From the octagon to the stage: Former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre ready to share his story

Former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre wants to share his story.

From being bullied as a child to holding down three jobs while going to college. And the stress and challenges he faced in his rise to being a two-division mixed martial arts champion.

The 44-year-old St-Pierre, a native of Saint-Isidore, Que., who is a member of both the Canada Sports Hall of Fame and UFC Hall of Fame, will debut "GSP: The Instinct of a Champion" at Toronto's Meridian Hall on Sept. 29 with other Canadian dates to follow in 2026.

The hope is to then take the show to the U.S. and other countries.

St-Pierre is no stranger to speaking publicly, having made plenty of speeches to corporate and other gatherings. The speaking tour will take the form of a live interview, followed by an audience Q-and-A.

"I will explain how I deal with fear, with stress. Background stories. Different protocol and tricks that I used throughout my career," St-Pierre said from Thailand where he currently filming a reality show to air next year on Netflix.

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He believes the September show will work for both fans and those who hope to learn something that they can apply to their own lives.

"A lot of what I do is always oriented towards the art of war — in terms of performance, how to be the best. And to be able to reach the top," he explained.

St-Pierre officially retired in February 2019 with a 26-2-0 record, having won the middleweight title in his last fight at UFC 217 in November 2017. He previously was the longtime welterweight champion. 

Sharing his story was difficult at first, he acknowledges.

"Now time has passed and I can talk about a lot of things in my life that I was not so comfortable to talk about