UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre has become used to the taste of success. With a stellar career record of 20-2, mostly against top-ranked competition, he has come to symbolize success in MMA almost as thoroughly as he has dominated his division over the past three years.

What he's not used to, is hearing criticism from the fans; and after his win over Dan Hardy at UFC 111 earlier this year, he received his fair share. Criticism for not finishing Hardy despite coming very close with two dangerous submission attempts. Criticism for not being more aggressive, for seeming to fight a "safe" fight when many felt he could have done more to push for a stoppage given the way he was dominating his opponent.

St. Pierre has an answer for these critics: he says he's gotten as far as he has, and achieved the mastery he's shown, by fighting smart. By not caving in to pressure to take unnecessary risks and put on a show.

"I'm fighting safe," St-Pierre told MMAJunkie.com. "Every time I step into the octagon, my life is in jeopardy. For me, it's more important to not get hit than to hit the guy. I will never fight in a way [in which] I fight like I flip a coin. I never took risks. The only fight I took a risk was when I fought Matt Serra, and I went in a stupid exchange, and it was not smart. I got caught; Serra beat me fair and square, and he deserved the victory that night. But it taught me a good lesson, and I don't want it to happen again."

St. Pierre finds it frustrating that despite what he feels was a solid performance in his fight with Hardy, many fans found fault with him because he failed to finish. 

"I had some great opportunities, and I made a stupid mistake, and I couldn't seal the deal," St-Pierre stated. "I did add some great highlights that people don't even acknowledge. At the end of the third round, for example, the best grappling highlight of my whole career was in (my fight with) Dan Hardy. People don't even know this because they don't have the knowledge to appreciate what happened. Some do, but a lot of people did not acknowledge what happened."

Despite acknowledging that there are still areas he needs to improve, St. Pierre is not about to apologize for his fighting style. And he's not about to stop fighting safe, either.

"When I'm standing up, I hit the guy, (and) I pick my angle, and I'm smart," said St. Pierre. "I'm not afraid to say it: I'm not a brawler, and I'm not a coward. I'm not going to trade punch one-for-one with a guy. I'm going to hit the guy and not get hit. That's a smart way to fight. I'm not going to give names, but if I would tell you names, you would know who's a brawler (and) who's not and who now has a problem with his career because he got hit too much. They can't take a punch anymore."

At the end of the day, St. Pierre has little patience for anyone who expects him to change to please the crowd. He has no illusions about how he has built his success.

"I don't fight like an idiot," St-Pierre stated flatly. "That's what defines me. I'm (not the) champion because I'm the strongest guy in the division. It's not because I'm the fastest guy. I'm not the best grappler. I'm not the...