Despite Bruce Lee’s untimely passing over five decades ago, his teachings on self-worth and personal growth remain timeless to UFC legend Georges St-Pierre. Widely regarded as one of MMA’s greatest champions, GSP took to Instagram to share with his followers some of Lee’s teachings that he values.
“The more we value things, the less we value ourselves.”
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From iconic fight scenes in ‘Enter the Dragon’ to the philosophy in ‘Tao of Jeet Kune Do’, Lee’s influence has shaped modern martial arts. And MMA is not exempt from it.
While Lee passed away in 1973, long before the rise of the UFC, his fighting style, Jeet Kune Do, helped fighters embrace the idea of using “any technique or means which serves its end”, a philosophy mirrored in MMA’s core principle of combining the best combat disciplines.
UFC president Dana White has even famously called him the “father of mixed martial arts.”
Lee’s influence goes beyond the philosophical. He demonstrated grappling techniques, like armbars, in films, and even participated in a schoolboy fight that pitted him against a boxer—essentially a proto-MMA bout.
While the Gracie family and the Vale Tudo fights also shaped MMA’s evolution, Bruce Lee’s legacy can be credited with laying the groundwork, bridging martial arts traditions with the dynamic sport we know today.
This is why GSP is not the only one inspired by the late Bruce Lee.
Jones cites Bruce Lee after UFC 309 win
Jon Jones reminded everyone why he’s considered one of the greatest fighters in UFC history with his dominant TKO victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. But what really caught everyone’s attention was how he did it. A spinning backkick that helped seal the deal is not something to be usually expected from a wrestler.
But Jones hasn’t been just a wrestler since his college days. The UFC heavyweight champion, who has often been referred to as a complete mixed martial artist, claimed that the kick was a testament to hard work and the timeless wisdom of Bruce Lee.
“Bruce Lee says that he doesn’t fear the man who knows 10,000 kicks, but the one who has worked one kick 10,000 times.”
That mindset drove Jones to spend hours perfecting the spinning back kick with his Taekwondo coach, Page Bates, leading up to the fight.
Hopefully, more fighters follow the path of Lee, and ‘be like water’, and mold themselves into the shape of whatever circumstances they are faced with!
