Georges St-Pierre named in UFC Hall of Fame class 2020 – Michael Bisping had the perfect response
During UFC 249 it was announced that former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre will be entering the UFC Hall of Fame later this year.
St-Pierre will enter the prestigious list as a member of the 'Modern Wing', joining Forrest Griffin (2013), BJ Penn (2015), Urijah Faber (2017), Ronda Rousey (2018), Michael Bisping (2019) - whom he beat for the middleweight title - and Rashad Evans (2019).
To qualify for the 'Modern Era' category, athletes have to have turned professional on or after November 17, 2000 (when the first UFC event under the unified rules of MMA was held), are a minimum age of 35 or who have been retired for one year or more.
GSP, who retired with a professional record of 28-2, was one of the most complete fighters the sport has ever seen.
“Georges St-Pierre is a pioneer of Canadian MMA who helped build the sport globally,” UFC President Dana White said on Saturday night, leading the tributes.
“He is the most famous athlete to ever come out of Canada and one of the greatest martial artists of all-time. We’re proud to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2020.”
Michael Bisping had a pretty fitting reaction himself, saying: "Congrats on the Hall Of Fame.
"An amazing career, and couldn’t think of a better guy to choke me out unconscious and take my belt."
There were plenty more tributes flooding in for GSP after the news was announced and it's clear the Canadian was one of the most respected fighters in the game.
In fact, he wasn't going to retire if the UFC had made a fight for him against Khabib Nurmagomedov, but they unfortunately couldn't reach a deal.
St-Pierre's 17-year career saw him collect wins over UFC Hall of Famers BJ Penn, Matt Hughes, Matt Serra and Bisping. He also defeated five former champions in his 26 overall wins. GSP's legacy is therefore cemented.
He's tied second for the most consecutive wins in UFC history at 13. Those 13 title fights are also the second most in UFC history.
St-Pierre's 20 wins are the third most in UFC history, while he has also scored the most takedowns and landed the most significant ground strikes, at 90 and 461 respectively.