Georges St. Pierre: By The Numbers

Georges St. Pierre left mixed martial arts at the height of his power a little less than four years ago and returns to a sport brimming with skepticism regarding his prospects for success.

St. Pierre will challenge Michael Bisping for the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight crown in the UFC 217 headliner this Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. There, he can join B.J. Penn, Randy Couture and Conor McGregor as the only fighters in UFC history to capture titles in two different weight classes. St. Pierre has not fought since he vacated the welterweight championship following a successful but controversial title defense against Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November 2013. Nevertheless, the Tristar Gym cornerstone carries with him a stellar 25-2 record -- he avenged both losses in decisive fashion -- and one of MMA’s most enduring resumes.

As St. Pierre prepares to challenge Bisping in his long-awaited comeback, here are some of the numbers that have come to define him:

1: Canadian besides St. Pierre who has won a UFC championship. That distinction belongs to Carlos Newton, who sat on the welterweight throne for roughly six months in 2001.

5: Career victories by submission. They have come at the expense of Matt Hughes (armbar), Frank Trigg (rear-naked choke), Dave Strasser (kimura), Pete Spratt (rear-naked choke) and Justin Bruckmann (armbar).

6: Post-fight performance bonuses won. St. Pierre was awarded “Fight of the Night” at UFC 87, UFC 124, UFC 154 and UFC 167, “Submission of the Night” at UFC 79 and “Knockout of the Night” at UFC 65.

8: Men other than St. Pierre who have held the UFC welterweight title. They are Hughes, Newton, Penn, Hendricks, Pat Miletich, Matt Serra, Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley.

12: Professional wins by decision. St. Pierre has never lost a fight that has gone the distance.

19: Victories under the Ultimate Fighting Championship flag, good for second on the promotion’s all-time list. He trails only Bisping (20).

36: Years of age. St. Pierre was born on May 19, 1981 in Saint-Isidore, Quebec.

87: Takedowns recorded in UFC competition. According to FightMetric, St. Pierre ranks first all-time in the category, ahead of Gleison Tibau (84), Demetrious Johnson (73), Frankie Edgar (67) and Clay Guida (63), Hendricks (61), Demian Maia (60), Nik Lentz (59), Fitch (58) and Rashad Evans (53). He has completed 73.7 percent of the takedowns he has attempted. Only Lawler (76.2) has been more efficient.

2,204: Days spent as the undisputed UFC welterweight titleholder. Spread across two championship reigns, it covers successful title defenses against Penn, Hendricks, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, Josh Koscheck, Jake Shields, Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz.

2,523: Total strikes landed inside the Octagon -- the most in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Fitch ranks second with 2,185, followed by Edgar (2,012), Nate Diaz (1,926), Bisping (1,879), Johnson (1,835), Penn (1,808), Chris Leben (1,791), Nick Diaz (1,616) and Dennis Siver (1,594).