Georges St-Pierre’s UFC return remains a mystery, and the former welterweight champ himself is now fueling the intrigue.
In the past three weeks alone, conflicting reports have emerged regarding St-Pierre’s potential return to the UFC Octagon.
First, UFC President Dana White gave a pessimistic prognosis, saying “I’m leaning toward he’s not coming back” (h/t Fox Sports’ Damon Martin).
Just days after this, GSP told the Winnipeg Sun that he’s “thinking about” an MMA return.
Tuesday evening on former UFC superstar Chael Sonnen‘s podcast, You’re Welcome, GSP built upon that statement to the Winnipeg Sun, stating that, should he come back, he believes he would pick up right where he left off—at the top of the sport.
“I feel like if I ever want to come back and fight, I could be the best in mixed martial arts—if I find the fun and I have the feel for it,” GSP told Sonnen. “If I train hard and I have the pleasure to do it, I believe I could still be on top.”
This statement was prompted by Sonnen asking St-Pierre if he had given any consideration to competing in pure grappling tournaments like Metamoris. St-Pierre, who was lauded as a mixed martial artist for his grappling prowess, pushed that idea aside, saying if he comes back, it will more likely be in MMA.
“If I do something, I do it because I want to be the best at it, and I do not believe with my age and the time that I have left in my prime I could be the best in the grappling department,” he said. “… If I would have to come back in competition, it would be in mixed martial arts more than pure grappling, unless it’s for, like, maybe a superfight or something.”
During the interview, St-Pierre also talked about the current state of the UFC’s welterweight division.
Prior to taking an indefinite hiatus from the sport, St-Pierre ruled the welterweight roost for over five years, racking up nine consecutive title defenses in the process. Since voluntarily stepping away and giving up the belt in December 2013, though, the championship belt has already changed hands once.
Johny Hendricks earned a close decision victory over Robbie Lawler at UFC 171 in March 2014 to capture the vacant strap, then he coughed it right back up to Lawler at UFC 181 later that year.
Now, Lawler looks to defend his title for the first time against Rory MacDonald, a friend and training partner of GSP‘s. While Lawler has already defeated MacDonald once via decision, GSP believes the challenger has what it takes to triumph in their upcoming UFC 189 rematch on July 11.
“Lawler is a dangerous guy, you know?” GSP said. “Anything can happen. I truly believe that if Rory comes with his best game, he’s better than Lawler, and I believe he’s better than Hendricks as well. But it’s not the best fighter who wins the fight, it’s the guy that will fight the best the night of the fight.”
Personally, I agree with GSP that MacDonald will defeat Lawler at UFC 189.
The 25-year-old Canadian is a big, powerful welterweight, and he is constantly evolving his game under the tutelage of Firas Zahabi and TriStar Gym. He’s won three straight, looking better in each consecutive outing, and I expect him to pick apart Lawler on the feet en route to a unanimous-decision victory.
Regarding GSP‘s return, I personally hope he just stays away.
His last fight against Hendricks was his closest decision to date, and he was beaten and battered throughout the five-round bout. The division was slowly catching up with him, and he got out just in time, in this writer’s opinion.
At 33 years old with 27 fights under his belt, St-Pierre simply has nothing left to prove in the MMA space. He’s unquestionably one of the best ever, and looking at the other contenders—Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, Jose Aldo and Jon Jones—two have already failed to go out on top.
Silva lost twice to current UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, then tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs after his UFC 183 victory over Nick Diaz.
Emelianenko, meanwhile, lost three straight from June 2010 to July 2011 after going undefeated in his previous 28.
Aldo and Jones are still active, so it’s too early to say, but it’s entirely possible one (or both) of them exposes vulnerabilities and loses late in his career as well.
GSP, on the other hand, went out on top. He held the title, he never garnered any negative press and he’s widely recognized as a true professional, one of the guys who helped fuel the UFC’s explosion into the mainstream sports world.
That’s not a bad legacy to leave. That’s the kind of legacy he should tuck away in a vault and leave alone.
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