JRE MMA Show #28 with Georges St-Pierre

1. 0:03 – 4:15

   Colitis after the Bisping camp: overeating, stress, and hidden symptoms

   1. GSGeorges St-Pierre0:03

      Going to the contender after, Freddie Roach.

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:07

      Oh, really?

   3. GSGeorges St-Pierre0:07

      Yeah.

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:08

      Nice. Live? Boom, we're live. You wanna wear headphones or no?

   5. GSGeorges St-Pierre0:12

      Yeah. It's better like this, right?

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:13

      Do you wear... Y- uh, your cauliflower ears, they keep you from wearing earbuds.

   7. GSGeorges St-Pierre0:17

      Uh...

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:18

      You know, those little things that go in your ear?

   9. GSGeorges St-Pierre0:20

      But it... Do I need to it? No, I don't need it.

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:21

       No. You don't need it. You don't have to.

   11. GSGeorges St-Pierre0:22

       Yeah, so I don't- I don't-

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:23

       You don't have to. Just keep this close to your face and we're good.

   13. GSGeorges St-Pierre0:27

       All right.

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:27

       There we go. What's up, man? How are you?

   15. GSGeorges St-Pierre0:30

       Fantastic.

   16. JRJoe Rogan0:31

       You look good.

   17. GSGeorges St-Pierre0:32

       I feel good. I feel, uh, if it would not be for my, uh, like, ulcer that I had, I would be... I- I feel better than- than when I was 25.

   18. JRJoe Rogan0:41

       What did- what did you have? You had colitis?

   19. GSGeorges St-Pierre0:43

       Yeah, colitis. Yeah.

   20. JRJoe Rogan0:43

       What- what is that? How did... What causes that?

   21. GSGeorges St-Pierre0:46

       We don't really know what it caused it, but, uh, the best- the best, uh, theory is that, uh, before my last fight with Michael Bisping, I tried to put on weight, extra weight. So I followed a- a diet pro- program that I was eating every... almost every two hours. And, um, I think your system is like a car, you know, if you do a lot of mileage, it overuse it and then... So that's what happened with the stress and everything. During my training camp, I had big problem, you know, I couldn't sleep, I had crazy cramps, you know, sometimes I had-

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:21

       Oh.

   23. GSGeorges St-Pierre1:22

       ... I had blood even like that... when I went to the bathroom, at one point, I had to go do some tests because I was worried that it was something more s-... like, I mean, colitis is very serious, but that it was like cancer or something 'cause it had blood. So I did some tests, it came out negative and I said to myself, I said, "This fight been delayed..." Not delayed, but postponed so many times that if I do something, if I say that publicly what is going on, I'm gonna lose the opportunity to fight for the title, uh-

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:52

       Yeah.

   25. GSGeorges St-Pierre1:53

       ... at 185. So I- I keep it shut and I told myself, I said, "Whatever it is, I'll deal with it after the fight." So I did the fight, everything went well. Then after I went to do, uh, it's called a colonoscopy. They put a camera inside of you.

   26. JRJoe Rogan2:07

       Yeah.

   27. GSGeorges St-Pierre2:07

       And I did... I got diagnosed with ulcer colitis. That's probably the mix of the stress and also the- the fact that I was...

   28. JRJoe Rogan2:14

       Constantly eating.

   29. GSGeorges St-Pierre2:15

       I was eating, and not only eating, Joe, I was trying to put on some weight. It was very hard. Sometimes I was... I remember many times I was having breakfast, but I was regurgia- regurgitating my breakfast.

   30. JRJoe Rogan2:25

       Oh.
2. 4:15 – 7:22

   Intermittent fasting as recovery: reduced symptoms, inflammation, and better body composition

   1. GSGeorges St-Pierre4:15

      So- so after the fight, what happened, a- and it's very interesting to... I got on- on medication and I- I met a doctor that his name is Jason Fung, he's in Toronto. People can research, he's- he's amazing- amazing guy. And I met a doctor that- that treat people with cancer and diabetes with intermittent fasting. So I start doing a- a program of intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating, and now my symptom diminish. Like, every- every weeks, every month it diminish. So it got... It's getting better. It's not 100% now, but it's getting a- a lot better. A lot better.

   2. JRJoe Rogan4:51

      Yeah.

   3. GSGeorges St-Pierre4:51

      And I feel a lot better.

   4. JRJoe Rogan4:53

      (coughs) A lot of people eat like that now. We had Ben Greenfield on yesterday...

   5. GSGeorges St-Pierre4:57

      Mm-hmm.

   6. JRJoe Rogan4:57

      ... who, uh, you know, he's a- a journalist who does a lot of experimenting with his body, done a lot- a lot of scientific stuff and, uh, scientific, uh- uh, research on diet and- and restricted eating is a big part of it. He does a lot of that.

   7. GSGeorges St-Pierre5:11

      It's interesting because, um... we're conditioned to think that, "Oh, I wanna... I wanna gain muscle, I wanna get..." You know, "I need to eat more to accelerate my metabolism."

   8. JRJoe Rogan5:20

      Yeah.

   9. GSGeorges St-Pierre5:20

      But- but I never felt better in my life. If we would not be for that particular issue, I- I feel better now. I- I- I sleep better. Uh, I, uh... Inflammation and I also did a test. In January, I went to McGill University to do a scan of my, uh, my weight, my per- my fat percentage, my, uh, muscle density, bone density, and my, um... In five months, I did it a few days ago, like, not th- not this week, the Tuesday of the last week, and my- my fat percentage has, uh, decreased, my muscle mass has increased, and my weight is at the same...

   10. JRJoe Rogan6:00

       Mm.

   11. GSGeorges St-Pierre6:00

       ... than it was in January. So-

   12. JRJoe Rogan6:02

       And you think this is all from restricted eating?

   13. GSGeorges St-Pierre6:04

       ... my, my training did not have changed.

   14. JRJoe Rogan6:06

       Hmm.

   15. GSGeorges St-Pierre6:06

       So the only thing that's changed pretty much is the, the, the, the restricting. Restricted, uh, time eating-

   16. JRJoe Rogan6:12

       Yeah.

   17. GSGeorges St-Pierre6:13

       ... and ti- uh, intermittent fasting, yes.

   18. JRJoe Rogan6:14

       Yeah, that intermittent fasting gives your digestive system a break and it lets your body recuperate better.

   19. GSGeorges St-Pierre6:20

       I think-

   20. JRJoe Rogan6:21

       (coughs)

   21. GSGeorges St-Pierre6:21

       ... yeah, that, that's why they helped me o- out the most. Yeah, I think it, that's what it is. Uh, it, I felt like, uh, I was like, like, like I said, like a car. I was-

   22. JRJoe Rogan6:29

       Right.

   23. GSGeorges St-Pierre6:29

       ... just putting too much for nothing, and I think as human being, we're o- overfed.

   24. JRJoe Rogan6:33

       Yeah.

   25. GSGeorges St-Pierre6:33

       I, um, I'm very interested about paleontology and, and also, uh, history, and I know that human being in hunter/gatherer time did not eat three meal a day.

   26. JRJoe Rogan6:45

       No, no.

   27. GSGeorges St-Pierre6:45

       They, they eat maybe a few times a week, but when they eat, they eat a lot-

   28. JRJoe Rogan6:49

       Yeah.

   29. GSGeorges St-Pierre6:50

       ... 'cause they need to, to do it fast. So I think it's more natural for a human being to do so. And also, I, I, now, I read a lot of stuff and I watch a lot of stuff on the internet about intermittent fasting and time-restricted a- eating. And I just wish I, I knew that before. Uh, for so many years, I, I, I, I used to follow the rules, "Oh, we need to eat at least three time a day." And then-

   30. JRJoe Rogan7:11

       Right.
3. 7:22 – 15:03

   How he eats now: timing over strict rules, and staying relaxed about food

   1. JRJoe Rogan7:22

      Yeah. What, what has changed in your diet? Like, what do you eat? Like, what's a, what's a normal meal for you?

   2. GSGeorges St-Pierre7:27

      Uh, nor- I don't really-

   3. JRJoe Rogan7:29

      (clears throat)

   4. GSGeorges St-Pierre7:29

      I don't really watch what I eat anymore. Uh, I, it's more of when I eat. Uh, I try to eat healthy, but I don't have a specific diet that I, like, for example, like, "Oh, Tuesday, I'm gonna eat this, this, this."

   5. JRJoe Rogan7:41

      Yeah.

   6. GSGeorges St-Pierre7:42

      That's not how it works. Uh, I just try to eat healthy, you know? Like, I, I, I, I try to eat good, and, uh, of course, I, I don't look at, "Oh, this is a dessert." I'm... You know, if I want a dessert, a chocolate, I'll, I'll, I'll get it.

   7. JRJoe Rogan7:55

      Oh, I remember that from one of your old, uh, videos. Like, you were having a glass of wine during training camp. You're like, "Uh, there's nothing wrong with one glass of wine."

   8. GSGeorges St-Pierre8:03

      Well, if you think about it, Joe, I, I don't think a glass of wine or anything... L- you know, before a fight where some- we have the tendency to be too much like, "Oh, what should I eat? What should I do this? Should I do that?" I think it's, man, it's-

   9. JRJoe Rogan8:18

      Too tense?

   10. GSGeorges St-Pierre8:18

       ... too tense, exactly.

   11. JRJoe Rogan8:19

       Yeah, yeah.

   12. GSGeorges St-Pierre8:20

       I've met... When I went in Thailand, I met some-

   13. JRJoe Rogan8:22

       (coughs)

   14. GSGeorges St-Pierre8:22

       ... some world champion Thai boxer, and they smoke, they get drunk before the fight.

   15. JRJoe Rogan8:27

       Right.

   16. GSGeorges St-Pierre8:27

       I'm like, "You're fighting tomorrow, man." It's like, it's like, "Oh," it's like, "it's no problem." But when you think about it, this is an extreme. This is to the other extreme.

   17. JRJoe Rogan8:36

       Yes.

   18. GSGeorges St-Pierre8:38

       But I don't think it has that much of an effect. Uh, you know, what I w- I used to eat before, like, before a fight? My meal of choice, before I, I got into reading about, uh, uh, eating and stuff like that, I was eating, uh, uh, pasta before, uh, before a fight. Most of my fight I eat, like, a fettu- fettuccine Alfredo. Like, and...

   19. JRJoe Rogan8:59

       That's a lot of carbs. I mean, it seems like not a bad idea.

   20. GSGeorges St-Pierre9:01

       Yeah, yeah, but, I mean, it's, it's not bad, but, uh, if you eat, if you t- talk to a, for example, a nutritionist, he will be like, "Oh, my god." He will grab his head. He will be like, "Are you serious? Oh, my god."

   21. JRJoe Rogan9:09

       Mike Tyson used to eat that.

   22. GSGeorges St-Pierre9:10

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan9:10

       He used to eat a steak and pasta before his fights.

   24. GSGeorges St-Pierre9:13

       That, that was my thing. I, I used to eat pasta all the time and-

   25. JRJoe Rogan9:15

       (laughs)

   26. GSGeorges St-Pierre9:15

       ... uh, there's no- no problem with that for me and I felt great. But since I, I start reading about, uh, uh, nutrition and stuff like that-

   27. JRJoe Rogan9:24

       Yeah.

   28. GSGeorges St-Pierre9:24

       ... it's like, "Oh, you need to eat clean," nah, nah, nah. I'm like, it never affect me. I don't think it has that much of a big, big effect, you know? It's more psychological, I think.

   29. JRJoe Rogan9:33

       Well, it's also you think about how much energy you're burning. You know, I think for the average person, a bowl of pasta is not a good idea.

   30. GSGeorges St-Pierre9:39

       Hmm.
4. 15:03 – 18:06

   Time off, pressure, and why fighters spiral: adrenaline, boredom, and self-control

   1. GSGeorges St-Pierre15:03

      The- a- when I left off, like, more than four years ago, I- I- I, uh, I knew I wanted to come back, uh, because I was not in a happy place. I had a lot of personal, uh, problems. And I should have even stopped earlier than- after my fight with Hendricks. If- if I would have stopped earlier, I would have maybe come back earlier as well.

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:22

      Mm-hmm.

   3. GSGeorges St-Pierre15:23

      Uh, it was- I was- I felt like I was, like, kind of a feeling of a clus- claustrophobic feeling, you know? Like, I was-

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:32

      Right.

   5. GSGeorges St-Pierre15:32

      ... I couldn't breathe well, I couldn't sleep well. I- my mind-

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:35

      Too much pressure?

   7. GSGeorges St-Pierre15:36

      I- I... Too much pressure, personal problems, so much stuff. A lot of stuff happened to me that it's still too early in my life and for the respect of some people I know, I couldn't talk about it. One day I will. S- all mixed together, I knew it was a drug issue in the sport. I- I feel- I felt... I didn't feel well and, uh, I was trying to perform under the- those condition and it was catching up to me.

   8. JRJoe Rogan16:00

      Yeah.

   9. GSGeorges St-Pierre16:00

      And, um, I did it. But the reason why I think I didn't lose the edge is a lot of people, because we do a- an extreme sport. It's like what we do is kind of a life and death situation. It's not because there's a referee, but the spirit is the same as a gladi- gladiator or, uh, a person in a war that goes to war, he thinks he's gonna die. It's the same spirit. Even though it's not the same thing, we go there in the same spirit that we're ready to give it our- give it all. It's such an extreme feeling that once you don't have that in your life, life kind of become boring.

   10. JRJoe Rogan16:38

       Yeah.

   11. GSGeorges St-Pierre16:38

       You feel like you're not alive anymore.

   12. JRJoe Rogan16:40

       Yeah.

   13. GSGeorges St-Pierre16:40

       So that's why when people stop, they retire and they try to come back, a lot of the people, they fall into drugs because they wanna catch up to that. They wanna feel alive again, so they want- they need that sensation-

   14. JRJoe Rogan16:52

       Yeah.

   15. GSGeorges St-Pierre16:52

       ... that they had previously but they couldn't get it back un- unless they do drugs or they do something crazy extravagant. The thing with me is I knew I was going to come back, uh, and also I always liked to train and keep myself in shape and- and I never did drugs. You know? Like, I never did hard drugs. I drink. I'm not... I drink sometimes. For my birthday last Saturday, I went out and I was completely wasted, okay? It is what it is.

   16. JRJoe Rogan17:19

       (laughs)

   17. GSGeorges St-Pierre17:19

       I like to deteriorate myself sometime. I'm not perfect.

   18. JRJoe Rogan17:22

       Just have a little fun.

   19. GSGeorges St-Pierre17:22

       Exactly. And I... What's the goal of doing this if you're not enjoying your life?

   20. JRJoe Rogan17:27

       Right.

   21. GSGeorges St-Pierre17:27

       What's the goal of it?

   22. JRJoe Rogan17:28

       Right. Yeah.

   23. GSGeorges St-Pierre17:28

       You know people who fight? They say, "No, I don't like to fight." And that is another thing I like to talk to- to you about. People say, "Why you do that if- if you don't like to fight?" It's like, because I like my lifestyle, you know, that it gives me. But that's why people, I believe, if you come back to what you- you say, that's why I think people, they have a hard time to come back after so many years because they fall into that trap.

   24. JRJoe Rogan17:49

       Right.

   25. GSGeorges St-Pierre17:50

       They need to feel alive so they- they- they find ways to f- that the- it make them feel alive but it's- they- it's-

   26. JRJoe Rogan17:57

       Deteriorating.

   27. GSGeorges St-Pierre17:57

       ... deteriorate themselves.

   28. JRJoe Rogan17:59

       Yeah. Drinking-

   29. GSGeorges St-Pierre18:00

       And I didn't- I didn't do that. I did not do that.

   30. JRJoe Rogan18:02

       Yeah.
5. 18:06 – 25:53

   USADA, PED concerns, and deciding to return: feeling ‘vindicated’ as bodies deflated

   1. JRJoe Rogan18:06

      So when you decided to come back, how far out did you decide? Like, but you- you- you took four years off.

   2. GSGeorges St-Pierre18:13

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan18:13

      How many years in were you like, "I think I'm ready to come back"?

   4. GSGeorges St-Pierre18:18

      Uh, when I see USA- USADA and the, the drug testing program being implented-

   5. JRJoe Rogan18:24

      Implemented, yeah.

   6. GSGeorges St-Pierre18:27

      ... im- im- implemented, then I saw a lot of, a lot of a-

   7. JRJoe Rogan18:29

      A lot of people deflate.

   8. GSGeorges St-Pierre18:30

      Yes, a lot of people-

   9. JRJoe Rogan18:31

      Did you feel vindicated?

   10. GSGeorges St-Pierre18:32

       Huh?

   11. JRJoe Rogan18:32

       Like, d- did you feel vindicated when you saw, like, some of these people just-

   12. GSGeorges St-Pierre18:36

       I feel a little bit of a... I mean, it, it feel bad to wish people bad luck to get some kind of recognition, but, a- that's not what I, what I wanna do. I don't wish people bad luck. But if you cheat, you cheat, man. And they, a lot of people got caught. And finally, a lot of people in the beginning, including my own friend, they think like, I was talking to some of my own friend, they say, "Oh, you're paranoid. You become paranoid. You need to take a break. You, you're going crazy. Just retire or get out," you know? "The, the, you're paranoid." Because I was talking about it a long time before-

   13. JRJoe Rogan19:07

       Yes.

   14. GSGeorges St-Pierre19:07

       ... Hendricks and they, they, everybody was disregarding me. But then when it happened, a lot of the champion fail. And, uh, a lot of, uh, the hero in the sport, they got point out with the fingers, "Hey, he's a cheater." So now it become real. So when I saw that happen, it was, it was for me a beginning to start and now it's time to come back, you know? Because I-

   15. JRJoe Rogan19:29

       Mm-hmm.

   16. GSGeorges St-Pierre19:30

       ... I'm a guy of, of, uh... If I set something, you know, that's, uh, become gonna, I'm gonna do it. I don't wanna come back when the sport was dirty. That's one of my thing. And so when I, when I, uh, decide to come back, I had a big talk with one of my trainer, John Danaher and I, um, and Firas. They're my two main guy and they're like my friend, my brother with me. I mean, I'm, I'm undefeated with these, with these two guys, you know?

   17. JRJoe Rogan19:55

       (laughs)

   18. GSGeorges St-Pierre19:55

       They, they're like with-

   19. JRJoe Rogan19:56

       Well-

   20. GSGeorges St-Pierre19:56

       I need them when I fight.

   21. JRJoe Rogan19:58

       ... that's some serious knowledge-

   22. GSGeorges St-Pierre19:58

       Yes.

   23. JRJoe Rogan19:59

       ... between those two men.

   24. GSGeorges St-Pierre20:00

       Their mix together is crazy, you know?

   25. JRJoe Rogan20:02

       Yeah.

   26. GSGeorges St-Pierre20:02

       They are two different person, very different. They both have, um, um, uh, they both studied philosophy. They are very inter- interesting people for me to talk with because they have two different mentalities, you know?

   27. JRJoe Rogan20:17

       Yeah.

   28. GSGeorges St-Pierre20:18

       They see the world at different ways. So I like to, to have both of their, uh, expertise. And, um, so John, John, he told me, he said, "Listen." He said, "You always have three big criticizing, criticizers when you were fighting. Just never went up, uh, of a weight class. You never... You, you, you... People says that you're kind of boring or too much cere- cerebral, technical. You, you don't wanna take unnecessary risks w- which make the fight boring. And also, you, you don't finish your opponent," you know? That was one of my big criticizing, criticizers.

   29. JRJoe Rogan20:52

       (laughs)

   30. GSGeorges St-Pierre20:52

       So I decide to come back and we, we change our, um, the way I was training because the, the, the way you train reflects the way you fight. You know, people say, "Oh, I'm gonna, I'm, I'm not gonna train too hard. I'm gonna do this in training, but when I, it's time to fight, I'm gonna step up." There is no step up. You're just gonna do what, what you did every day, you know? And that's-
6. 25:53 – 30:06

   Danaher + Firas + Freddie: the three-layer pyramid (physical, technical, tactical)

   1. JRJoe Rogan25:53

      Yeah. No, I think you're right about that. So when you, when you have a camp and you set up a camp and you have Danaher and Firas, do they essentially, uh... Are they the architects of the whole camp? Do they get together and try to figure out what you're doing and when you're doing it and how... Is Firas the guy who handles, like, more of the striking aspects of it or putting the grappling and the striking together?

   2. GSGeorges St-Pierre26:14

      I, I, I am a little bit the head guy-

   3. JRJoe Rogan26:17

      Mm-hmm.

   4. GSGeorges St-Pierre26:17

      ... in a way, you know. I, I believe as a fighter, you need to be the head guy. You're, you're the maestro.

   5. JRJoe Rogan26:22

      Right.

   6. GSGeorges St-Pierre26:22

      You have the people that work f- like, with you. And, and, but that you need to know how to use these people good. For instance, I, I don't know nothing about business, but I have, uh, agents that are there to negotiate fight. They, they knows number. They know a- about investment. I have one, another guy, he knows about fiscality. He's a, he's a lawyer and, uh, is good for a tax report. I don't know nothing, but I know how to get the good people to help me for that-

   7. JRJoe Rogan26:50

      Right.

   8. GSGeorges St-Pierre26:50

      ... particular thing.

   9. JRJoe Rogan26:51

      Right, right, right.

   10. GSGeorges St-Pierre26:51

       So Firas and John, for me, are the most competent people that I can have to help me going to fight someone because in, in... John, especially, in the, the grappling area, but J- John is not only in grappling. The difference with John and Firas that makes them very unique as trainers, they not really only trainers, they are teachers. And I would say the same thing about Freddie Roach. Same thing about Freddie Roach. They're not only trainer, they're teachers. The way I structure my, my training camp, there is like a pyramid. The first layer, the fund- the, the, the, the, the fundamental, the foundation is physical. Are you in shape? Are you, uh, has your... Your VO2 max? Are you in shape? Are you in good condition? No injuries? Athleticism, are you an athlete? Are you a good, good athlete? There's a physical layer. This is the, the wider one, that's the b- the bottom one. It's like a pyramid. Then it goes up one layer. The technical layer. Do you know what to do with your knowledge? Do you know an arm bar? Uh, defense to a triangle choke? How to counter a jab? Or how do you... So, you know, technical aspect, you know, in terms of knowledge of fighting. That's where the, the trainer comes into play also, the physical, the technical. And a lot of the trainer, they don't have the last layer, or they only have one of those or two of those, but they don't have the three layers. That's where Firas, John, and also, I would say Fr- Freddie in boxing comes into play. But in MMA especially, Firas and John. The tactical layer, which is the last one, that's what separate contenders and champion. There's a physical, the technical, and the tactical. Let's say we're equal. We're the same person. What gonna make the difference between me winning against you or you winning against me is the tactical because we're the same person. We're a, a complete replica. We're, we're a clone. The, the difference is the tactical. I will know how... Where I can take you out of your comfort zone and I can bring the fight where I'm the strongest and, and fight you to elemi- eliminate the odds where the, the, the fight will, will s- will, will stoke the odds of me winning to my advantage. That's where John and Firas are master at this, and Freddie Roach is master at this in boxing. That's why I'm so... I feel very, uh, very lucky to have these guy on, on, uh, with me in, in, in my corner because they, they, they, they're competent in these three layers: physical, technic- technical, and tactical, which most trainer can have only one, two, or ma- they, they not have three. It's very rare to find three tr- the- those, the co- trainer who can do th- these three thing.

   11. JRJoe Rogan29:44

       So when you get to the tactical layer, is this something that you all agree on? Do you discuss it?

   12. GSGeorges St-Pierre29:50

       Yeah.

   13. JRJoe Rogan29:50

       Like when you... When you're, when you're approaching a fight, like say, Michael Bisping.

   14. GSGeorges St-Pierre29:53

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan29:53

       Like what... How does... How do you, uh, how do you do it? You say, "This is what I see in his fights," and then Firas gives his input and John gives his input and then Freddie gives his input?

   16. GSGeorges St-Pierre30:03

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan30:03

       And you start discussing what's the best way to handle this?

7. 30:06 – 50:09

   Bisping fight breakdown: the big right hand, adjustments, and “autopilot” execution

   1. GSGeorges St-Pierre30:06

      So, so coming into that fight with Michael Bisping, Michael Bisping was very well-prepared. He was, is very, very s- has a very good team with Jason Parillo. So we were expecting... You always have to gauge also to know you and to know your, your opponent, you know.Sometimes knowing your opponent is easier than to knowing yourself, you know. So you have to be reali- realistic about your strength and, and weaknesses and how you're gonna match up against your, your opponent. With Michael Bisping, what mess- messed me up a little bit is... and, and all of us, is we were expecting Michael Bisping to come straight at, straight at me, try to, (slaps hands) to take me out right away. Instead of that, he was moving, especially more in the second round. So the first round was... I was doing well, but in the second round, he start moving away and be more d- d... uh... instead of coming at me was more trying to running away from me. And that's why a lot of people they said to me, "Man, the, the... y- y-" be- because I lost the second round against Michael Bisping. And people was like, "Man, what happened to you? You were... Y- y- y- it seems like you, you were... you slowed down a little bit." It's not only that I slowed down, it's also I... yeah, I got hit with a very strong right hand, right on the bottom, by a guy who maybe outweigh me b- 20 pounds, you know. So it slows a man down. It's not, uh, that my cardio was bad. It's not... uh... I wa-... uh... my cardio was fine, but we get punched on the bottom, it slow a man down and he caught me off guard. He changed his strategy from round one to round two. He became more like... he was more like a runner instead of a hunter-

   2. JRJoe Rogan31:43

      Mm-hmm.

   3. GSGeorges St-Pierre31:43

      ... kind of guy.

   4. JRJoe Rogan31:44

      And so he caught you with a counter shot?

   5. GSGeorges St-Pierre31:46

      What he did is very smart.

   6. JRJoe Rogan31:47

      (clears throat)

   7. GSGeorges St-Pierre31:47

      He couldn't get to me. If you look at the replay of that fight with Michael Bisping, he couldn't get to me, straight to my head. It was... he's trying to hit me with his jab, with his strike, try to target my head and... but I was too fast for him. So I don't know if it's his trainer or him who decide to change, so he decide to be like, like a runner. So I decide to try to chase him a little bit more. And what happened to me, he jab my, my lead hand which square me-

   8. JRJoe Rogan32:14

      Mm-hmm.

   9. GSGeorges St-Pierre32:14

      ... and then he, he connect me straight on the, on the chin. What... uh... in the same time I was trying to, to throw a, a leg kick. So it was a perfect timing, beautiful exicu- execution and, and I don't know if he practiced that, but it was very well done. Very smart. Instead of trying to target my head, he, he, he jab my, my, my hand (slaps hands) and hit me with the, the, the, the rear hand. And that's why it hurt me. He, he hurt me. I tried to put a poker face on, on during that fight, but it hurt me. It's one of the strike that hurt me the most. Even though Michael Bisping is not known as a knockout guy, this, this, this shot really hurt me because the, the precision was... the timing was good.

   10. JRJoe Rogan32:48

       Yeah. I've never understood why people don't think he hits hard. I mean, look what he did to Brock Hold.

   11. GSGeorges St-Pierre32:51

       Nah.

   12. JRJoe Rogan32:52

       He, he hits fucking hard.

   13. GSGeorges St-Pierre32:53

       It... it... I think it's... what hurts someone in a fight... I mean, what can put away someone is not necessarily the power, but it's more precision and timing. And that particular, uh, right hand was perfectly timed and with great precision. So that's why I got hurt. And he win the second round. Then I had to make adjustment for the third round. That's when Fer... uh, Freddie, John and, and, uh, Firas come into play. They were... they, they saw what he was doing and they say... after the, the right hand, just slip and come with the hook over the top and th- the r- the, the right hand and that's what I did. And then he knock him down and, and... but in, in a fight, whatever your trainer tells you, if you didn't practice it, it's, it's not gonna work. I mean, it... you don't have time to think. It's, it's a-

   14. JRJoe Rogan33:39

       Right.

   15. GSGeorges St-Pierre33:39

       ... autopilot.

   16. JRJoe Rogan33:40

       Yeah.

   17. GSGeorges St-Pierre33:41

       So I was on autopilot. Sometimes you just need some, some kind of guidance that put you back, your... ex-... that put your autopilot in the right direction. And that's what happened-

   18. JRJoe Rogan33:50

       Mm-hmm.

   19. GSGeorges St-Pierre33:50

       ... in that fight.

   20. JRJoe Rogan33:51

       A reminder.

   21. GSGeorges St-Pierre33:52

       Yes, a little reminder. "Hey, uh, we're not going this way, we're going this way." Okay. Ch- ... then you, you... then it's still the autopilot, but it's different direction.

   22. JRJoe Rogan34:02

       The crazy thing about Mike is that he, he has very poor vision in his right eye. Uh, a lot of people, uh, might, might not know about it, but in the Vitor Belfort fight, he damaged his retina very badly.

   23. GSGeorges St-Pierre34:15

       Mm-hmm.

   24. JRJoe Rogan34:15

       He's had several surgeries and he's got oil in his eye that's sort of like protecting it. And he'll have it fixed once he's done fighting. But, you know, if you look at him, one of his eyes is darker than the other eye.

   25. GSGeorges St-Pierre34:27

       It's true.

   26. JRJoe Rogan34:28

       And that's that right eye. And did you particularly target things going to that right side, like things off of your left side?

   27. GSGeorges St-Pierre34:35

       Yeah. It's a lot of thing that we drilled on, uh, with the left hook. That's why, like, when I, when I hit him with the left hook, that was-

   28. JRJoe Rogan34:42

       'Cause you felt he would-

   29. GSGeorges St-Pierre34:42

       ... a lot of-

   30. JRJoe Rogan34:43

       ... have a harder time seeing things coming out of... his-
8. 50:09 – 54:52

   Relinquishing the 185 belt: health, not stalling divisions, and choosing the right legacy fights

   1. JRJoe Rogan50:09

      Now, after you won the title, there was thoughts of whether or not you would defend it, if you were gonna fight Robert Whittaker.

   2. GSGeorges St-Pierre50:15

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan50:16

      Like, what you were gonna do. What, what caused your decision? What, what made you decide to relinquish the belt?

   4. GSGeorges St-Pierre50:21

      So, the reason why I relinquished the belt is I, I want to do some physical tests to see what, what, what is the problem with my health condition. Because during the, the camp, I knew I had problem, but I didn't know what it was. I knew it was... You know, the, the test, the blood test and everything for the cancer, it came negative. So, after I went to do, like, like I say, a colonoscopy, it came back that I have a c- an ulcer inside my stomach. Then I asked the doctor, I say, "How long it takes to get rid of this?" He say, "It's all your life. But the symptom, the symptom can go up, down, depending every people, whatever they do differently." Then I start researching, who's the best doctor? How can I do this? And that's when I start reading about, like, uh, the fasting and stuff. And I, and I... Then I, then I tried it, but I saw that a lot of... You know, in, in the sport of MMA, a lot of the guys are starving. They, they don't... They not hung- they not, uh, rich, you know. I'm lucky now, I have enough money for the rest of my life. I don't need to fight anymore, you know. If I don't do nothing (laughs) crazy, like buying a private airplane, and I'm not-

   5. JRJoe Rogan51:26

      Right.

   6. GSGeorges St-Pierre51:26

      ... that kind of person, or falling into drugs and stuff. Like, I think I'm good, you know. For me, my family and everything, I thi- I think I'm good. However, uh, when I'm looking at the landscape, I see a lot of guy, like for example, Conor McGregor, he hold on to the title to, to, for the attention, the sponsors, the this and that. And a lot of people do that, that kind... They kind of stall the division. And I said to myself, I said, you know, "I stand for, for the fighters. I always did, you know, uh, publicly." I say, "Why am I gonna keep the title until to see if I feel better or not and defend it?" Because I don't even know if... My li- my weight was dropping down. It's like I, I'm not even at 185. Uh, uh, uh... I'm more I'm 170 or 155ers. I'm not... I don't have the size of a 185ers. So, I'm like, I, I, I relinquish it right away, you know. I don't wanna stall the division and make people wait-

   7. JRJoe Rogan52:20

      Right.

   8. GSGeorges St-Pierre52:21

      ... because of me, you know. The, the world don't go around me, you know what I mean? So, uh, for the respect, I did, I did it.

   9. JRJoe Rogan52:28

      That's beautiful.

   10. GSGeorges St-Pierre52:28

       But I didn't know before the, the fight I was going to do this. It happened like (mimics fighting sounds) like this. People was like, "Oh, yeah, you knew." No, no, you know, no I didn't. I didn't know it was going. I didn't know I was going to have a colitis and all that stuff. It, it, it came up. I never tried it before. I didn't know what would be the outcome how I would feel. I never did it, you know. It was a test in the same time, but I didn't know. You know, I have a lot of, uh... I'm not a perfect man, Joe. I have a lot of, uh, negative stuff about me. But one thing that I'm not is I, I'm not a coward. This I swear. If I say I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do. I'm not a coward, you know. In every of my fight, every of my fight I was, I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm terrified. But whatever I feel, I step and I, and I, I, I, um, I respect my contract and I do it, you know. And, um, I di- I didn't know the colitis and all that. It was- it would be illogical right now if w- if I wanna go back when I'm ready to go back 185. I'm not 185, you know.

   11. JRJoe Rogan53:25

       Right, right.

   12. GSGeorges St-Pierre53:26

       It would be a stupid move.

   13. JRJoe Rogan53:28

       And so, if you're gonna fight again, it'll be 170 or 155?

   14. GSGeorges St-Pierre53:32

       Yes.

   15. JRJoe Rogan53:33

       What, uh, where, where are you leaning? Are you leaning towards 55 or 70?

   16. GSGeorges St-Pierre53:37

       (sighs) I, I don't know. I, I'm, I'm lea-... I'm gonna... I wanna lean where... if I, uh, I want... You know, I, I've climbed the Everest many time, you know. I have climbed it once. I lose to Matt Hughes. Then I climb it, to where I lose, I, I... Then I, I, uh, then I got it, then I lose to Matt Serra, then I climb it again. Uh. I've done it, like, three time, you know. Like, I d- I di- I'm 37 years old. I just turned 37 few, few days ago. I don't have much left.

   17. JRJoe Rogan54:08

       Right.

   18. GSGeorges St-Pierre54:08

       And for what I have left, I wanna make the, the, the big fight, the fight that the fan want to see, they want to e- enjoy. Um, I also want personally, for me to achieve something that is unique, that is rare. That maybe that never been attempted before, you know. That would be something that excite me. And I'm not only driven by, by money, you know. Like, like, like, uh, like I... It's good to have money, we like money. It, it drives us all, including myself. But it's not the unique thing that drive me. It need to be s- more than money, and they need, need to be some kind of achievement, thi- that comes with it, that would exciting me.

   19. JRJoe Rogan54:49

       So, what would that be? That would be 155-pound title.

9. 54:52 – 1:14:19

   Nate/Nick Diaz drama and conspiracy claims: accusations, hype, and paranoia

   1. GSGeorges St-Pierre54:52

      They, they, uh, they offer me Nate Diaz now.

   2. JRJoe Rogan54:55

      Yeah.

   3. GSGeorges St-Pierre54:56

      And, and, and, uh, it was, uh-There was a rumor. They said it was a done deal. It's not a done deal. Not on my part. And I don't think it was on Nate Diaz part as well, because from what I've heard, his brother, Nick, sa- and even Nate says, uh, that's his big brother's fight. It's not his fight. From N- Nick, Nate, Nate Diaz is a, is a incredible fighter, very well-rounded. However, from ... If you put yourself in my shoes, there is nothing good that can come out of it, except money. And money is not the only thing that dri- drive me. If I beat Nick Diaz, uh, N- Nate Diaz decisively, some people will say, "Oh," most people will say, "Oh, he took an easy fight," or whatever. Like, the, the, the criticism will say, will say, "Oh, he, he, uh, he's a bully." You know, like-

   4. JRJoe Rogan55:45

      You fought a 155-pound guy.

   5. GSGeorges St-Pierre55:46

      Yeah, you fought a smaller guy that, that competed at a smaller... Maybe he's not even smaller than me. Maybe we're about the... Mo- most 50, 1, a lot of 155-er guys are bigger than me right now.

   6. JRJoe Rogan55:56

      Nate's a big guy.

   7. GSGeorges St-Pierre55:57

      He's a big guy. He's about the same size as me, but because I compete at 170 for most of my career-

   8. JRJoe Rogan56:02

      And you won the title at 185.

   9. GSGeorges St-Pierre56:04

      Yes, it will make me look bad. It will-

   10. JRJoe Rogan56:06

       Yeah.

   11. GSGeorges St-Pierre56:06

       ... make me look like a bully. And this is if I win decisively. If I, for example, if I win not decisively, if I win like it's a war back and forth, right? People will say, "Ah, he suck. He cannot even..." You know what I mean?

   12. JRJoe Rogan56:17

       Yeah.

   13. GSGeorges St-Pierre56:17

       And if I get beat, oh my God, forget it. For my legacy, it's the end of the world. It's-

   14. JRJoe Rogan56:21

       (laughs)

   15. GSGeorges St-Pierre56:21

       All the work I put in is finished. And I could have a bad day.

   16. JRJoe Rogan56:25

       Yeah.

   17. GSGeorges St-Pierre56:26

       Something that I discovered too during my career is being the strongest man in the world, that's my, that was my dream when I was young. That's why I did UFC. I wanted to be the stronger man in the world. And I realized over the year this, it did not exist. You cannot be the stronger man in the world. This is an illusion. A lot of the younger guy, they say, "Oh, I'm the baddest man." No, you're not, man. It doesn't exist. You would be strong ... You would be a better fighter than this guy in that particular day, at that particular location, at that particular moment. Maybe in an hour, if the fight would occur an hour later, an hour before, or maybe in a different place where the, the altitude is higher or lower or uh, different scenario, different environment, you will lose that fight. It's always a question of odds. You know what I mean?

   18. JRJoe Rogan57:10

       Mm-hmm.

   19. GSGeorges St-Pierre57:11

       So being the stronger man in the world, it does, it's style makes fight. Maybe we're three guys. I beat you, you beat him, he beat me. Who's the, who's the best guy? There's no best guy.

   20. JRJoe Rogan57:21

       Right. That's MMA math, right?

   21. GSGeorges St-Pierre57:22

       It, it-

   22. JRJoe Rogan57:22

       Everybody always talks about that.

   23. GSGeorges St-Pierre57:23

       ... it is, it is like this. That's the way to see it.

   24. JRJoe Rogan57:25

       Yeah.

   25. GSGeorges St-Pierre57:25

       So there is no stronger man in the world. You can't, you say, "Oh, I'm the baddest man on the planet because I'm champion." Like, the belting is, is an illusion, the belting. The belting is a symbol, but it, it's an illusion. It doesn't exist. You're not the stronger man in the world.

   26. JRJoe Rogan57:41

       Mm-hmm.

   27. GSGeorges St-Pierre57:41

       I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but is, it is what it is. That's ... If you ask most experienced fighter, most people will think the same way, because we realize at one point, like, when we're young, because of our confident or maybe our, the cockiness or, or our confidence, after i- i- it... Not that it fades, but we, we, we see, we have more experience, knowledge. We realize it's all, it's all BS. It's not true.

   28. JRJoe Rogan58:05

       So the UFC offered you Nate Diaz. Did you consider it at all? Or d- was it like immediately?

   29. GSGeorges St-Pierre58:10

       I consider it. I consider it. However, I, I, I, I, I, and I analyze it. I talk with Feras, with my, with my trainer and everybody. We were all on the same page on that. It's like it's, it's not, it's not, it's not worth it.

   30. JRJoe Rogan58:23

       But did the UFC announce it? Did they say that they were working on it? What did they say?

Episode duration: 3:02:21