• UFC 111

GSP rubbishes Olympics claims and 'chinny' jibes

Georges St-Pierre plans to have his arm raised on March 27 © Getty Images

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Georges St-Pierre has rubbished reports that he will quit MMA to pursue his Olympic dream, and hit out at critics who label him 'chinny'.

St-Pierre has found himself answering plenty of questions in the build-up to his UFC welterweight title defence against Dan Hardy, which has drawn comparisons with GSP's last defeat at the hands of Matt Serra. Like that Serra fight at UFC 69, Hardy is a rank outsider to win on March 27, yet he boasts one-punch knockout power that could upset the champion.

St-Pierre was dropped by Serra back when his first reign as welterweight king came to an abrupt end, which has left commentators and critics alike to suggest GSP may not be able to take a punch. Hardy has the hooks and the speed to deliver a repeat at UFC 111, as displayed when he rocked Mike Swick in his last fight, but St-Pierre insists speculation over his supposed weakness are way wide of the mark.

"When I fought Serra I got caught with a punch, a looping punch that hit me right behind the ear," explained St-Pierre.

"I lost my equilibrium and after I lost my equilibrium I got struck with five full range punches before I ended up falling. I don't think it's right. I'm ready for a war, I'm not worried about me getting punched at all."

Victory over Hardy would add to St-Pierre's already significant legacy, which stretches to six title defences. With the recognised top contenders at 170lbs already beaten, MMA fans are craving a future super fight between St-Pierre and middleweight champion Anderson Silva, but the possibility of such a bout recently became unlikely when it was reported that GSP would quit MMA to compete as an Olympic wrestler.

However, contrary to those reports, St-Pierre insists it was only ever a distant dream, not a reality. "My fight is number one," said the Canadian. "I'm a mixed martial artist first, before being a wrestler. It was just a challenge and I never said I was going to do it. It was just a reporter that made a story about it.

"It was a thought behind my head, like two or three years ago when I had my fight with Matt Hughes. Matt Hughes was supposed to fight Serra and Serra got hurt, so I had to jump in. But I had been getting ready for the tryouts. Somebody asked me (recently) if I was going to do it again and I said I didn't know but right now I'm really focusing on the fight. That's the only thing that's on my mind right now."

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