Georges St. Pierre: Nice Guys Finish Fights

When the word "nice" comes to mind, you may not immediately think of a professional MMA fighter, unless you're talking about Georges "Rush" St. Pierre. At UFC 83, St. Pierre became the youngest UFC fighter to regain a title by defeating Matt Serra in Montreal, Canada.

Affectionately known as GSP by fans, St. Pierre is also known as "Rush" because early in his career, he would beat his opponents quickly, usually winning in the first round. Born in Saint-Isidore, Quebec, Canada, St. Pierre may very well be the nicest guy to ever compete in mixed martial arts.

But don't mistake his nice guy demeanor as a weakness. St. Pierre is anything but nice when he's fighting in the octagon. With a remarkable record of 16-2-0, he is considered, pound for pound, one of the best fighters in the world.

When he isn't fighting, Georges enjoys dancing, hockey and playing chess. It's no wonder he is a smart and tactical fighter. In fact, he won regional chess tournaments and was ranked in the top 25 of Quebec. He is also a big fan of all the Star Wars movies and enjoys reggae and hip hop music.

St. Pierre began training in Kyoskushin Karate at the age of six in order to defend himself against a school bully. After his karate teacher died, he trained in other fighting disciplines such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling and boxing. At 16, he won his first amateur bout by knockout against a 25 year old opponent.

Sculpt a great-looking, sexy set of six-pack abs

In 1993, St. Pierre watched the first UFC tournament and it changed his life forever. Watching a skinny fighter named Royce Gracie choking out larger opponents made a huge impression on St. Pierre. He decided that fighting was what he wanted to do. St. Pierre considers the UFC championship as the most important title in all sports.

At UFC 65, his dream came true when he defeated Matt Hughes to win the UFC welterweight title. However the glory was short lived when St. Pierre in his first title defense, lost to The Ultimate Fighter 4 reality show winner, Matt "The Terror" Serra in one of the biggest upsets of 2007.

Later that year, Serra was slated to defend his title against Matt Hughes at UFC 79, but was forced to pull out due to a back injury. GSP immediately seized the opportunity and stepped in to replace Serra. With only a month to prepare, the short notice did not matter as he was already training for an Olympic wrestling tryout and was in great shape. GSP out wrestled Hughes and defeated him via an arm bar submission in the second round to become the interim UFC welterweight champion.

Though happy about winning, GSP was not satisfied with the interim belt and felt Serra was the true champion. After a year, the score was finally settled last Saturday at UFC 83 as St. Pierre completely dominated Serra to become the undisputed welterweight champion. I'm sure the fighters are relieved that it's over as there was a lot of pressure built up going into the fight. Serra lost due to strikes late in the second round, but was gracious in defeat and even received cheers and applause from the Canadian fans during his post fight interview.

St. Pierre is set to fight Jon Fitch next, who is on a 15 fight win streak. Dana White has stated that Fitch is "next in line for a title shot."