Pro welterweights name their 170-pound GOAT

By Cole Shelton - April 1, 2020

One of the biggest questions in all of MMA is who is the GOAT? Is it someone who had the biggest impact on the sport or the person who won the most? It’s an interesting debate for fighters and fans alike to have at any time.

Georges St-Pierre

So, with little to no MMA on for the foreseeable future, BJPENN.com reached out to several current and former welterweights to ask who their divisional GOAT is.

To no surprise, they gave it to longtime UFC champion, Georges St-Pierre.

Welterweights Decide Who The 170-Pound GOAT Is

Gilbert Burns, UFC welterweight: GSP. He dominated all his opponents and defended the belt multiple times.

Geoff Neal, UFC welterweight: GSP without a doubt. 19-2 in UFC with nine title defenses. Kind of hard to argue against that.

James Krause, UFC welterweight: GSP, he had a long reign as champion and no one really ever came close to beating him.

Neiman Gracie, Bellator welterweight: GSP because he was the most complete fighter. The guy was good everywhere. But you have to put guys like Matt Hughes and BJ Penn on the list.

Cosmo Alexandre, ONE Championship welterweight: GSP for sure. He is a smart, strong and very technical fighter.

Alex Morono, UFC welterweight: I’m sure most people are going to say GSP which is the correct answer. But, Jorge Masvidal. Fastest KO in history, he has an awesome resurgence. Awesome one-liners and BMF champion. I’ve studied his striking game, especially the Till KO. The man is a master of distance and super commits to his combos. Watching his face when he was throwing shots at Diaz was cool to see. I’m a huge fan and he deserves it.

Lyman Good, UFC welterweight: To me, it’s Georges St-Pierre. His stance as a respected champion helped him to keep the respect and integrity of the sport. He wasn’t about the trash-talking and he was a pure martial artist who embodied the sport and its values.

Bartosz Fabinski, UFC welterweight: The welterweight GOAT is of course GSP. The most dominant and well-rounded fighter the division has ever seen.

Ryan LaFlare, former UFC welterweight: Unquestionably GSP. In my opinion, he is the pound for pound GOAT or at least the top five. He’s beaten everyone he’s faced and ended his career on top. He’s faced adversity and overcame.

David Rickels, former Bellator welterweight: GSP is definitely the welterweight GOAT. I can’t imagine anyone picking someone else. He fought the best competition of his time and dominated everyone. He even proved himself to be great by avenging his loss to Matt Serra, not to mention coming back and dominating Michael Bisping. He’s truly a legend and GOAT in my opinion.

Consensus Welterweight GOAT: Georges St-Pierre

Do you agree with the pros that Georges St-Pierre is the welterweight GOAT? Let us know in the comment section.

ICYMI: Pros have already picked the flyweightbantamweightfeatherweight, and lightweight GOATs.

Stay locked to BJPENN.com over the coming days to see who pros picked as the GOAT for every division.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/1/2020.


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