Georges St-Pierre vs. Royce Gracie: What If They Fought in Their Primes?

There is only one person who has a greater takedown percentage than Georges St-Pierre: Royce Gracie.

That last name, Gracie, is enough to strike fear into any fighter (apart from Sakuraba possibly). But would it strike fear into GSP?

Royce won the first UFC, when a young Georges was watching. He has even admitted that Royce was his idol and reason for becoming a martial artist. But how would the old guard fair against the young pretender? Not very well in my opinion...

God knows I love Royce Gracie. God knows I love Georges St-Pierre too. So in giving myself the task of completing this article, with my head and heart, I have placed myself in what seems to be a very difficult corner to get out of.

The truth is, Georges would more than likely dominate Royce.

GSP's stand-up would be far more advanced and even his ground game is very well-rounded. The hybrid of his wrestling abilities and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu would prove too match, if not superior, to Royce.

I only have to point to Royce Gracie vs. Matt Hughes to highlight this point.

Although, I must stress Royce Gracie was way past his prime, in my humble opinion, he lost to a much more physically stronger fighter. Whether that was down to age or genetics, I’ll let you decide.

But there is another problem with this match-up. Royce Gracie is the "original" if you like; "the first" to show what Gracie Jiu-Jitsu can do on a global scale.

Therefore all modern-day fighters are equipped with a BJJ background of some kind. Fighters like St-Pierre and Matt Hughes (and just about any quality UFC fighter) possesses very well-rounded abilities.

Let’s break the fight down into how I would see it unfurling...

The Breakdown

Round 1: With a 100 percent takedown record intact, it would be hard to argue Royce would fail at taking anyone to the ground...but I’m going to say "Rush" stuffs them through sheer physical strength and his 85 percent takedown defence is enough to convince me.

Round 2: Pierre would continue to punish Royce with the stand-up. Royce would circle and look for the takedown at every opportunity. Pierre does well to keep the fight were he has a great advantage–standing.

Round 3: Royce would manage to finally get Pierre to the ground but would be somewhat surprised at Pierre’s advanced knowledge of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Royce would be frustrated by his own discipline but Pierre does not get the submission–Royce would never get submitted (see: Hughes fight).

Round 4: The Gracie becomes ever more frustrated and is starting to look weary beside Pierre. GSP continues to throw flurries of kicks and jabs to keep the Brazilian master at bay until the championship round.

Round 5: Here it is. Can Royce pull off a shock in the final round? After all of these years can he regain the UFC title? No. St-Pierre is taken down but avoids any real worry as Royce shows signs of inferior strength. GSP does enough to make the bell sound to an overwhelming victory!

Pierre was not impressed by Royce’s performance.

Royce misses the chance to go to Disneyland again.

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So what do you think?

Leave your comment and let me know who you think would win, maybe even providing your own breakdown of the fight.

Thank you for reading and be sure to check out my next "WHAT IF?..." article: Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre.