How UFC hall of famer Georges St-Pierre went from bullying victim to the greatest fighter of all time

It was announced during Saturday’s UFC 249 card that the legendary Georges St-Pierre is to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020, with the former welterweight and middleweight champion receiving one last accolade to add to his massive trophy case.

The thinking goes this might mean a super fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov is now probably off, but it did not stop St-Pierre fans from sharing their favourite moments from his iconic career.

There is one anecdote, a story that not only encapsulates the kind of man St-Pierre is, but also makes an equally compelling case as to why he should be considered the greatest UFC fighter of all-time.

St-Pierre’s childhood, growing up in Quebec, Canada, is now the stuff of legend. The shy, scrawny kid was relentlessly picked on at school, bullied for his appearance and his small stature. He was an easy target, and the stories are brutal. He would get stripped of his clothes and money outside the front steps, and then be met with laughter from his classmates.

It sounds like something out of a movie, the whole world laughing while you are literally naked and completely vulnerable, but for St-Pierre this was a harrowing reality.

For most, a childhood filled with bullying is enough to leave lasting scars and even post-traumatic stress disorder. Studies show that bullying can have a serious impact on a childhood’s emotional development.

One would think St-Pierre would have left that life behind many years ago, but The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck, which was season 12 of the show, showed bullying can extend into adult life. The series, which aired in 2010, followed the two UFC fighters (Josh Koscheck was pitted against St-Pierre) as they helped train multiple fighters before squaring off themselves at UFC 124 in a rematch.

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Koscheck, who had already lost to St-Pierre back in 2007, did everything he could to throw the French-Canadian off his game while filming The Ultimate Fighter, knowing he was looking at a second straight loss. In retrospect, it was the workings of an insecure person knowing they were in over their head, and on a crash course towards embarrassment.

Thus, to call a spade a spade, the “bad boy” Koscheck tried to bully St-Pierre, I’m guessing in the hope of baiting GSP and vaulting him back to his childhood in an attempt to somehow gain an edge in a lopsided tilt. One moment sticks out – in episode three, Koscheck aligns a number of cars in the car park to box St-Pierre’s vehicle in after he finishes a training session and goes to head back to his hotel. St-Pierre, not phased in the least, climbs into his car sideways and drives off with a smile on his face.

“He’s not the first guy to try to do that, it’s not my first rodeo,” he says during the scene’s voice over. “I’ve been bullied at school my whole life growing up, so it’s something I’m used to dealing with. A lot of people take my kindness for weakness. Everything that he does, I will keep it inside, and I will let it come out at the good moment.”

Koscheck didn’t stop there – he threw taunts and insults at St-Pierre throughout the season, both at his face and behind his back. By the end of the series it was quite clear what type of guy Koscheck was, and what type of guy St-Pierre was.

When UFC 124 rolled around in December of that year to the Bell Centre in Montreal, the hype was big and Koscheck repeatedly said he’d “got inside of his head”. But St-Pierre doused all the flames, putting on a clinic, picking apart Koscheck round by round, beating him in literally every facet of the fight game.

What makes the fight so remarkable was there was no anger or outrage in St-Pierre that came out in the Octagon. He did not flail or act with vengeance. He was calm, cool and collected. He did not retaliate, he embodied the Zen warrior mentality, methodically dismantling an inferior fighter who tried everything he could to embarrass and demean him.

After the fight, St-Pierre had every right to gloat, boast and throw all the hatred back in Koscheck’s face. But as GSP fans know, this is not his style. Koscheck had to eat his words and admit St-Pierre was “a true champion” and St-Pierre responded by saying nothing but nice things about him, and that was that.

For most of us, beating up a bully would be an ample opportunity to savour some juicy revenge served ice cold. But St-Pierre is a complete masterclass. On Joe Rogan’s podcast, he recounted a story of finally meeting the bully who pummelled him growing up back in Canada. St-Pierre, seeing the man was in a rough spot, gave him all the cash he had on hand, trying to help the person who had literally tried to destroy him as a kid.

There are fighters, and then there are true warriors. Students of a way of life, of honour and respect, not just when it benefits them, but at all times. St-Pierre was this type of man in the cage, and person outside it during his career. His induction into the UFC Hall of Fame is 100 per cent deserved – a mixed martial artist and world champion in every sense of the word.