Why Georges St. Pierre Isn't the Chicken Critics Accuse Him of Being

There's some truth to the notion that Georges St. Pierre has taken the safe road in his career, but that's not the whole story.

St. Pierre has been careful both inside and outside of the octagon, in the way he fights and in the way he plans his future. I've said that I think his risk avoidance in fights is a sign of intelligence, rather than cowardice, but it's also worth taking a look at how St. Pierre has avoided risk outside of the cage.

When it comes to planning his future, St. Pierre has been meticulous and patient. He prepares diligently for his fights to minimize his chances of losing, thus avoiding risk.

St. Pierre also has avoided rushing into the middleweight division, or into an attempt to compete in Olympic wrestling.

He's stated many times that while he's not opposed to the idea of moving up in weight class, he would need to take his time and make all the necessary preparations to give himself the best possible chance of success.

As for his Olympic ambitions, St. Pierre has said that he won't attempt to compete in the Olympics unless he thinks he has a good shot at winning.

That's risk aversion all over the place.

Now the other side of the coin.

St. Pierre has never turned down a fight.

He accepted his first title shot even though he had fought only seven fights, in comparison to Matt Hughes' 41.

He fought BJ Penn in a title eliminator when he might have been able to bide his time and wait for a later shot.

After losing to Matt Serra, St. Pierre accepted a fight with Josh Koscheck, who was then considered the top contender, and a potentially bad match-up stylistically.

After winning back the UFC belt, St. Pierre has faced every opponent the UFC has placed in front of him, regardless of the potential danger.

Somehow, people still see St. Pierre as risk-averse not only as a fighter, but also in the way he manages his career. Of course, the comparison always comes back to one man: Penn.

According to Penn's supporters, he took a greater risk when he moved back up in the weight classes to challenge St. Pierre last year, but I see things a little bit differently.

When Penn challenged St. Pierre, he challenged him on his own turf. By moving up, Penn was able to threaten St. Pierre's title belt while keeping his own lightweight title secure and undefended for an entire year.

If Penn won the fight at UFC 94, he would have enhanced his legendary status tremendously, while if he lost, it would only be further proof that "the great larger man will always beat the great smaller man."

In short, Penn had everything to gain and little to lose at UFC 94. If you need further proof, look at Penn's reputation. He has returned to the lightweight division as invincible-looking as ever. Clearly while the punches may have hurt, his reputation was only enhanced by moving up to fight St. Pierre.

St. Pierre, on the other hand, had far less to gain and everything to lose in his rematch with Penn.

If St. Pierre had lost to Penn, he would have lost his title and would have had no other division to crawl back to. He might have been able to get his belt back, but losing to a naturally smaller man for a second time would have greatly harmed his reputation and marketability.

There were easier fights available that would have allowed St. Pierre to avoid risk and pad his reputation and bank account.

Still, St. Pierre took the fight without complaint, as he always has done.

With the recent news that Anderson Silva is considering a temporary move down to 170 pounds to challenge St. Pierre, people are once again criticizing St. Pierre for not making the weight jump himself.

If St. Pierre moved up, history has shown us that losing to the larger fighter is not permanently detrimental to marketability. And if Silva moves down and loses, Silva would be able to say that he lost because he could not fight as effectively at the lower weight. Silva could then move back up to 185 pounds and return to defending his title there.

Furthermore, St. Pierre is a bigger draw than Silva and can carry a pay-per-view by himself, whereas Silva requires a stellar opponent or co-main event in order to bring in the big money.

Since the consensus pound-for-pound title likely would be on the line in a Silva vs. St. Pierre encounter, there would certainly be a lot of potential benefits for St. Pierre, but it's still hard to say who risks more in such a fight, or who has more to gain.

Of course, St. Pierre would take the fight anyway, just as he always has.

St. Pierre is just playing it safe, right?