As questions still swirl around UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s future, fighters and analysts are wondering out loud whether or not the French-Canadian legend should hang up the gloves for good.
Based on Monday morning’s appearance on The Opie & Anthony Show, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan believes GSP‘s time inside the Octagon has run its course (transcription via MMA Fighting).
“I think Georges should retire,” Rogan stated. “One of the reasons I think Georges should retire is he was on my podcast and he was talking about being abducted by aliens. I was going, ‘you think you’ve been abducted by aliens?’ He starts talking about missing time. He started talking about driving his car and all of a sudden he’s at home and he has no idea [how] he got there. I think it’s head kicks … That fight he had some serious memory loss (at UFC 167). I think he’s taken too many shots. An interesting statistic is that Georges has taken more punches and kicks in the last three fights than any of his fights, ever. In fact, 50% of the shots he’s taken his entire career were in the last three fights. I think he should get out. I know the UFC probably doesn’t want to hear me say that. I know that could be a huge rematch.”
Furthermore, Rogan added that the UFC “should just give Johny Hendricks” the belt since he was the rightful victor Saturday night.
After his 12th win in a row, “Rush” told Rogan inside the Octagon that he wanted to take some time off to deal with some personal issues, though UFC president Dana White insisted at the post-fight conference that GSP vs. Hendricks II would go off without a hitch, per Mike Chiappetta of Fox Sports.
That led to widespread speculation about what was going on with the dominant champion behind the scenes—that is, until TMZ released a report stating that an unplanned pregnancy and his father’s impending death was weighing on St Pierre’s mind.
However, both the Tristar Gym standout (according to White) and his sister have since denied the report.
GSP currently has nine consecutive title defenses to his credit, behind only long-time UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (10).
If he were to retire today, the 32-year-old would be a shoo-in UFC Hall of Famer, boasting an incredible 19-2 mark inside the Octagon and avenging both of those losses.
Is it really time for St-Pierre to call it a career, or does he just need a little time off to clear his head before he continues to reign supreme atop the UFC’s 170-pound division?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
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