Georges St-Pierre, one of the greatest MMA fighters to ever do it, faced an opponent not one fighter (or person in general) would like to face in their entire lifetime…
A silverback gorilla.

Sharing his experience on a recent “Pound 4 Pound” podcast episode, the former UFC champion recounted the nerve-wracking encounter:

I was in Rwanda, I did gorilla trekking and we had a guide that was with us.
He’s with the same family of gorilla every day and he told us the rules.

So – if a gorilla looks at you, a silverback, you don’t look at him. You don’t eat in front of him, you don’t take flash photo.
And if he comes toward you, don’t run away, just get out of the way and make yourself in a submissive pose, and that’s what happened.

He looked at me, he went toward me, and I get out of the way and I put my knees on the floor, and I was like: “Please, please…”

St-Pierre explained what happened next:

He looked under his arm and then the guide gave me the hand and kind of rescued me, but it was just a test.

He told me the reason why [the gorilla] turned his back to me, it was because he wanted to show me how much not of a threat I am for him.
“I’m going to give you my most vulnerable position to show you that you can do nothing.”

It’s very, very smart.

This video was taken in Africa seconds after an alpha gorilla charged me. I had to take a submissive posture and get out of his way. One of the most frightening and incredible experiences of my life – even with all the fight training in the world I wouldn’t have been a match! pic.twitter.com/pn5N8X2J1t

— Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) June 12, 2018

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