By JAN CARLO ANOLIN
Mixed martial arts legend Georges St-Pierre will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as part of Class of 2020, UFC announced Saturday.
The former two-division champion will join the likes of Forrest Griffin, BJ Penn, Urijah Faber, Ronda Rousey and Michael Bisping as a member of the “Modern Wing.”
UFC President Dana White described St-Pierre as the “pioneer of Canadian MMA who helped build the sport globally.”
“He is the most famous athlete to ever come out of Canada and one of the greatest martial artists of all-time. We’re proud to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2020.”
According to the UFC, the “Modern Era” category includes fighters who turned pro on or after November 17, 2000 with a minimum age of 35 or who have been retired for one year or more.
November 17, 2000 marks the first UFC event under the unified rules of MMA.
In his 17-year stint, St. Pierre chalked up a 26-2 pro MMA record including 22 fights in the UFC on a 20-2 slate.
The face of Canadian MMA boasted wins from UFC Hall of Famers Penn, Bisping, Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.
“He was the flagship – he was mixed martial arts in Canada,” Bisping said in a video announcing St.-Pierre’s inclusion in Class of 2020.
Entering the UFC Hall of Fame, St. Pierre had nothing else to prove with numerous achievements etched on his resume such as being the one of seven fighters with titles in two divisions (welterweight and middleweight), having 13 consecutive wins from 2007-2017 (tied for second most), fighting 13 title matches (second most) and winning 20 times (tied for third most).
Fighting-wise, the 38-year-old MMA great proved to be a force to reckon having the most strikes landed (2,591), most significant ground strikes landed (461) and most takedowns (90).
St.-Pierre also copped several awards such as the Sports Illustrated Fighter of the Year (2009), MMA Junkie Fighter of the Year (2009, 2017), Wrestling Observer MMA Most Valuable Fighter (2011, 2013, 2017), Wrestling Observer Most Outstanding Fighter (2008 to 2010) among others.
The induction ceremony will take “later this year” with the venue yet to be announced. It will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass.
