St. Pierre rides wave of fame

There is little question why the Ultimate Fighting Championship event Saturday in Montreal is expected to break the organization's attendance and live gate records.

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre is one of the most popular athletes in mixed martial arts, and the Quebec native and resident is particularly beloved in Canada.

Still, it seems over the top to call St. Pierre the most popular athlete to come out of Canada, as UFC president Dana White has often done recently.

Even the 29-year-old St. Pierre, who will defend his belt against Josh Koscheck for the second time at UFC 124, was taken aback by the claim.

"It's hard to say," he said after a pause on a conference call. "I think Wayne Gretzky would be more popular, but the thing is hockey is not a popular sport in every country. (So) maybe (globally) because (mixed martial arts) is in every country of the world and hockey is not, but I don't know. It's hard to say."

To be fair, White has insisted his claims are in no way a slight to The Great One. He just thinks St. Pierre has reached a new level of stardom internationally.

ESPN has even rolled out its new "This is 'SportsCenter' " commercial featuring St. Pierre in advance of the rematch with Koscheck.

It seems the only thing that could derail St. Pierre's surging popularity would be a loss to one of the contenders in the welterweight division, a group that appears well behind him at the moment.

Even Koscheck, possibly one of the most equipped to upset St. Pierre, will enter as more than a 3-1 underdog.

Much of that line has to do with the first meeting between the two in 2007.

St. Pierre was coming off a stunning knockout loss at the hands of Matt Serra and trying to get back in position to regain his title. Koscheck was riding a five-fight winning streak and looking to get his first shot at the belt.

Koscheck is an accomplished amateur wrestler who was a national champion and four-time NCAA Division I All-American, but St. Pierre, with little grappling background, actually out-wrestled him to win a decision. The evolution of St. Pierre's skills marked his transformation from very good fighter to elite champion. The victory began his current streak of seven straight wins, during which he has been rarely tested.

St. Pierre insists he is not resting on his fame and accomplishments.

In addition to his usual team of coaches from his camp in Quebec and Greg Jackson's facility in Albuquerque, N.M., St. Pierre has worked with renowned boxing trainer Freddie Roach on his boxing and punching power.

"I've prepared myself like I've never prepared myself before. I'm the best Georges St. Pierre I've ever been," he said. "I'm sharper everywhere. I've been working on a lot of different things for this fight, and I can't wait to show it to the public."

St. Pierre hopes the work will pay off in his ability to finish fights. He went the distance against Koscheck in their last meeting and has gone five full rounds in three of four title defenses since knocking out Serra to reclaim the welterweight belt in 2008, the only other time he fought on a UFC card in Montreal.

He hopes his work with Roach will pay immediate dividends in that regard.

"A lot of stuff I was doing wrong and he corrected," St. Pierre said. "In the first fight with Josh, when I was striking with him, it was mostly to set up my takedowns, but this time when I'm striking with him, it will be to knock him out."

If he can add consistent knockout power to his repertoire, Gretzky and Steve Nash could be in for a serious challenge.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.