Georges St-Pierre
IN PHOTO: UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre gestures as he speaks during a news conference at Les Galeries de la Capitale shopping centre in Quebec City, December 13, 2013. REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger

When former Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre speaks up, the world is all ears. After all, the semi-retired Canadian wrestler went on a six-year untarnished run from 2007 to 2013, earning him the unofficial "greatest of all time" tag. With the 33-year-old native of Quebec, Canada seemingly leaving the Octagon for good, his latest quotes on how the younger generation would fare has caught the attention of his followers.

St-Pierre talked about the charisma and drawing power of new UFC poster child Conor McGregor and his chances against a fellow undisputed champion, Jose Aldo. The submission artist was intrigued by the potential of McGregor and thought that the “Notorious” may either be “smart or very dumb” with his bold pronouncements and his antics. He expounded on this statement when he appeared in the latest “You’re Welcome” podcast of Chael Sonnen.

"Conor McGregor, he could be smart or very dumb. But I think Conor McGregor is very skilled. He can back [up] what he says. I think Conor McGregor is trying to play that game, trying to get into his head. Maybe it's going to work, maybe it's not. We'll see what's going to happen,” St-Pierre told Sonnen in a juicy exchange.

The 26-year-old McGregor is using his off-the Octagon antics to fire up a usually timid Aldo. He rushed towards the spectating Aldo after his big win over Dennis Siver, he renamed the flyweight division after himself and recently, he triggered a belt tug-of-war after he slipped by and grabbed Aldo’s belt during a press conference in Brazil. The strategy to fire up his opponents is McGregor’s way to get into the head of his opponents, which was confirmed by St-Pierre.

Aldo, on the other hand, has not bought the façade of his rival and remarked that the Irishman just likes to play to the crowd and is usually timid off camera. The champion, who has the longest streak of title defences, even called his next opponent as a “court jester” and referred to himself as the king of the court. St-Pierre, who is usually reserved in giving accolades, gave much respect to the reigning featherweight champion when he remarked that Aldo might be the “best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”

Tune in to the podcast of Chael Sonnen below, which featured Georges St-Pierre as his special guest:

(YouTube/Chael Sonnen)

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