Georges St-Pierre, a legendary former champion and one of the most significant figures in UFC history in terms of drawing power, deeply understands the vital role of star athletes in the sport.
Presently, the UFC enjoys unprecedented success financially. It maintains a consistent presence in the global sports scene with nearly weekly events, achieves record-breaking attendance figures for live shows, and is on the cusp of a major new broadcasting agreement. From a purely financial perspective, the organization is clearly robust.
Despite this financial strength, a growing number of fans feel that the quality of the product at the top level lacks compelling, must-see personalities. Appearing on the IMPAULSIVE podcast, “GSP” was asked about this perceived issue and agreed that cultivating future main event attractions is an area requiring focus.
St-Pierre characterized Conor McGregor as “an anomaly,” stating, “Love me, hate me, but don’t ignore me. He did something that was unbelievable.” GSP believes that while it`s difficult to replicate McGregor`s unique impact, it`s not impossible in the long run, as records are eventually broken. He argued that the current situation isn`t a complete lack of stars, pointing to fighters like Sean O’Malley, Israel Adesanya, and Alex Pereira. However, he noted that recent losses suffered by these prominent fighters are detrimental to the UFC, given their status as big names.
McGregor himself, arguably the biggest star mentioned, hasn`t competed since 2021, and his reputation has been affected by various legal challenges.
O’Malley, Adesanya, and Pereira were all champions who broke into the mainstream consciousness, but defeats in their title fights have raised questions about how reliably the UFC can depend on them to consistently draw large audiences.
According to St-Pierre, these losses are simply a consequence of the high-stakes, unpredictable nature that has always been a part of mixed martial arts. He knows this firsthand, having experienced a shocking upset knockout loss to Matt Serra. While this inherent unpredictability—where anyone can win on any given night—is a major source of MMA`s appeal, it also makes it challenging for top names to maintain their position and star power consistently.
Nevertheless, St-Pierre is firm in his belief that this fundamental unpredictability should not change. He expressed a strong desire to see the UFC prioritize making the biggest possible fights happen, citing highly anticipated matchups like Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall and Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria as examples that failed to materialize.
From a business standpoint, St-Pierre acknowledged that the UFC`s primary objective is profitability, and having their superstars lose goes against this goal. However, he drew a sharp contrast with boxing, which is often criticized for fighters building extensive undefeated records by avoiding the toughest challenges. GSP asserted that the core integrity and appeal of mixed martial arts lie precisely in the fact that a champion is compelled to fight the number one contender.
“The reason why people love mixed martial arts is because when you’re champion, you’re fighting the No. 1 contender and it’s not up to you to choose and this should not change,” St-Pierre stated emphatically. He stressed that champions should not have the luxury of choosing opponents; they must face whoever is ranked highest and deserves the shot. This, he believes, is how it was during his time and how it should remain, with the UFC taking necessary steps to uphold this principle.
