UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre recently met middleweight champion Israel Adesanya over steak and drinks. ‘GSP’ shared words of wisdom with Adesanya regarding the criticism that comes with a UFC belt.
St-Pierre accepted that getting affected by criticism and channeling it into fuel for your next fight is a good thing. However, the former UFC champ advised Adesanya to avoid overdoing it.
According to St-Pierre, a UFC title already comes with a lot of weight that has to be shouldered by the champion. ‘Rush’ also believes that the pressure only intensifies with time as criticisms worsen and expectations heighten. The 41-year-old told Adesanya:
“I think that’s one of the reasons why you get so much touched with these criticisms. It’s good that you use it as a fuel to motivate you because it gives you more energy to prove them wrong. But don’t pass the line of doing this. That’s [Balancing] the thing.
It’s heavy, the crown, my friend. And it’s only the beginning for you… I like you, I’m telling you the truth, man. Heavy is the crown, man. Nobody can understand, but it gets worse. And it add more weight to your shoulder every fight.”
Watch Georges St-Pierre’s advice to Israel Adesanya at the 3:00 mark of the video below:
Georges St-Pierre on the upcoming title fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya will put his middleweight crown on the line against Alex Pereira at UFC 281 on November 12. ‘Poatan’ holds two kickboxing wins over the middleweight champion, which has propelled him to a title shot with just seven professional bouts under his belt.
However, Adesanya is now a much different fighter, having successfully transitioned to MMA and established his legacy there. It remains to be seen if ‘The Last Stylebender’ can defend his belt or if he comes up short a third time against the feared knockout artist.
Georges St-Pierre believes one of the elite kickboxers could come out of their comfort zone and take the fight to the ground on November 12. ‘Rush’ said in an interview with Helen Yee:
“I mean, I don’t know… it’s not that I have inside information, but we might see one of them go for a takedown. That would be kind of funny. Not funny, but it’s allowed, you know. Maybe one of them will have the audacity to try to take his opponent by surprise outside of his comfort zone.”
Watch St-Pierre’s interview with Yee below: