Georges St-Pierre, the UFC Hall of Famer and long-reigning champion, will be joining Bas Rutten behind the desk to call Karate Combat events. These two combined will bring decades of combat sports experience with their dozens of fights at the highest levels of MMA. Rutten himself formerly held notable titles in the UFC and Pancrase, additionally has earned black belt rank in Kyokushin Karate and Shintai Karate.
GSP was a karate-based MMA fighter who has a 3rd-degree black belt in Kyokushin Karate. St-Pierre is best known for holding the UFC Welterweight Championship and defending the title in nine bouts. The Canadian-born fighter was also able to retire holding the UFC Middleweight Championship. With Karate Combat, he has been working alongside the broadcast crew for some time and doing video work with Stephen Thompson, Rutten, and others.
Karate Combat announced the addition of Georges St-Pierre to desk via press release. See below for full details:
Georges St-Pierre, Karate Combat Sensei and MMA icon, is headed to Florida later this month for Karate Combat 35 (#KC35), where he will line up alongside fellow legend Bas Rutten in the commentary booth for the Saturday, August 27 event at The Backlot at Universal Studios Orlando.
Among the fighters competing at Karate Combat 35 are St-Pierre’s former sparring partner Raymond ‘Real Deal’ Daniels, once described by St-Pierre as “the best pure striker I’ve ever seen”, and his training partner and understudy Dean ‘The Sniper’ Barry, competing for the first time since his controversial departure from the UFC earlier this year.
St-Pierre – himself a Kyokushin Karate black belt who won the North American title at just 16 years old before transitioning to MMA and going on to set an unbroken nine-defense record of the UFC welterweight championship – has only ever previously commentated on UFC broadcasts for Canadian television.
“There are some great fights on this card and I am really looking forward to being right next to The Pit for this. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun calling the fights and sharing some insights with the fans around the world. Karate was my first martial art, the foundation of my career, and I’m a big fan of what Karate Combat is doing for the sport,” said St-Pierre.
St-Pierre has been part of the broadcast line-up since Karate Combat: Season 3, when he was unveiled alongside Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida as one of the two ‘season sensei’ who would be offering analysis and insights to viewers and fighters alike as the season progressed.
He reprised the role for Karate Combat: Season 4 earlier this year, where he was joined by Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.
On August 27, St-Pierre will take position beside The Pit, Karate Combat’s trademark fighting platform, for a nine-fight card headlined by a champion vs champion superfight between Karate Combat World Welterweight Champion Josh ‘The Preacher’ Quayhagen and Karate Combat World Lightweight Champion Luiz ‘The Pitbull’ Rocha.
Prior to doors opening on fight night, credentialed media will be invited to join St-Pierre in The Pit for a roundtable discussion session, after which he will take up his position in the booth and get ready to call the evening’s action.
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Featured Image Credit Courtesy of Karate Combat.
