To help promote GSP's upcoming title fight, Gatorade has officially released the first full Georges St. Pierre commercial for their "G" campaign. The commercials are airing in Canada as of July 9.
The ever expanding world of advertising surrounding MMA superstar and UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, hit a new market this week as the Canadian was featured on the latest ads for Gatorade's "G" campaign in Rolling Stone magazine.
St. Pierre was previously featured in a Gatorade commercial that aired all over Canada and featured other sports stars such as Miami Heat guard, Dwayne Wade, and hockey legend, Gordie Howe.
Now, Gatorade has taken the next step to push GSP out to the American fans with a two page spread in Rolling Stone that features the athlete alongside the words, "No Excuses, No Truces."
St. Pierre's manager, Shari Spencer, commented about her client's deal with Gatorade, and how the two brands will continue to grow together in the future.
"Georges' relationship with Gatorade has recently expanded into the US, where he will be featured in a national print campaign launching July 1st that includes Rolling Stone magazine and outdoor advertising in the New York City & Los Angeles markets," Spencer said.
As St. Pierre readies for his July 11 showdown against #1 contender, Thiago Alves, the Gatorade ads will continue to grow and help the sport of MMA gain even more mainstream exposure.
The only question left is when will Gatorade start a campaign centered around St. Pierre much like their 90's ads featuring basketball mega star, Michael Jordan?
The breathing techniques employed by GSP cornerman Phil Nurse--and taught by holistic healer Steven Friend--set off a three-month controversy beat to death by conspiracy theorists who believed the welterweight champion was cheating.
In May, the Nevada State Athletic Commission essentially put an end to the saga, taking no formal action against GSP or his cornermen for the incident at UFC 94 known as "Greasegate."
Shortly after the controversy, the UFC amended its rules for cornerman to prohibit the application of Vaseline by anyone other than a UFC-approved cutman.
You'd think GSP might avoid the technique--a rubbing of hands over the chest and back--in future competitions, but the champ didn't rule it out for his fight with Thiago Alves at UFC 100.
"I don't know about this, but maybe," he said. "We'll see. I know in this fight, they're going to check us a lot, and I'm all for this. I never cheat in my life. I'm a proud champion and I want to win fair and square.
"I'm not the only one who has done the breathing technique before. But it's not going to change the result of the fight, with or without it."
Jon Jones, who faces Jake O'Brien at historic UFC 100 on July 11th, makes no "Bones" about who he's picking in Georges St. Pierre's third welterweight title defense against Thiago Alves.
"I'm so excited about GSP," Jones told MMAWeekly Radio Tuesday. "I admire his work ethic and his championship mindset, and I can't wait to see him pick apart and destroy Alves."
Jones says he tried to carry that championship mindset into his own training for O'Brien.
"I really try to look at what these guys are doing and what's working for them and try to be the next one of those guys."
The 22 year-old says fighting on the such a huge card will be almost as big a reward as the check he gets at the end of the night. Almost.
"I'm a big groupie of a lot of the bigger name fighters, still," he said. "I'm really excited that I get to be backstage with these guys, the same locker room as these guys, and I can't wait till my fight is over, and I can sit in the audience. Hopefully I'll have good tickets."
Georges St-Pierre (GSP) and nationally-renowned artist Brian Fox have teamed up to offer fans the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Champion's first-ever, individually autographed limited edition prints.
The 100-piece deluxe signed and embellished canvas prints, measuring 30 x 40 and priced at $599.00, are now available for purchase online at www.brianfoxstudios.com or the newly-redesigned www.gspfightclub.com. In addition, fans may purchase the artwork at GSP's booth, # 731, at UFC 100's Fan Expo.
UFC Fan Expo will be held Friday and Saturday, July 10-11, 2009, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, coinciding with UFC 100, the biggest event in mixed martial arts history.
"I love this painting," said Georges St-Pierre. "I'm a good guy, and when I fight, I am another guy. Brian's work shows that to me. He is a master on his canvas, and I am a master on mine. I hope my fans love it as much as I do."
Georges St. Pierre is rapidly becoming an international icon - not only is he one of the strongest, toughest, and most energizing athletes to grace the MMA Octagon, he is also a class act outside of it. Now, Georges wants to take his brand to the next level that his athletic performance has taken him.
To accomplish this task, he's engaging those that who will help him achieve that goal - his fans.
"Georges has some of the greatest fans in the sport," said Shari Spencer, manager for GSP. "This contest represents his desire to give something back to his fans - to allow them to participate in his efforts to represent this sport on a whole new level."
The winning logo design will be incorporated into Georges' new website, be displayed on his shorts and banner within the Octagon during his fights, and be incorporated into a new line of merchandise to be debuted in conjunction with UFC 100 on July 11th.
Here is your chance to show GSP your skills and help him develop a logo that represents GSP in your eyes. Take some time to draw, paint, or even sketch your ideas - then go to GSPFightClub.com and send him your ideas. GSP will narrow the choices down to ten finalists.
Then, just as GSP draws upon his fans' support to win his fights, he'll turn to his fans to help him pick the winning logo design. Your design might just be chosen as the lucky winner that he'll wear during his upcoming fight at UFC 100. But you better hurry - this contest is only open for a short time.
Georges St. Pierre filmed his first commercial for Gatorade's new "G" campaign a few weeks ago, and now the commercial has hit the airwaves in Canada playing during the NHL playoffs. GSP is keeping elite company in the commercial alongside athletes like Dwayne Wade, Mia Hamm, and Olympian Usian Bolt.
The MMA Insider spoke to several top MMA fighters and managers to get their picks on the upcoming UFC welterweight title fight pitting Georges St. Pierre against B.J. Penn.
Here are the picks:
Josh Thomson: "Penn, Penn, Penn, Penn, Penn, Penn, oh did I mention B.J. Penn to win?
Eliot Marshall: "GSP"
Dustin Hazelett: "I'm actually undecided. I believe the early rounds favor Penn, but the later rounds will favor GSP."
Marcus Davis: "B.J. Penn by the 3rd round. Not sure what, but some kind of stoppage"
Heath Herring: "Not gonna touch that one!"
Jason Genet (Magnetic Marketing Associates): "I think that GSP will be too big for Penn, who is easily one of the greatest MMA fighters of our time."
Jeff Curran: "I really don't know. Personally, I think you are better off rolling the dice!"
Ken Pavia (MMA Agents): "GSP late by conditioning."
Brian Stann: "GSP. My teammate, you don't need to ask!"
Back in 2005, Georges St. Pierre was only 4 fights into his legendary UFC career. Little did the Abu Dhabi Combat Club know what kind of future star they would feature when GSP entered the 2005 competition in the 66 to 76kg weight class on short notice when invited to the tournament.
In his first round match-up, St. Pierre out wrestled and used superior technique to defeat Otto Olson on points. His next bout against Leo Santos didn't go as well as the Canadian was forced to tap out after getting caught in an armbar.
Since that time, St. Pierre has gone on to become a 2x UFC welterweight champion while also gaining fame as possibly the top pound for pound fighter in the sport of mixed martial arts.
Regardless of titles or accomplishments, St. Pierre is a competitor and he said during a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio that if the timing worked out, he'd love the chance to compete in the Abu Dhabi tournament again in the future.
"If I have time and the timing is good, I will do it, of course I will," St. Pierre said. "I love competition, I'm a true mixed martial arts man, and I don't only like MMA. I like grappling, I like wrestling, I like jiu-jitsu, I like Muay Thai, I like everything. But of course my main job is MMA."
Many other top MMA stars still compete regularly in grappling tournaments and a great many of them are expected at this year's Abu Dhabi championships. If timing worked out, St. Pierre would be a huge addition to the show.
And just like everything else GSP puts his mind to, he'd probably be a force in the tournament as well.
Mixed martial arts will always be the first love of UFC welterweight champion, Georges "Rush" St. Pierre, but when the Canadian champion isn't dominating in the Octagon, he's picking up a few new skills in front of the camera as an actor.
St. Pierre recently filmed scenes alongside other fighters such as Anderson Silva, Heath Herring and ironically enough, B.J. Penn, in a movie set for release in 2009 called "Never Surrender."
"It was great," St. Pierre told MMAWeekly Radio recently about the movie experience. "I liked it and I actually have another filming planned for February after my fight. I'm very excited about it."
According to online movie resource, IMDB.com, St. Pierre is set to star in two new movies, one called "Hell's Chain" and another titled, "Death Warrior."
The 2008 Canadian Athlete of the Year admits that acting can be fun, and it takes him back to his childhood, and he hopes one day he can be as iconic as the "Muscles from Brussels."
"It's pretty fun, I like it. It's like make me remember when I was a kid, playing games, it makes me remember those days," St. Pierre commented. "It's a little bit like come back as a kid and play games, and I when I do it sometimes I feel like the Canadian version of Jean-Claude Van Damme. It's pretty funny."
Unless Van Damme pulls out the Dim Mak from his movie "Bloodsport" he probably wouldn't stand much of a chance against St. Pierre in a real fight, but the 170lb king says he still has a lot to learn in the Belgian's medium as well.
"Maybe I'm better in the Octagon, but I still have a lot to learn on the camera."
Always willing to go the extra mile to learn new techniques, UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, is once again about to step up his training as the fighter is planning for a trip to Thailand after his title fight on Jan 31 to work with top Muay Thai fighters from the area.
St. Pierre has famously worked alongside many top trainers and training partners, and has previously traveled to Brazil to train with top jiu-jitsu coaches and athletes. The Canadian star will add to his resume and passport when he makes a trip to Thailand after his fight against B.J. Penn.
"I plan to go after my fight actually," St. Pierre said about a trip to Thailand. "That's another thing that I want to do is go to Thailand. After my fight I might also go to France, I have a lot of friends in France and a very good Muay Thai fighter who comes from France."
"Some of them have come to help me train for this camp, so I'm going to go see them after my fight. They have a lot of good fighters out there."
St. Pierre recieved his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu a few months back and the top welterweight stand-out also holds black belts in several other martial arts disciplines as well.
Still willing to be the student, St. Pierre may just add another weapon to his arsenal when he travels to Thailand to work with some of the top strikers in the world.
Before Georges St. Pierre stepped into UFC 87 to defend his welterweight title against Jon Fitch, rumors began to circle about his current contract expiring after only 1 more fight following the August match-up.
Even back then GSP assured fans that he would make the UFC his home for a long time to come, and he didn't plan on fighting anywhere else.
"We'll end up to an agreement, I'm sure," St. Pierre told MMAWeekly Radio in August.. "I like the UFC, I'm glad I'm champion, I want to represent the sport and also the UFC well."
"The UFC, that's what made me known, and if possible I want to retire there."
While the UFC never really talks much about fighters' contracts, it would have to appear that St. Pierre has been locked into a new deal going into his title fight with Penn.
Also, recent comments from UFC president Dana White saying that if the Canadian was successful in his next bout, he could see a fight with pound for pound king Anderson Silva in his future, would almost solidify St. Pierre's long term plans with the company.
"If GSP beats BJ then you'll see Silva v GSP, possibly at a catch weight," White told The Sun, a British newspaper in October.
St. Pierre's manager, Shari Spencer, had no comment when reached by MMAWeekly.com, but with the Canadian's prospects for big fights in 2009 it looks like "Rush" will be in the Octagon for the foreseeable future and beyond.
Before UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and lightweight titleholder B.J. Penn step into the Octagon for their much anticipated superfight, they'll do battle in front of the camera. Not with each other, sadly, but in a movie coming soon to a theater near you.
Tentatively titled, "Sex, Blood, and Fight" - a family film, no doubt - St. Pierre will appear in three scenes alongside other UFC veterans.
"It was very fun," St. Pierre said of his first film experience. "The producer of the movie really helped me a lot. In the movie, when you punch somebody, it isn't by the book when you learn how to punch. You don't keep your elbow close and you don't rotate with your core. You have to really show the move, totally the opposite of what you learn in the academy."
Penn's manager and brother, J.D. Penn, confirmed B.J.'s participation in the movie, but said he was not shooting any scenes with Georges. "I wish," he said.
Georges hopes his new relationship with CAA sports will open new opportunities for him in the entertainment realm. The talent agency is among the vaunted "big three" in talent agencies, and St. Pierre is the first MMA fighter they've signed.
It's unknown whether the movie is MMA-themed or not - heaven help us if it's a sequel to "Never Back Down" - but St. Pierre's participation certainly adds to MMA's visibility, and a shade of class to the project.
Unless, of course, he plays a psychopathic killer.
Fighting each other, though, you'd think B.J. and Georges would have a little less trouble getting into character.
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