Former UFC two-weight world champion Georges St-Pierre has confirmed that he is, in fact, done with the UFC, but that he is also open to fighting for charity.
St-Pierre has been absent since his incredible middleweight title victory over Michael Bisping in 2017, but has always been linked back to the Octagon since, especially for a superfight with former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, it appears that GSP, who is now 40 years old, is entirely content remaining retired and not stepping back into the Octagon.
In a recent interview with Haymakers’ Robin Black, St-Pierre confirmed that he was done competing in the UFC, claiming (and pretty rightfully so) that he has nothing more to prove, and isn’t interested in fighting to prove that he is the best fighter in the world. However, he is still intrigued by the idea of competing in charitable exhibitions, be it grappling or boxing.
“I’m telling you, I’m not going to fight again to prove that I’m the strongest man in the world. This part of my life is over because I believe my best years are behind me,” St-Pierre said. “However, for a charity or for a fun competition as a novelty fight, I might compete again, whether that’s boxing, grappling, or whatever. That might be interesting because I’m a competitor inside of me and to do it for fun, something that would maybe not affect my legacy because it’s for a different reason, I could do it.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)
It is very interesting to see what GSP does from here. He is a fantastic ambassador for Mixed Martial Arts, so competing in charitable exhibitions might ultimately be mutually beneficial for GSP, charity and Dana White and the UFC too. Whatever happens, there is no doubt that GSP will draw huge swathes of loyal fans with him.
What do you think is next for Georges St-Pierre?