Georges St-Pierre recalls rivalry with former fierce rival, says the Hall of Famer was on the decline in their rematches: "He was not the same"

Georges St-Pierre recently recalled his rivalry with UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes. He noted that there was a noticeable difference between them in their rematches as well as their career trajectory afterwards.

St-Pierre and Matt Hughes competed on three occasions inside the octagon, which saw the American earn a submission win in their first encounter and 'Rush' winning both the rematch and trilogy bout respectively. Both competitors were considered the top welterweights of all time when they competed, and so it was a significant rivalry for the UFC.

Hughes was the focus of the latest episode of VICE TV's 'Dark Side of the Cage' as they highlighted his career and unfortunate accident.

VICE TV recently posted a clip from the episode to their Instagram account in which St-Pierre recalled his bouts against Hughes. He said:

"Everything that goes up, goes down. And every fighter has a time window where they are in their prime. And I felt that I was going up, but Matt Hughes was going down. He was not the same. He was not the same Matt Hughes that I fought before."

Check out Georges St-Pierre's comments below:

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Georges St-Pierre defeated Matt Hughes to win his first UFC welterweight championship

Georges St-Pierre famously defeated Matt Hughes in the main event of UFC 65 in 2006 to win his first welterweight championship.

Their bout received plenty of attention as St-Pierre looked to avenge his submission loss from two years prior. St-Pierre earned a second-round TKO win after dropping Hughes with a head-kick and finished him with ground strikes.

Check out highlights from Georges St-Pierre's TKO win over Matt Hughes at UFC 65 below: