Dear George,

My fortune cookie said: Do something audacious! So I decided to write you a letter.

Now, a letter is not a big deal. But I am taking it further. I am writing you a letter of advice; which is much more audacious. Why? Because you are definitely on the short list of p4p greats. Further, you are a intelligent student of mma who fights with your head and not just your heart. I am a serious fan.

So why don't you finish opponents?

I fear that I lost you right there. I can only imagine how sick of this subject you must be. Nevertheless, please understand that people still discuss this whenever your name comes up. I know you care about it because you often apologize after unfinished fights. Your coaches address the subject during interviews. Firas Zahabi defended you after your recent fight by pointing out you had fought aggressively and really gone for the knockout. Alas, another decision.

My last article on you "Why GSP doesn't finish" explored the science behind a knockout. The article caught a lot of attention, even being picked up by Fox Sports. In it, I suggested fighting less cautiously, and really putting some physics on your punches. Against Jake Shields, you did that, you threw as much heavy leather as you had to throw. (Although Freddie Roach had to be nauseous after watching those overhand rights. They are supposed to look like an overhand hook, not a bowling ball circle. Watch JDS throw one.) But you got an A for effort anyway, and a W matters.

I still think you have too often erred on the side of caution, but perhaps there is something else, something unique to your physiology. Consider this for a moment. You seem to have freakishly high levels of quick-twitch muscle in your legs. Your shot (double-leg takedown) is the best in MMA. Period. And you didn't even wrestle in school! Acclaimed wrestlers like Fitch and Koscheck struggled with stopping your shot. Your superman-punch is excellent. Your outside-inside speed is fantastic. Your level-change speed coming out of the combination is great. However, the muscles in your core always seem rigid, as though it is all slow-twitch muscle fiber.

The loose and fluid movements of a great striker come largely from his or her core, because the feet have to be planted, at the moment of impact, for power. Even good head-movement comes from the core. Humor me on this: What would we expect of a mma fighter that had awesome speed in his legs but a rigid core? Well, a weak left-hook, a slightly better right straight, mediocre upper cuts, great superman punches, and an awesome jab! Does this sound like anyone we know?

The whole stiff core thing may be a holdover from your days as a karateka (lots of boxing coaches have things to say about that). It may be simply a manner of holding yourself. It may be personality. But it seems to be real. Even the guys who mock you do so by first stiffing their body, and then aping the accent. But forget them, laugh all the way to the bank. I like your accent. There is something cool about a Canadian guy who kindly smashes you, then formally apologizes. Eeye ah-pol-ah-gize for dee doc-tair bill, dee time enn de hos-pit-ale... So cool.

What if you couldn't fix it? What if you just had to live with the body you had? Here I will be presumptuous and offer specific advice, even though you have awesome coaches....