Video: UFC star Georges St-Pierre met his childhood bully on the street

Like many people at that age, Georges St-Pierre says that as a child, he never had self confidence and was picked on and beat up for years. This eventually led him to take up Karate, and following that path of martial arts eventually led to him being one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time.

“I have a very good record as an MMA professional fighter, but if you go in my bully time, I have a losing record,” St-Pierre joked during an interview with Hot 97. “I got beat up pretty bad that many times.”

As St-Pierre tells it, he randomly saw one of his worst childhood bullies several years later.

“A few months ago, I was in the street and I saw one of the guys that used to bully me,” he shared.

“When I saw him, I was very surprised, because I remember him. This guy used to beat me in the bus,” he said. “One point, I came back with a black eye and my dad was saying to me ‘What’s going on?’ I never said anything. But one time I said it’s a guy in the bus. He’s taller than me. He’s bigger and he’s beating me up and he’s stronger than me. I cannot win.’”

As St-Pierre recalls, this led to his dad going over and talking to the older kid’s dad to try and put an end to things. Only, it just made it worse for young Georges.

“So the next day, when I take the bus, this guy goes ‘Hey you’re such a snitch! You’re a coward! You go complain to your dad. I can’t believe you did that!’ He did that in front of everybody, and I got humiliated. I ran towards him and tried to punch him in the face, then I got beat up again. It was terrible. That’s the memory I had of him.”

The two met countless years later, in very different stages in their life.

“I saw him, and he was begging in the street,” St-Pierre said. “I don’t know if he was homeless, but he was asking for money.

“And then when he saw me, he recognized me. I know he saw me on TV and everything. I don’t want to mention his name, but I said ‘what are you doing here?’ (He said) ‘Can you help me? Things are not going well.’ Well I’m like ‘man, what are you doing here? You’re a tall guy, you’re good looking, what the hell? You’re in good shape!’

“So I gave him a few dollars, and I tell him ‘Get out of here man. You should be ashamed, you should be embarrassed of what you’re doing, man. A lot of guys would kill to be like you. You know you’re full of potential. You’re good looking, healthy, tall, and strong. Go do something with your life!’”

He says he also learned that the bully had a hard life growing up with a single, abusive, and alcoholic father, and after their conversation in the street, it made him think a lot about their experiences.

He realized that contrary to what he thought growing up, his bully isn’t really a “bad person,” and was more of a product of his “natural environment” that basically had him act a certain way and do bad things.

Interestingly enough, while Georges credits these childhood incidents as the catalyst to learn martial arts and change his life forever, he also seemed to have altered the path of his former bully’s life.

“Apparently, very recent, like a month ago, he went to my house where my parents live,” St-Pierre said. “He knocked on the door and he said ‘Can I talk to Georges?’ My dad said ‘Georges doesn’t live here anymore.’

“He goes, ‘Well, I’ve met him a few months ago, and said something to me to shake me up, and I just want to say that he changed my life. Now I have a job, and I’m doing well, and I want to say thank you. When you see him, tell him I said thank you.’”

Watch the full interview below, where he says learning martial arts ended the bullying, not because he was suddenly winning these fights, but because it gave him the traits that prevented these from even starting. (The topic on bullying starts at the 8:37 mark)

St-Pierre returns after a long layoff at UFC 217, where he moves up a division to try and take Michael Bisping’s middleweight title.