George Saint Pierre is not ready to ‘shut the door’ on combat sports, eyes return!
Now that he's a free man, Georges St-Pierre isn't ruling out a comeback to combat sports.
After nearly five years have passed since his retirement fight against Michael Bisping at UFC 217, where St-Pierre won the middleweight title and cemented his status as one of the greatest fighters of all time, the UFC Hall of Famer and former two-division champion revealed that he is no longer under contract with the organization.
“I’m already out of my UFC contract. I’m out. I couldn’t be here today [working with Showtime] if I was under UFC contract,” St-Pierre said ahead of the Paul vs. Silva fight. “It might piss off the UFC that I’m here, but I did it because, like I said, I have the freedom now to do whatever I want, with whoever I want, whenever I want.
“If I wanted to [I could compete in boxing],” St-Pierre continued. “You never say never. If it’s for a good cause, it’s well organized, who knows? I could do boxing or grappling. Who knows? But my days of trying to prove I’m the strongest man in the world, it’s gone. I have other priorities in life and I’m still training, I’m still getting it. When I go with a guy, when I spar with a guy, I still get it. But my heart is not there anymore.”
The best welterweight to ever compete in mixed martial arts is usually regarded to be St-Pierre, 41. The Canadian legend finished his career in 2017 with a 13-fight winning streak and numerous records for the 170-pound weight class. He successfully defended his welterweight belt nine times in a row before relinquishing it and retiring from the sport for four years in 2013. With stunning stoppage victories over Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, St-Pierre holds the distinction of having defeated every man he has ever faced.
While St-Pierre's legacy may exist in the octagon, he recently stated to the media that if he ever returns to active combat, it will be in a sport with fewer dangers than mixed martial arts.
“I might compete because I’m in an entertainment business, in boxing or in grappling, something that is safer than MMA,” St-Pierre said. “Not MMA. Something that is safer, that has less risks, because I have a lot more to lose and it’s not my priority anymore. And yeah, why not? You know what I mean? If it’s well done and everything. But something like a boxing match with small [gloves], nah, I’m done with it.
Do you think that we will be seeing GSP compete once again in the combat sports at the age of 41? Let us know in the comments.