Issue 184

November 2019

Chael Sonnen recalls the strange events that led him to “fight” Georges St-Pierre

I was getting ready for a fight and Georges was getting ready for a fight. I was in California doing UFC Tonight. Kenny Florian called me and asked if I wanted to work out tonight, that Georges was in town. I said yes and that was that. I was in California every single week for our weekly UFC Tonight show. I would always try to find a workout. I get off the phone with Kenny and I’m in my hotel room and suddently it hits me. ‘Is he talking about Georges St-Pierre?’ Nobody calls Georges ‘Georges’. Everyone calls him Georges St-Pierre or GSP. I realized he and Kenny are friends. Then I started wondering what this was going to be like. This was a different point in my life. He was a 170 pounder and I was making my run at 185. I was talking about him in the media. There were a lot of moving parts at this time. Then I started going into fight mode. I don’t eat on fight day, so I stopped eating. I am sitting in my bed thinking about what was about to go on. This isn’t a workout. I realize I am about to go fight with Georges St-Pierre. I’m not clear what was about to go on, I just know I said yes. 

So, Kenny comes and picks me up a number of hours later. We ride out to this place that was a jiu-jitsu gym that was in a commercial area. You went into the basement and they matted out the basement. It was a very beautiful gym. But I also didn’t know whose gym it was. OK, is this Georges' gym and I’m the guest or are we both guests? That changes everything. If we are both guests than anything goes but if it’s Georges’ gym then I have to show a certain level of respect. At any rate, we come out, and I don’t think I had ever even met Georges before, if I did it was in passing. I start warming up. I’m going with somebody. Georges is going with Kenny. We finally work our way into one another. To say that I fought him is a gross exaggeration but I showed up ready to fight him. I worked out with him. A lot happened that day. He shared a lot of his philosophies. I could feel him when we went. He was not about speed and heart rate. He would go as slow as he had to when we were drilling. But it had to be perfect. He would not let a position go. It was a scenario where he would do one then I’d do one. He would not let a position go and relinquish the opportunity to put an attack on me until everything was right. I mean, it came down to his little toe. If his little toe wasn’t in the right place he wasn’t done. It didn’t matter how slow we had to do it. Every time I drill – and this might be an American thing – it’s about heart rate. As fast as you can, as hard as you can then the other guy goes. Fast as you can as hard as you can then the other guy goes. No, he was totally different. He was all about position and technique and it didn’t matter how long it took. 

Then when we rolled and actually went live he had a certain level of strength and a certain level of pressure and a certain level of stamina. He was a very special athlete. I could feel it. I was very impressed. When the whole thing was done he, like a real gentleman, said ‘Chael, I really appreciate you not using your size. You would have crushed me if you used your size. Thank you.’ I took the compliment. Yeah, you're welcome, but inside I knew how hard I was going and I didn’t give a damn about that size. I was trying to survive. I was really, really impressed. When people ask me who the best I ever fought was I try to answer that honestly. I try to tip my hat out of sportsmanship, but it’s Georges. That’s just the truth. Fedor was so explosive, Jon Jones was so dynamic and Anderson was the smartest. I can pass around the praise, no problem but if you want to know who the straight-up best was, those guys better not mess with GSP.