“You heard it right. I’m a free agent.”
Those are the words of former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, who appeared on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour and had plenty to say about his current relationship with the UFC.
GSP revealed quite a bit during the very interesting podcast appearance. One major bombshell that St-Pierre dropped was that his lawyer, James Quinn, terminated his UFC contract after the promotion did not meet a deadline to offer him a fight recently.
As GSP explained, there was an offer on the table from Lorenzo Fertitta that led him to believe a return fight was a possibility, however when the company was sold to new owners WME | IMG, the offer was taken off the table.
“It was like a shock, because we felt like we were making progress, we were almost there,” St-Pierre said to show-host Ariel Helwani this afternoon. “When they told us that, I got angry.”
St-Pierre went on to talk more about being a free agent, explaining that he is no longer tied up in a contract with the UFC and is free to do what he wants.
And apparently GSP still feels he can do quite a bit.
“The reason I wanted to go back and fight is because i feel right now that I’m at my best,” St-Pierre said. “I’m truly confident I can beat the guys that are champions right now. I’m that confident. At least I’m a free man. Now, I know I’m free. I have other options. I’m not caught up legally with a contract. I’m a free man.”
St-Pierre also claimed that he thought things were leading towards a return in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and now that it’s clear that it won’t be happening, everyone comes out a loser in this situation.
“To [come back], it would have been a win-win situation. I think now what happened with this situation, the biggest loser is the fans. I’m a loser. The UFC is a loser. Even the UFC is a loser. They would have made good money. I was very pumped up a few weeks ago when we talked,” St-Pierre said. “Now, I’m not as pumped up as I was. I’m entering unknown water, unknown territory. I just don’t know what’s gonna happen.”