It didn't hurt that Georges St-Pierre is a supremely fit athlete, fast and fluid and robust enough to render another man powerless. But even as GSP was sharpening his fighting skills in the gym over the years and utilizing them like a boss inside the Octagon, his focus always was more far-reaching.
"My goal is to be the most efficient, quickest-thinking fighter," St-Pierre, who announced his retirement on Thursday in his hometown of Montreal, wrote in his 2013 memoir. "I aim to be flexible, open-minded and ready for any situation."
It is this sublime blend of the physical and the cerebral -- and the byproduct of it, to the tune of a 26-2 record and UFC championships in two weight divisions -- that makes St-Pierre the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.