UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre Reveals He ‘Hated Fighting’

Georges St-Pierre is a UFC Hall of Famer who retired in 2019 with a 26-2 record. He is a legend in the sport, but apparently, he wasn’t a big fan of one aspect. St-Pierre recently revealed that he hated fighting but loved winning.

“I don’t like the fighting. I hate it,” St-Pierre said during an appearance on the Complex’s Load Management podcast. “It’s unbearable. The feeling of stress. Not knowing if you will be humiliated or you might get hurt. It’s so hard. But when you win a fight, it’s really worth it. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. So that’s why I did it. Not because I love to fight. I love to win.”

St-Pierre found considerable success during his UFC career. He defeated big names such as BJ Penn, Michael Bisping, Nick Diaz, and Matt Hughes en route to capturing two titles. He also helped the fight promotion set a record in 2011 when more than 55,000 people attended UFC 129 in Toronto. However, St-Pierre opted to walk away from the sport in 2019 and turned his attention to acting.

He showed off his fighting in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as the French mercenary Georges Batroc. He went toe-to-toe with Captain America after capturing a S.H.I.E.L.D. ship and then landed in prison. However, Batroc is returning to the MCU as part of the new Disney+ series, Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

St-Pierre addressed his return to the character during the Load Management podcast and also addressed the numerous fan theories that surfaced during WandaVision. He explained that these theories “could be even bigger” and that Marvel put so much budget into the show. Though St-Pierre didn’t have any spoilers to share.

“I only know what I needed to know,” the Hall of Famer told Complex. “I don’t know the whole story, to tell you the truth. And even if I wanted to tell you stuff, I couldn’t. They’re very good at hiding stuff.”

While he is acting, St-Pierre is still relying on the skills that helped him become a UFC champion. He explained that there are similarities in that both pursuits require a lot of preparation and repetition. Though messing up a take is very different than making a critical error in the octagon.

“In fighting, you only get one take. If you zig when you should zag — boom! It can cost you not only a loss but it can cost you obviously cerebral damage,” St-Pierre explained. “Damage that can cause your death. It’s very dangerous. You say ‘I play basketball, I play hockey’ but you don’t play fighting. It’s not a game. It’s a sport but it’s more than a game. It’s a different kind of thing.”