Top 171 Quotes & Sayings by Georges St-Pierre - Page 3

Once fear enters your life - it will take you in one of two directions: empowerment or panic.

If I'm disrespectful to my opponent, how can I respect myself?

One of the lessons I learned in all those years practicing karate is that progress only comes in small incremental portions.

I had two ACL injuries in my life, and both of them happened when I was training with bigger guys; a heavyweight and a light heavyweight. Sometimes it's not even because the guy is good, you just get hurt.

I'm always at my best when I'm fighting a guy who insults me..questions my integrity; it lights more fire in me.

I’m a martial artist, and I don’t train because I have a fight; I train because it’s my lifestyle, and I’ll train every day if I’m not hurt.

There's no honour fighting in the street, there is nothing to gain.

Dana White came out very often in public saying I'm this and that; I'm sure it's also to play with my ego, to make me, for example, come out of retirement and say 'Oh ok, I'll fight for peanuts.' No, I'm not like that. I know the game.

Set your goal and keep moving forward.

I will never take the fact that I am Welterweight Champion for granted. I learnt my mistake in the past. No matter how great, no matter how people tell me how great I am, I'm always one mistake away from losing everything.

You think I was born rich? I've worked really hard. You have no idea.

This extends to all things, but you only learn it by losing a few times.

My mentality is that when I go to sleep at night, I'm a better martial artist than when I woke up in the morning.

I bow to my opponent in praise and thanks. After the fight is a time for humility, acceptance and analysis, no matter the result.

It's not always the best team that wins the game it's the team that plays better.

I fight with emotion, but I don't fight with anger. I could be angry, but I'm not going to fight with anger because when you fight with anger you can make mistakes.

I don't want to be an exception, because I was very outspoken about Performance Enhancing Drugs. It would be bad for my reputation if I would have an exemption [for doping test] - I don't want to have a free pass, I want to be like everybody else.

It's not always the strong that survive. It takes brains, guts, tolerance and forward thinking.

I like to think I'm like water that adapts to its surroundings and eventually finds a way in.

I will never blame a fighter if he doesn't fight me because he takes care of his own interest first, and prioritize the interests of his family first, that's completely normal.

Kyokoshin I've done most, but I competed in Sports Karate also, that's my style that I come from, and mixed with the wrestling that's how I got the takedowns.

Your body can dictate your mind... As I'm walking to the Octagon and I act with confidence, my body take over my mind, and I become confident for real.

Nervous and scared is a good thing, it's your friend. You feel more on the edge, you feel like you're about to fall down the river, it's a good thing for me. I like that feeling.

One of the important lessons I learned from my parents is always to respect authority figures like teachers.

Innovation, born from true creativity, depends on movement.

I see the world as a knowledge hardware story, and every day I'm just walking through the aisles.

Fighting is about knowledge, knowledge is a very important part of it.

Only way to eliminate the element of surprise is to know yourself and now your adversary.

I'm training all the time. My goal is perfection. But I will never reach perfection.

Nick Diaz is a champion so he's got the spirit that comes with it. So he's not going to give up mentally. You see a lot of guys give up mentally and that's why they get knocked out or submitted. They give up mentally before they lose.

The beach in Tel-Aviv I went to, it even looks and feels a little bit like Rio de Janeiro. Some other places are very European and I just like it. I thought it would be fun but it's a lot better than that. It's a lot more relaxed and a lot of fun, and I feel very secure, and I would tell my friends they should come here when they plan a vacation. Not only the history.

To fight a bigger guy you need to train with bigger guys and it takes a lot more on your body. And it's not your weight class.

I don't want things that I regret in life, and things that I have not done - and I don't want to at 80 years wake up, and tell myself: 'Oh I was on top of my shape and skills and I didn't do it.'

People don't understand, yeah I'm alright as a wrestler, but I beat people in the takedown because of my distance control - because of my Karate. This is something I learned since I'm 7 years old.

Innovation is very important to me, especially professionally. The alternative, standing pat, leads to complacency, rigidity and eventually failure.

I went to Jerusalem, the dead sea, it was just amazing. Because what we see in the TV, I'm sorry to say it, I don't want to insult nobody, but a lot of the image that we see from the middle east in Canada - It's sad to say but it's always bad stuff. I was thinking coming here it would be a lot of military, security, everybody would be a little more on the edge, but I see it's amazing. It feels a little bit similar to Miami.

I'm so busy during my everyday, when I go on vacation I need to pull the plug like they say, and to do nothing.

A system that works for one person won't be perfect for another... Individuality is a major part of expanding knowledge.

When I go on vacation I just like to do nothing - just hang out at the beach, go eat the best restaurants, and do nothing.

For me there is no reason why to go up in weight class, because when you go up in weight class you have to fight bigger guys - then you have to train against bigger guys. The guys are not better, they're heavier, but it means you have more chance to get hurt.

People often say, 'Ah, ultimate fighting is so violent,' but it's rooted in martial arts. Martial arts incarnate respect. You can't walk into a dojo and say to your sensei, 'Hey, salut tabarnac!' After every one of my fights I go and shake the hand of my opponent. I don't need to hate the other fighter to fight him well. It's a sport.

Dinosaurs were huge and powerful; they could not adapt and they died out. And so the big difference between dinosaurs and cockroaches is adaptability: one is able to adjust, while the other, apparently, couldn't... The same analogy applies to fighting, and probably any other sport. It's not always the strong that survive. It takes brains, guts, tolerance and forward thinking. We've seen this since the beginning of mixed martial arts.

Before each one of my fights, I make a point of saluting my opponent. I salute the other fighter out of respect, even though he is trying to take something from me.

I can choose whoever I want, in MMA things change very rapidly, sometimes you don't know what'll happen and there's a guy that upsets everybody. I could fight who the fans would like me to fight the most. For me that's important.

Sometimes I'm under the impression some of the fights happen that they shouldn't happen because a guy's cheating. Also, I think when something like this happen they should have not only a suspension but also monetary wise enforce a penalty. Maybe take the purse of the fighter to the other fighter.

I'm an athlete, my job is not negotiating, it's not my field of expertise. I'm an emotional guy - it's normal, a lot of athletes are, and we're very susceptible to get our ego cut because of that.

I am very honored and excited to be part of UFC 100, it's going to be the hardest challenge of my career so far and it's going to be pretty tough, I can't wait.

I've started late, I was 19 years old. I've trained with Victor Zilberman - he's a Russian-Jewish from Moldova. His son David who is coaching me represented Canada in the Olympic games. There were a lot of very good wrestlers there and they took me underneath their wing when I was young.

People have mistaken my break, I took a break from competition, it was because of mental problems, and because I was not agreeing with Performance Enhancing Drugs. I put the things on pause for a while, but I didn't retire.

Innovation keeps me ahead of my competition. It means that my foes must adapt to me, not the other way around.

If you want to be a proud person, then you want to avenge your loss. For me it was [Josean] Serra and [Joe] Hughes, and for Michael Bisping, Henderson is one of his losses - one of his most painful losses. So I understand why he wants to avenge it. As an athlete I understand.