UFC 100 Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves Betting Odds: So many times people debate about, ‘who’s the greatest athlete of all time?’ Is it Muhammad Ali? Or perhaps Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, and so many other names that come to mind.
But has it crossed your mind and have you asked yourself the question: could there ever be an athlete that overachieves in his/her sport like all the aforementioned names have done while maintaining a certain level of respectability and decency as a human being? 
I don’t recall there ever being such a case. Perhaps there might never be a star athlete capable of succeeding in both the public eye with the ability live up to the high expectations set forth by the rest of the world. In the history of MMA, there is one fighter that has made it a point to make himself be recognized as a gentleman as well as a very respected athlete.
Georges "Rush" St. Pierre [-280 ML], a Canadian class act, has without a doubt become one of the fiercest pound-for-pound fighters in the world, today. But whatever you do, don’t confuse his professionalism as weakness or his ambition as greed.
At 28 years of age and having already won 11 of his last 12 bouts, GSP hasn’t even reached the prime of his fighting career. His dedication and hard work is shown every time he steps into the Octagon, as he displays a new skill or patented move.
Dana White, president of the UFC, shared many kind words about GSP yesterday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in a UFC 100 press conference. “One of the classiest, most respectful guys,” White said. “He’s an awesome human being.”
As Brock Lesnar wore a t-shirt and jeans, and Mir walked on stage with flip-flop sandals and a cap, there entered Georges St. Pierre in a clean-cut pinstriped suit. “If you want to be treated like a professional athlete,” the UFC welterweight champion said, “you have to look like a professional athlete.”
It’s hard to imagine a mainstream world where people truly understand the beauty of what mixed martial arts is — or any other discipline or sport application for that matter — without being able to shake the erroneous stereotype of it being just a bunch of tattooed barbarians trying to kill each other inside a cage.
Especially when these professionals look like a bunch of scrubs. I’m of the opinion that if you’re a millionaire, you should look like one! You think bums like to look like bums? That if, they had a chance to look presentable, they wouldn’t take it? That’s for you to answer…
Tonight GSP will enter the octagon one more time, and will face his toughest competitor to date: Thiago “Pitbull” Alves [+220 ML]. The intense Brazilian is predicted to put on quite a fight against GSP. But the Canadian has proven that when he sets him goals he reaches them.
“I have goals that I fix,” St. Pierre said. “When I became MMA professional fighter, I wanted to fight in the UFC, the most prestigious organization. Everybody told me I couldn’t do it and I did it.
“After that I wanted become a UFC world champion. Everybody told me I couldn’t do it, it’s impossible, this guy Matt Hughes is going to be there forever, he is a beast. And I did it. I beat him.”
In August of 2008, after a big payday in UFC 87, St. Pierre secretly went down to the bank in Saint-Isidore, opened up an account and gave the banker some very specific orders. “I told the guy at the bank, you see that money I put in the account. I don’t want my parents to pay any more debt the rest of their life,” he recalls. “So the mortgage, the car, you take the money and put the money there.”
His mother and father Roland, who installs carpets and ceramic tile for a living, gave Georges an ear full when he was told there was no mortgage that month. “My mama was crying, ‘Why did you do that?’ And my dad was kind of mad, ‘Why did you do that, it’s your money?’ ” St. Pierre smiled at the memory. “It was the most beautiful day of my life.”
