UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s split with his former manager, Shari Spencer, apparently got a lot uglier than either party is willing to let known publicly.
On Tuesday, various media outlets reported that “Rush” was embroiled in a bitter lawsuit with Spencer, per Bloody Elbow. She was quick to deny the claim.
@GeorgesStPierre may have 99 problems, but I ain’t one #learntofactcheck
— Shari Spencer (@ShariSpencer) November 19, 2013
However, on Tuesday night, TMZ reported that court documents filed in Clark County, Nevada show that GSP and Spencer have indeed been involved in a legal battle this year.
The court docs show … the judge agreed with Shari and ordered GSP to cut a check for $737,066.35 — which the fighter paid back in April.
But there’s more … the judge also ordered GSP to pay Shari’s management company the following:
— 20% of future revenue on various UFC Pay-Per-View fights
— 20% of royalties earned under a 2008 UFC merchandising contract
— 5% of future revenues from sponsorships she apparently helped him earn (including Affliction and RUSHFit).A source familiar with the case tells us … Shari’s final cut could be worth several million dollars.
TMZ, whose credibility as a legitimate media source is constantly under scrutiny, is under fire for reporting that GSP‘s personal issues include an unplanned pregnancy and his father’s impending death.
While TMZ is sticking by its story, St-Pierre and his sister, Myriam, have denied the report.
With that in mind, it appears that TMZ is right on the money about the lawsuit between St-Pierre and Spencer. Fox Sports obtained copies of the same legal documents, also noting that a lawsuit filed by Spencer in 2012 was voluntarily dismissed.
Of course, no concrete evidence indicates the legal issues with Spencer are why GSP needs some time off. He announced his hiatus from fighting after his controversial split-decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, per MMA Mania.
GSP has not made any public comments since the UFC 167 post-fight press conference, outside of this optimistic tweet posted Monday morning.
Good morning from Vegas – Feeling much better now! Merci à tous pour votre support incroyable!!! pic.twitter.com/zBGs2OLPkW
— Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) November 18, 2013
Whether or not one of the most accomplished fighters of all time has fought his last fight inside the Octagon remains up in the air, although his manager Firas Zahabi claims the champ’s health is fine, per MMA Fighting.
Will St-Pierre call it a career at 32 years old, or will he be back before we know it? Only time will tell as the champ’s compelling saga continues to unfold.
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
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