Georges St-Pierre, a former UFC champ, could be looking into going back to fighting soon.
St-Pierre, who has a current record of 25-2 MMA and 19-2 UFC, gave up his UFC welterweight belt two years ago after his ninth consecutive title defense against Johny Hendricks during the UFC 167 event.
He didn’t formally file his retirement though. When asked about his reasons on leaving the industry, he stated a lot of different reasons like performance-enhancing drugs to losing his competitive drive.
“I didn’t feel that hunger, that will to fight. When I fought Johny Hendricks, I was like, ‘If you put happiness on a scale, who would be more happy to win the title? Me to win another title, or would it be Johny Hendricks to win the title for the first time?’ I realized the guys who were coming, the new guys, they would be way more happy than me to win a title. When you lost the motivation, you cannot reinvent yourself, and you stay the same Georges St-Pierre you are, and for me, it was time for me (to walk away). After the (Hendricks) fight I was like, ‘Man, you need to take time off to see where I’m going. I have a lack of motivation and I don’t want to wait until it’s too late.’ If you lose a race in another sport, it’s not bad. But if you lose a fight in mixed martial arts, you get damage. It’s very bad. I wanted to take some time off to see where I’m going,” he explained.
As what some people say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. In St-Pierre’s case, he has indeed kept an active schedule by training regularly, even though he has no competition to prepare to. However, the former belt holder admitted that there’s nothing that can replace the rush that a fighter feels when he is inside the octagon fighting.
St-Pierre has not yet officially closed any deals concerning another fight. But during a recent interview, St-Pierre admitted that he is beginning to look for that ‘rush’ once again.
“I’m starting to get the feeling, more and more, to come back. I watch the fights to see what’s going on in my division, and I’m staying in shape. It’s like a knife that I have to keep sharp just in case I ever decide to jump back in the mix. It’s most likely not going to happen in 2015, but I don’t know, yet,” he said.
Dana White always says that he’ll eventually see mixed martial arts fighter St-Pierre coming back to the octagon. However, White recently changed his statements, saying that he felt St-Pierre is ready to change the direction of his career.
“I’m leaning toward he’s not coming back these days. He’s rich. He’s rich and doesn’t really have to do anything anymore if he doesn’t want to. He’s filming some movies. He’s doing some fun stuff. Fighting is one of those sports that you’ve got to be hungry and you’ve got to want it. He hasn’t been hungry for a long time for a lot of things. He’s got a lot of money, he’s young, he’s got a lot other options and he’s going out on top,” White said.
As for St-Pierre, he revealed that if he does go back to the octagon, he’ll make sure that he’s a better version of himself as a fighter.
“If I ever come back, it’s going to be important for me to reinvent myself and become a much better version than I was,” he said.