In the lead-up to his upcoming fight against Carlos Condit in Montreal, Georges St-Pierre spoke with Sportsnet magazine’s Adam Elliott Segal about his opponent, the knee injury that has kept him out of action and his biggest fear about climbing back into the octagon.
Programming alert: Watch a two-hour special “GSP – The Comeback” hosted by Showdown Joe Ferraro, Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on all Sportsnet regional channels.
Adam Elliott Segal: Take me back to the day of the injury.
Georges St-Pierre: When it first happened, I didn’t know it was an ACL tear. I thought it was a hamstring. I even went to Vegas and trained with Vitor Belfort to help him get ready for his fight with Anthony Johnson. I had a very unstable knee and I didn’t know why—I thought it was a hamstring, it was sore or something. It didn’t have any inflammation, any symptoms of an ACL tear except the instability.
AES: Did you hear a pop?
GSP: Yeah, I heard a pop, but I came back to Montreal after and I told the doctor my knee still feels unstable, feels very weird, I don’t feel emotionally strong and confident that I can do some stuff that I used to do before. The doctor said, ‘Come to the hospital, we’ll take a picture.’ He called me a few hours after—he said, “Stop training, stop training! Don’t do anything, you have no ACL, it’s dangerous, you can tear your whole knee apart!” It’s been a month [now that] I’ve been training like [a] maniac, you know, I’m lucky that it didn’t go worse than that.
AES: What were your first thoughts after that?
GSP: I was devastated. I couldn’t believe it. But at the same time, I was sparring with Vitor Belfort and all those big guys, much bigger than me. I was going hard with one leg. Like, s–t, I could have hurt myself very bad.
AES: It could have been worse?
GSP: MCL, the whole knee, cartilage—everything could have been torn. It would have been a disaster.
AES: During those first few months of rehab, what were some of your lowest points?
GSP: It’s not fun. The first week you don’t sleep well at night. I’m by myself in the United States. I’m away from home, but I don’t complain. One thing I have to say is the UFC took real good care of me. I don’t know any sport that would take care of their athletes like this. They took care of everything—all the doctor appointments, the rehab, all the logistics around my surgery. I feel very privileged and blessed to be part of the organization.
AES: That speaks to your role in the UFC. Do you feel any pressure repaying them?
GSP: I do. What they did is amazing for me. I want to give it back.
AES: It’s going to be 18 months since you were in the octagon. You’ve had two birthdays. You’re 31. Have you felt any pressure getting older? Have you felt like the intimidation factor you used to have has lessened a little bit?
GSP: I’ve been intimidated, but I don’t care. I mean, the kids intimidated me in school; I grew up by being bullied and stuff. It’s not my first rodeo, you know. I’m fighting Carlos Condit to be the world champion and I’m going to tell you something: I’m scared, I’m scared of failure and everything. No matter how scared I am, I’m going to make that walk Nov. 17, and I’m going to fight—and give everything I have.
AES: Have you been preparing differently?
GSP: My mental state is different. I have the same [amount of] pressure, maybe even more. But I know how to deal with it. It’s all experience.
AES: Carlos is going to bring it. He sets up a lot with his kicks. He’ll probably be kicking your legs and your knees. How are you preparing for that?
GSP: Yeah, I hope he’s going to kick me. I’m expecting it. You know what? I’m going to kick him back. It’s going to be a good fight.
AES: Do you believe in ring rust?
GSP: Yes, I’m going to have ring rust. It’s a disadvantage but you know what? I’m going to overturn it.
AES: Do you think this is the biggest challenge of your career?
GSP: It is, because it’s two challenges in one. It’s not only a fight. I have to fight against myself, against my ring rust, against an injury that I had, the long layoff. It’s going to be tough.
AES: You said you lost a little bit of love for the sport after defending the title seven times. Can you elaborate on that?
GSP: I got tired of the routine, the whole thing. This layoff helped me change my whole life, everything. My training, everything around my life, my personal life, I had personal issues—one of the reasons I got hurt.
AES: What were they?
GSP: More like surrounding people, not so good. I feel better in my own skin, and happy to do what I do for a living.
AES: In terms of sparring and training, are you ramping up your intensity? And how hard are you going to go?
GSP: I’m going to go hard. I’m more recuperative when I train. I moved closer to the gym, and it’s a better and more comfortable base. I used to live very far away. Like an hour or 40 minutes because of the traffic. I lived far, on the south shore.
AES: Had you ever played poker before your layoff or is that a new thing?
GSP: It’s a new thing. It’s like a technical game, too, you know. I play for fun.
AES: Was it hard sitting on the sidelines when Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz were about to fight? Was it hard listening to the trash talk?
GSP: It was very tough. I’m a very proud guy. I have a very big ego.
AES: How long do you want to fight? Where do you see yourself in the next three to five years?
GSP: I’m very happy with my life. I wake up with a smile on my face.
AES: Five or 10 more years? Anderson Silva said he would fight until he was 43.
GSP: Maybe, maybe, 45. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be 50! Maybe I’ll go for the record! Maybe I’ll retire the day after my next fight. Who knows? I have no idea.
AES: Do you ever think about how you want to be remembered?
GSP: I want to be the best of all time.
AES: What’s the hardest thing going to be about Carlos Condit?
GSP: He’s very well-rounded. He adapts very well.
AES: Are you worried about his speed?
GSP: I’m pretty fast. We’ll see about that.
For Segal’s cover story on GSP, grab a copy of the magazine, on newsstands now.
Sept. 27, 2012
AES: I spoke to Dr. ElAttrache and he told me a little bit regarding the knee injury. I was wondering how you were feeling at the time.
GSP: I thought it would change my career but I was confident I could have the right surgeon to make me come back 100 percent.
AES: He said you asked all the right questions.
GSP: I asked him what the best [options were]. I think I took the right one.
AES: How’s your knee feeling?
GSP: 100 percent.
AES: You said that you’re nervous. It’s been 18 months. Not a lot of fighters say that—why do you think that is?
GSP: I’m nervous. It’s normal. The fear comes from… you’re smart to realize the danger. It’s normal. It’s a dangerous sport. The truth is it’s dangerous for me, dangerous for my opponent.
AES: In terms of preparing for Carlos Condit, everyone’s talked about how unorthodox he is. I know you trained with Stephen Thompson to get an idea of that. What have you been doing in sparring sessions?
GSP: I have a lot of training partners. I have two guys from Thailand, also guys from MMA who have a similar style [to Condit].
AES: You said in 2007, you really respected Randy Couture because he came back from a couple of losses. That it’s not about how you win, but how you come back from losses.
GSP: Basically coming back from how you face adversity. I faced a lot of adversity in this and I want to get back stronger and gain the title and achieve my goal.
AES: He beat Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz and that must have been a moment where you said, “You can get older and still be top of the heap.”
GSP: Yeah, of course, I want to follow his path and use his story as a motivation.
AES: Any other athletes that you’ve looked up to?
GSP: A lot, for different reasons. Royce Gracie is the main one.
AES: What was it about him?
GSP: He was the first one to become champion. All weight, the first guy, unknown at the time. Wayne Gretzky is a gentleman; he carries himself. That’s another one.
ES: I know four or five years ago you started seeing a sports psychologist. Do you still go?
GSP: Yeah, he gives me some insight sometimes. I need to focus on the things I need to do to get better. The things I don’t control. Sometimes you try to focus on things you have no control [over]—you can’t do anything about it.
AES: Did that change you? Did it help you become a champion?
GSP: Yeah, definitely. His insights are very good for [my] mental game. He helps you to focus on the right thing.
