Who would win in a battle of George St Pierre vs. Milos of Croton in the Stadium of Olympia?

The sport of mixed martial arts, which has flourished in the twentieth century, can be seen as a part of an evolution of fighting which can be dated to and associated with ancient Greece wrestling. When one speaks of ancient Greek wrestling and notable figures in this sport, often the name Milo of Croton is brought into discussion. Milo of Croton and his dominance in the field of wrestling winning five Olympic record titles consecutively creates questions of many individuals today. The dominance of Milo of Croton in his field of wrestling can be related to the dominance of George St Pierre in his field of mixed martial arts. George has an astonishing twelve fight win streak since he lost six years ago. If George St Pierre and Milo of Croton were to be set down in the Stadium of Olympia to fight, the winner of this bout would undoubtedly be George St Pierre. George St Pierre would be victorious due to the abilities he possesses with his better training regimen, his knowledge of how to use his opponents weight against him, the scientific background he would possess due to new research in which he would use to prepare for the battle and daily routines leading up to the combat event. The idea of progressive load as a form of weight training to develop the human body was first used by Milo of Croton. Milo of Croton was said to have raised a newborn bull and would always carry it around. As the bull matured and gained in weight so did Milo of Croton mature in size and strength. This form of training used by Milo is what made him have such extraordinary strength over his opponents. With the gradual increase of the bulls weight and the constant repetitive nature of Milo of Croton carrying this bull, his strength increased which allowed him to still carry the bull when it was fully matured and weighed in at its max weight. This gave Milos of Croton an advantage over the opponents he faced during his time, as they did not use this form of progressive load training. George St Pierre however does use this form of progressive load training but with newer equipment and smarter training routines compiled with meditation and massages, which makes him an overall better fighter. George St Pierre training and muscle building strategy is different from Milos of Croton as he is not interested in simply making his muscles bigger or stronger. His interest is training to make his muscles perform better and to be more coordinated. This is a better form of training for an athlete, as an individual with a larger body frame such as Milos of Croton does not necessary makes him a better fighter. How this individual is able to use his frame no matter the size to generate force and skill is what is important. George St Pierre’s motor skills are very refine and his balance and core is one of the best in the world. The overall aspect of his training and the use of all his muscles, which connect to his core, are integral in how he would take down Milos of Croton. With technology and science George St Pierre is capable of possessing these necessities, which Milos of Croton did not have. He is able to use the strength his body already has through constant training and has created a training regimen that does not allow it to dissipate easily.
The body structure of George St Pierre and Milo of Croton is very different. Milo of Croton has a larger frame with a bulkier muscle structure. He often ate a lot and not healthily and would be seen today as an unhealthy athlete. It is said that Milo of Croton ate twenty pounds of meat, twenty pounds of bread and eighteen pints of wine in a day. These portions and quantities were seen during this period to be what professional wrestlers should do in order to be victorious. In today’s world of athletics, an importance is placed on nutrition in relation to muscle building and endurance. It is shown through scientific research that today’s athletes such as George St Pierre need a proper diet with the aid of some supplements before and training to allow for muscles to develop more efficiently and give maximum performance. A proper diet to ensure maximum performance of muscles would not be the diet of Milos of Croton. The diet of George St Pierre, which includes healthy meals that are provided in proper quantities and eaten at the right time, makes his diet better than Milos of Croton. During the period of Milos of Croton these scientific research methods on the body were not available, which gives George St Pierre the advantage in a bout at the Stadium of Olympia. Not only does George St Pierre possess the advantage on having a better-trained body despite his smaller nature in frame to Milos of Croton, he is equipped with trainers and analyst who point out weaknesses in his opponents, which he exploits once in battle. Despite his small nature, George St Pierre would still be victorious over Milos of Croton. He would use the weight of Milos of Croton against him through his knowledge of training in jiu-jitsu and unbalancing Milos of Croton forcing him into submission. This would be easy for George St Pierre, as Milos of Croton did not focus any of his training on balance and core, which is now today essential in wrestling and other athletic sports. This creates an advantage to George St Pierre who spends a lot of his training on balance and countering submissions of men larger than him.
The strength, courage and intellectuality of Milo of Croton must be taking into consideration when discussing his ability to become victorious over George St Pierre. Milo was said to be a part of a brotherhood of elites and led the Crotoniate army to victory over the Sybarites about 510 bc. This bout can be seen as very astonishing for an individual to overcome. However Milo of Croton was also not the smartest individual and his death can account for this as he died because he tried to tear apart with his hands a tree that had been split with a wedge. This wedge fell out and the tree closed on one hand, which held him captive until he was attacked and devoured by wolves. A man of this intelligence would not be able to withstand the intelligent nature of George St Pierre who carefully plans what his daily routines are and the things he does. He partakes in no endeavors outside of the ring that would be harmful to his body.
In modern day athletics an individual such as George St Pierre is equipped with a team with members who cater to multiple aspects of making him a great athlete. Milos of Croton had members who supported him from the brotherhood that comprised of elites. These members however did not possess the scientific methods which George St Pierre team has today with the invention of machines such as a body fat water scales, which test how the body is performing and provides information and adjustments can be made to make the body perform better. With this knowledge, one can come to the conclusion that the modern day pound for pound best fighter in the world George St Pierre would be more prepared than Milos of Croton for a battle. Members of George St Pierre’s team would include, nutritionist, coaches who specialize in different areas of fighting, doctors, massage therapist, strength and conditioning coach and many others. These members work in sync to create the best possible program for George St Pierre based on the opponent he will be in combat with. Given the knowledge of Milos of Croton being a larger figure than him George St Pierre’s coaches would focus on displacing Milos of Croton by altering Milos of Croton’s body and weight during the fight. This would be done by using his knowledge and training in the art of jiu-jitsu and other fighting techniques. His coaches would provide a program compiled with practicing jiu-jitsu among other factors such as core leading up to the fight with Milos of Croton. Given his team of advisors and coaches George St Pierre only has to focus on fighting Milos of Croton on the day of the fight and not deal with stresses leading up to the fight such as planning as this is already taken care of. His mentor Freddie Roach also offers him courageous words and stress relief days leading up to the fight. These tactics and methods were not documented as being a part of the routine of Milos of Croton and would create a disadvantage for him in battle. Having such a well-sounded team provides an athlete with the confidence and preparedness one needs when entering a bout against the great Milos of Croton.
The notion may arise of the fact that George St Pierre is competing against Milos of Croton in the Stadium of Olympia and not in a UFC cage. One may say he may not be accustomed to the conditions and would not perform efficiently. However the entire idea of George St Pierre and fights is that he prepares for every fight given the circumstances. He would fair well in the Stadium of Olympia as his strong core and balance would not be significantly deteriorated. He would have just trained on a surface similar to the Stadium of Olympia in order to become accustomed and use his training in defeating Milos of Croton.
The reign of Milos of Croton in wrestling is one that will always be written about in the history of sports and progressive load training. It is one of the notable sections of ancient Greece, which has been developed and has led to how many athletes such as George St Pierre train today. Due to the development of methods used by Milos of Croton and the improved world of technology in athletics along with the abilities of George St Pierre in aspects such as his training regimen, his knowledge of how to use his opponents weight against him, the scientific background his team and himself possess he would undoubtedly be the victor of Milos of Croton in the Stadium of Olympia.

Work Cited

Baracos, V. E. (2001). Nutrition and athletic performance. Canadian Journal Of Applied Physiology, 26, 1-3.

Caputo , M. (2013). The Saint of MMA. Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness, 74(11), 76-82.

Chauhan, Yamini. "Milo of Croton (Greek athlete)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/383062/Milo-of-Croton>.

Espn now, then. (2007). ESPN Magazine, 10(15), 34.

Harris, H.A. (1964) Greek Athletes and Athletics. London: Hutchinson, 17 (03), 244-252.

Maher, B. S. (2010). Understanding and regulating the sport of mixed martial arts. Communications & Entertainment Law Journal (Comm/Ent), 32(2), 209-246.

Savić, Z., Milanović, S., Stojiljković, N., & Ignjatović, A. (2013). History of Resistance Training. Activities In Physical Education & Sport, 3(1), 135-138.

ST Pierre, G. S. P. (2013, 05 21). Georges St-Pierre’s workout: GSP reveals his training routines, diet, mindsets and much more. Retrieved from <http://www.simplyshredded.com/georges-st-pierres-workout.html>.

St Pierre, G. (2013). The way of the fight. Toronto: Harper Collins.

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[ 1 ]. Maher 2010, 217.
[ 2 ]. "Espn now, then," 2007, 34.
[ 3 ]. Caputo , 2013, 78.
[ 4 ]. Savić, Milanović, Stojiljković & Ignjatović, 2013,136.
[ 5 ]. ST Pierre (2013) notes, “My interest is not in making my muscles bigger or stronger. My interest is in making my muscles smarter and more coordinated. ”
[ 6 ]. On Milos appetite and eating, see Harris 1964, 244-252.
[ 7 ]. Baracos, 2001, 1.
[ 8 ]. ST Pierre, 2013, 68.
[ 9 ]. Chauhan, 2001.
[ 10 ]. Chauhan, 2001.
[ 11 ]. ST Pierre, 2013, 125
[ 12 ]. ST Pierre, 2013, 220