UFC legend Georges St-Pierre thinks the PFL brings a unique format to MMA and has praised the promotion for handing out $6m in one night.
St-Pierre, 41, is widely considered by many as the greatest UFC fighter of all time as he served as the promotion's welterweight champion for over five years. 'GSP' retired from fighting in 2013 but came back for a one-off fight against Michael Bisping in 2017, submitting the Brit to win the middleweight title and become one of the few two-weight UFC champions.
The Canadian was in attendance for the PFL Championships in New York on Saturday night, supporting his countryman and teammate Olivier Aubin-Mercier as he won the lightweight title and $1m by knocking out Stevie Ray. St-Pierre hailed the PFL's league format and admits he would have loved to compete in the promotion during his career.
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"I love it because it's so different," St-Pierre told Mirror Fighting . "The fighters have to modify their training because they have to peak multiple times each year. They are busier than they would be fighting at championship level for organisations like the UFC and Bellator."
Six champions were crowned at the event inside the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, with $1m being handed out to the winner of each tournament's weight class. Manchester's Brendan Loughnane stopped Bubba Jenkins to win the featherweight title whilst two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison reclaimed her women's lightweight title and bagged her third $1m prize in the past three years.
St-Pierre made millions during his UFC career and was one of the highest-paid fighters in the promotion, but that didn't stop him from joining the MMA Athletes Association in 2016 to try and improve the revenue disparity from eight to 50 per cent. In a time where the UFC has faced criticism for fighter pay, St-Pierre insists the $1m that PFL handout on their 'richest night in MMA' can change a fighter's life.
"The fighters have to be fresh all of the time but I like it because it gives them the opportunity to make a lot of money, $1million can change the life of a person. When I was younger I would have loved to fight in this format, at a different time of my life I wold have done it for sure. It's great as it's growing so fast and it's getting better as each event goes on."
