relationship that saw him garner a black belt in three years, while working with the likes of Matt Serra, Ricardo Almeida and a "who's who" of the MMA and grappling worlds.

Then he met Georges St-Pierre, a friendship and bond that continues to mutually grow, exponentially.

"He is an extraordinary, gifted learner," he said. "There's things that I bring to Georges but in all fairness, it has to be said, there are things that Georges brings to me."

While St-Pierre is widely regarded as the best athlete in MMA today, Danaher does not agree with this assessment.

"I actually disagree with that statement," said Danaher. "I think there's many people in mixed martial arts, who are, if you perform objective tests of athleticism, would beat Georges.

What Georges brings is not outstanding athleticism, but an outstanding capacity to learn. He tries to understand the principles and concepts that underlie the sport itself, in almost every phase and aspect of the sport."

When St-Pierre returned to the dressing room after his last bout, a five-round war with Thiago Alves at UFC 100, the champion refused to tend to the injury he suffered in the bout (a tear in his groin), but instead looked to Danaher to re-explain a grappling technique he had trouble with executing.

"He's a perfectionist. Good enough is not good enough for him. He is always into maximizing every aspect of his training."

Danaher believes that when you have students like this, it can only help in his own evolution has an instructor.

"It's easy to coach someone like this. I coach at a technical and conceptual level, and Georges swallows that up and does incredibly well within a short period of time."

Thousands of grappling practitioners revel after experiencing a seminar or class with Danaher, often singing high praise of his immaculate understanding of the mechanics of the human body, and how they can be swayed and manipulated while performing a myriad of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques and theories.

Students from all across the globe are often mystified by his incredibly acute philosophies of jiu-jitsu submission applications, and many must drill and practice these teachings hundreds of times before it becomes entrenched as muscle memory. But according to Danaher, GSP is a special, yet rare breed of student.

"He's the kind of guy you can teach a technique on Monday, and by Monday of next week, he's doing it as well or better than you are."

He then pauses, smiles and reaffirms his previous answer, "It's quite shocking...I've seen it happen on several occasions."

As St-Pierre continues to add pieces to his ever growing legacy, he often finds himself being compared to the sport's best, be it Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko and BJ Penn. But for Danaher, there is one distinction, an MMA consistency that differentiates GSP from the rest.

"He's unusual amongst MMA athletes at the top level of the game," he explained. "Most top players have a kind of game that you expect from. They have their moves that they do well and they have their weakness' that always seem to manifest themselves within a fight. When Georges fights, he's always bringing new elements to the table. Every fight you see him in, something new comes out, something new and exciting that you didn't see in previous matches."

At UFC 111, John Danaher will join the rest of Team GSP octagon side as the welterweight champion puts his title on the line versus the hard hitting Dan Hardy, a British fighter who will bring with him a well rounded MMA game that is highlighted by an powerful counter left hook.